Steve’s Priorities

Steve is running to make progress - for District 3 and for all Portlanders. He has a track record of getting things done, and in a second term he will continue to fight for fiscal responsibility, public safety, livability, and small business. In a polarized Portland, Steve is a voice of common sense, pragmatism, and of course the occasional whimsy he is known for. If reelected by District 3 he will continue to prioritize sensible action over shortsighted policies and ideological conflicts.

Common Sense
Progressive Policies

Improved Livability

Leading On Community And Public Safety

Steve is working to make Portland safer and has long been a strong, consistent voice for investing in and improving public safety in Portland. He is Chair of the City Council’s Community and Public Safety Committee, where he has held hearings about numerous public safety topics such as:

  • Portland’s sanctuary city ordinance, which seeks to strengthen sanctuary laws and protections to oppose the federal overreach brought by the Trump administration.

  • Policy options for reducing gun violence, and the disproportionate impacts of gun violence.

  • Portland Street Response and other policy efforts that address the linkages between behavioral health crises and public safety.

  • Traffic safety efforts, including enforcement strategies.

  • Police response times and call prioritization.

  • Steve has succeeded in pushing the Police Bureau to dramatically increase their use of the “red flag law” to take guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves and others. Red flag laws, also known as “Extreme Risk Protective Orders” or ERPOs, provide a civil process to take guns away from people who are a danger to themselves or others. Portland Police’s Behavioral Health Unit had been trained in the law, but the BHU officers were largely dependent on patrol officers to identify and inform them of situations where using the law might be appropriate. He held a hearing in the Community and Public Safety Committee that highlighted the fact that other cities were using red flag laws much more often than Portland, generally because they had required intentional training for all police officers as well as offering education for the general public. 

    After Steve’s hearing, the Police Bureau’s BHU started teaching a one-hour, in-person ERPO class at in-service to every sworn member of the bureau. They predict all officers will be trained by December 2026.

  • When some councilors tried to slash more than $4 million in funding for the removal of the most hazardous homeless camps, Steve successfully protected the funding. Portland’s Impact Reduction Program cleans up homeless camps based on a set of criteria and risk assessments. For example, camps are prioritized for removal if there are public health hazards, if the camps are blocking critical public rights-of-way or ADA accessibility, or if they interfere with critical public infrastructure. Assessing the risk of individual camps helps to ensure public safety, including for people who live and work in the surrounding area as well as for people who are living in the camps.

  • Steve passed an ordinance strengthening the City’s “chronic nuisance” law, making it easier for police and the District Attorney to hold property owners accountable for allowing their property to be used as a base for drug dealing and sex trafficking. This legislation was prompted by complaints from families around McDaniel High School who see their teenagers walk through a gauntlet of sex trafficking to get to school. This gauntlet exists in part because some hotels turn a blind eye to the fact that their rooms are being used for trafficking. 

    Under the chronic nuisance law, the City can require property owners whose properties are being used as a base for illegal activity to take commonsense and reasonable steps like calling the police to report illegal activity, requiring customers to provide ID, and installing security lights and cameras. The law on the books wasn’t workable, and Steve’s ordinance strengthened it by allowing more time to document criminal activity on or near the property. The law doesn’t just apply to sex trafficking; for example, it could also be used to address drug dealing that is tolerated by a private business.

  • In a second term, Steve plans to push for the Police Bureau to prioritize adding more detectives to solve more crimes as they are adding more police officers. Many property crimes are connected to some form of organized crime; catching the people who are the organizers can significantly improve public safety. This is especially important since the Bureau’s investigative capacity has gone way down.

  • In a second term, Steve also plans to continue his efforts to enlist other cities to join Portland in using our market power to promote the development of “smart guns,” which can only be physically fired by the lawful owner. If a lot of cities announced that they want to buy smart guns for their police forces, the gun manufacturers would have a guaranteed market and will start making them.  And, if smart guns became a dominant type of gun in homes, it would drastically reduce youth suicides since 800 American kids a year shoot themselves with a parent’s gun.

Thriving Neighborhoods

Lifting Up The Spaces and Businesses That Make Portland Thrive

Small businesses matter. Portland independent businesses create jobs, support local suppliers, and reinvest profits back into our community. And, small businesses are often the heartbeat of Portland’s business districts. Steve is focused on removing barriers in city policy that have stymied small business growth and development. For example, he is working to remove silly regulations, like the permit requirement for a business to put a sandwich board out on the sidewalk. And he has opposed proposed cuts to services that preserve our public spaces by helping businesses remove graffiti and repair damage caused by vandalism.

