The Portland Metro Chamber gave the city its scariest phrase, and the groups funding the committees behind these candidates keep telling the same story of decline. Even Mayor Wilson pushed back, urging "boom loop thinking" WWeek.
an urban doom loop
We are in an economic emergency.
…whether we move forward or spiral further into decline.
Partnership for Progress's newsletters have featured what the Mercury calls "satirical, AI-generated images that spin narratives of Portland in decline" (Mercury).
Down by half from the 2022 peak, and still falling in 2026
Homicides 101 in 2022 → 52 in 2025.
Car thefts down about two-thirds from the 2022 peak. PPB
Downtown foot traffic 81% of 2019 levels in August 2026, the best month since 2020, according to Placer.ai data in a Downtown Portland Clean & Safe report. Axios
Population edged up in 2025 (+0.2%), though it's still below 2020. OPB
Overdose deaths in Oregon down about 25% last year. Axios
Empty offices about a third of downtown office space is vacant (34.7%, CBRE, late 2025); the national rate is about 20% (Cushman & Wakefield). Axios · IREI
Jobs one of only two big U.S. metros to lose jobs in the year to June 2026, across the whole region, not just the city. BLS
Housing permits sharply down. OPB
Homelessness the county's one-night count rose 67% from 2023 to 2025. Better counting explains much of that, but the number likely didn't fall. KATU · WWeek
Those are real problems to solve. They aren't proof that Portland is failing, and they aren't an argument for handing the city to the people selling the doom.
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