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Martin Ward

District 3 candidate · Portland City Council · November 3, 2026

Martin Ward

Candidate with a political-science master’s degree; no governmental experience listed.

In their words

Said: A Progressive Republican along the lines of Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Susan B. Anthony, Fredrick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, and Harriet Tubman.

Pamphlet p. 55

Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; extracted September 20, 2026

Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 55 ↗

Verbatim opening of the candidate's own statement; publication by the county does not verify the claims. The statement has no complete sentence before its labeled fragments begin: an unpunctuated pointer to his website is followed by this self-description, the first punctuated unit.

The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.

What they say they would do

Our summary of their platform, in our words

Combines public housing and large proposed spending cuts with opposition to abortion, gender-related surgery and same-sex relationships.

  • Test government-owned housing and build permanent shelter.
  • Reject Moda renovations and the proposed Lloyd Center demolition.
  • Pursue restrictions on several forms of reproductive care and sexual conduct.

Our reading

Our interpretation, not their words
  • Public housing
  • Restrictions on personal conduct

His platform combines public provision with restrictions on reproductive care and consensual relationships. Those restrictions are substantive policy commitments; the guide does not adopt his classification of consensual conduct as crime or imply Council can enact all of them.

Where they stand

Rent and homes

Test government housing
What
Said: Would test government-owned housing, build permanent shelter and oppose demolition of Lloyd Center.
How
Said: Would have the city buy apartment buildings gradually, starting with buildings housing low-income residents and making further purchases only after rents are shown to fall.
Measured by
Said: Rents around 30 to 40 percent lower in government-owned buildings, and about $600 million of permanent shelter for all homeless residents.

Camps, crime and who responds

More officers, cameras
What
Said: Would install video cameras at every intersection, buy non-lethal equipment such as tranquilizers, increase police training and add police officers.
How
Not in their sources
Measured by
Not in their sources

Your bills and taxes

No Moda renovation, cuts
What
Said: Rejects Moda renovations and proposes large spending cuts. The reviewed statement does not substantiate the claimed savings.
How
Said: Lists the cuts: the Burnside Bridge replacement, the Keller Auditorium project, the police oversight system, the Council structure, the Design Commission and Moda Center renovations.
Measured by
Said: An estimated $1 billion to $1.5 billion of budget cuts.

Streets, buses and air

Not foundNot found in the sources we reviewed. That is a research gap, not a position.

The choices this office faces

Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Martin Ward is on record on 4, with 4 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.

No answer we could find
  • Restrict new AI data centers in the city?

    Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.

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

    Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.

  • Keep the monthly street repair fee?

    Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.

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

    Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.

On record
  • Public money and terms for renovating the Moda Center?

    Said: States flatly: no renovations on the Moda Center, none.

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

    Said: Would eliminate the Arts Tax, gas tax, lodging tax, heavy-vehicle tax, paid parking and the Clean Energy Fund, and restructure two others.

  • Hire more sworn officers, or invest first elsewhere?

    Said: Would increase police officers, install cameras at every intersection and buy non-lethal equipment.

  • Keep funding camp removals at current levels?

    Said: Says that until new shelters are built, people reported camping would return to their camp or a shelter as they prefer, then be moved into shelters; his page does not address current removal funding.

    On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.

Compare every candidate

Council votes

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

A question the evidence leaves open

What legally available city actions would implement these proposals, and what supports the claimed savings?

Sources (1)

  1. Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 55Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; reviewed September 18, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign. Publication by the county does not verify the claims.