Keir Legree

What they say they would do

Applies a business-management approach to homelessness, public safety and utility costs.

• Hire more police officers and 911 dispatchers.
• Reduce infrastructure-project costs and utility bills.
• Change the approach to street homelessness.

Our reading

• Operational delivery
• Household costs

His stated goals connect city performance to safety and utility bills. His emailed replies of September 19 and 22, 2026 add the mechanisms: competitive bidding, independent cost estimates and scope control for projects; Clean Energy Fund money and building purchases for affordable housing; more shelter and treatment capacity; and a proposed one-year pause on cash bottle redemptions as a measured experiment. He would hold the line on new taxes and fees while hiring more officers and dispatchers; savings are not quantified, and what would pay for the new positions is open.

Where they stand

The choices this office faces

Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Keir Legree is on record on 8. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.

• Public money and terms for renovating the Moda Center?

  Said: Wants the Blazers kept but opposes spending hundreds of millions in public money on the Moda Center, which the City acquired for $1 in 2024; would explore giving it to the team’s new owner for an ironclad 20-year commitment.

  Emailed response, response source

• Raise new revenue, or hold the line on taxes and fees?

  Said: Says his priority is to hold the line on new taxes and fees.

  Emailed response, response source

• Hire more sworn officers, or invest first elsewhere?

  Said: Would hire more police officers and 911 dispatchers to improve response times.

  Pamphlet p. 59, pamphlet source

• Keep funding camp removals at current levels?

  Said: Would consistently enforce clear boundaries citywide: when shelter is available, camping should not be allowed indefinitely in rights-of-way, parks or on private property, with camps near schools first.

  Campaign site, site source

• Restrict new AI data centers in the city?

  Said: Supports restricting new AI data centers.

  Emailed response, response source

• Expand Portland Street Response to a full 24/7 role?

  Said: Supports Street Response, but before a 24/7 expansion would first add police officers for 911 calls and for situations where Street Response needs police support; open to expanding it once police staffing is adequate.

  Emailed response, response source

• Keep the monthly street repair fee?

  Said: Would keep the street repair fee only if PBOT clearly shows it is necessary and produces measurable results; otherwise would support repealing it.

  Emailed response, response source

• Raise water bills to pay for the Bull Run filtration plant and system repairs?

  Said: Says water and sewer bills are over four times Las Vegas’s and rising; would cut project costs to lower bills.

  Pamphlet p. 59, pamphlet source

Their answers to our questions

Infrastructure costs and utility bills

Said: I am not proposing that Portland defer essential maintenance. My goal is to reduce the cost of delivering infrastructure, not reduce necessary infrastructure. I support stronger competitive bidding, independent cost estimates, tighter control of project scope and change orders, and comparing Portland’s project costs with comparable cities.

Received 2026-09-19

Housing affordability and production

Said: I support increasing housing supply, speeding up permitting and reducing unnecessary barriers to construction. I also support expanding government-owned affordable housing and preserving existing affordable housing. Portland should focus more on whether subsidized units are actually affordable to lower-income residents and on getting existing vacant affordable units occupied.

Received 2026-09-19

Homelessness

Said: I support a different approach focused on measurable results: moving people from the street into shelter, treatment, housing and greater stability. That includes expanding shelter and mental-health/addiction treatment capacity; expecting reasonable progress toward stability in exchange for publicly funded services; and greater accountability for how City and County homelessness dollars are spent.

Received 2026-09-19

Climate, transportation and environmental health

Said: I support reducing emissions and improving environmental health, but I believe programs should be evaluated for measurable results and cost effectiveness. I support a balanced transportation system where people can safely walk, bike, take transit or drive, [with] pedestrian and bicycle improvements where there is demonstrated safety or transportation need.

Received 2026-09-19

Business experience

Said: I have spent approximately 30 years managing Savoy Studios, an architectural art-glass company, where I manage employees, budgets, contracts, vendors, schedules and complex projects in the U.S. and internationally. I also founded PlanXT, a project-management software company.

Received 2026-09-19

Rent and homes: how would you deliver it?

Said: My approach would be a change in priorities. I would explore expanding the allowable use of PCEF funds so they can help acquire, build or preserve affordable housing when those projects also meet strong energy-efficiency and carbon-reduction standards. [...] I would also prioritize purchasing existing apartment buildings when that is faster and less expensive than building new housing.

Received 2026-09-22

Streets, buses and air: what would show it worked?

Said: When we see fewer traffic deaths and serious injuries, while maintaining reasonable travel times for buses and cars and avoiding significant traffic diversion onto neighborhood streets. For major street redesigns, PBOT should publish before-and-after results so we can see whether the project actually worked. If it didn’t, we should be willing to modify it.

Received 2026-09-22

Street Response

Said: I support Portland Street Response and believe it plays an important role. Before expanding PSR to 24/7, however, I would prioritize increasing the number of police officers available to respond to 911 calls and to situations where PSR needs police support. Once we have adequate police staffing, I would be open to expanding PSR.

Received 2026-09-22

Moda Center deal

Said: I think it’s very important that we keep the Trail Blazers in Portland. But I don’t like the idea of spending hundreds of millions of public dollars on the Moda Center we don’t have. One option I’d want to explore is transferring ownership of the Moda Center to the Blazers’ new owner in exchange for an ironclad agreement to keep the Blazers in Portland for at least 20 years. The City acquired the arena for $1 in 2024.

Received 2026-09-22

New taxes or fees

Said: My priority is to hold the line on new taxes and fees.

Received 2026-09-22

Data centers

Said: I support restricting new AI data centers.

Received 2026-09-22

Street repair fee

Said: I would keep the street repair fee only if PBOT can clearly demonstrate that it is necessary and show measurable results. If they cannot demonstrate that the fee is necessary and effective, I would support repealing it.

Received 2026-09-22

Council votes

No Council vote yet. That is not a judgment about experience.

A question the evidence leaves open

Holding the line on new taxes and fees, what would pay for more police officers and 911 dispatchers?