  • Steve passed legislation to delete the absurd requirement that small businesses get a permit to put a simple sandwich board outside their doors. This requirement was, in effect, a discriminatory “time and money” tax on the few well-informed and especially conscientious business owners who actually followed the law. Steve’s legislation also transferred regulatory authority to the Portland Bureau of Transportation  to ensure rights-of-way remain accessible. Now, Steve is gearing up to eliminate the permit requirements for pool tables and pinball machines. He wants to hear from you at Vote@NovickForPortland.com if you know of an unnecessary and burdensome regulation that he should try to eliminate.

  • In 2016,Steve initiated Portland in the Streets, which included the reconfiguration of 2nd and 3rd streets downtown and Ankeny Alley. Since the pandemic, this program has grown and helped develop much-needed community hubs that often highlight great small businesses. These include public plazas as well as Safe Streets that make up much of our Greenways. He has also fended off cuts to the Portland Environmental Management Office which supports small businesses and neighborhoods in addressing their most acute issues, ensuring sidewalks and plazas remain clean and open for everyone.

  • Portland’s parks system is a crown jewel of our city. That’s one of the reasons Portland voters agreed to increase the Parks Levy last November to ensure we could continue to fully fund the parks and programming that Portlanders love. Steve was proud to support that effort, but also recognizes that the work is far from over.


    If reelected to a second term, the Parks Levy will be up for renewal at the end of Steve’s second term. He is already hard at work making sure that another increase is off the table. That includes examining parks funding model, digging into the staggering maintenance backlog, and considering how we can better leverage public-private partnerships and volunteerism for a more sustainable parks system.

    Keeping parks safe and accessible remains top of mind, that’s why he has featured the Parks Rangers in the Community and Public Safety Committee and contributed $230,000 to restoring the roofs of parks bathrooms.

  • Steve made it a priority to visit every neighborhood association and business district during his first term. The opportunity to connect directly with neighbors and business owners dedicating their time to improving their neighborhoods is incredibly valuable in understanding the boots on the ground issues and ideas for solutions.

    Steve also partnered with SE Uplift, the District Coalition for District 3, on a number of events, including budget townhalls that brought the conversation to the constituents, because not everyone can make it down to City Hall. If reelected he will continue to support improvements to the Neighborhood Program that taps into some of the things that make Portland so special - neighborhoods, main streets, and our civic pride.

Fiscal Responsibility

Ensuring City Council Is Responsible With Your Money

Steve is a voice of reason and pragmatism on City Council, especially when it comes to decisions about spending taxpayer dollars to deliver the quality government services that Portlanders need. This is especially important right now, with city budget deficits requiring decisions about what to cut. Steve looks for common sense efficiencies - without mortgaging Portland’s future for short term political wins.

  • One of the first things the new City Council did, over Steve’s objection, was increase their personal office budgets by $1.45 million apiece. This is twice as big as Denver City Councilors’ office budgets and three times that of City Councilors in Minneapolis. It’s hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the office budgets of City Councilors in Seattle. 

    While right sizing Portland’s Council office budgets wouldn’t solve all of the city’s future budget challenges, it would free up funding for important priorities. Steve will keep working to reduce budgets, and in the meantime he’s sent much of his own funds back to help balance the City budget and to pay for community needs like fixing park bathrooms.

  • This year, Steve voted against a proposal to increase the Arts Tax. Unfortunately, the proposal passed despite Steve’s no vote. While the changes make the tax somewhat less regressive by exempting very low income taxpayers, they also increase the tax by 43%, from $35 to $50. The changes also index the tax to inflation, so Portlanders will see even more regular increases in coming years.

    Steve is also working on ways to get rid of the tax, both difficult to collect and pay, without impacting what’s funded. If reelcted, he will continue that work and that will hopefully result in one fewer taxes for Portlanders to pay.

    Steve is also working on ways to get rid of the tax, both difficult to collect and pay, without impacting what’s funded. If reelcted, he will continue that work and that will hopefully result in one fewer taxes for Portlanders to pay.

  • Steve will only support using City funds to update the Moda Center if the City will make back its investment. When the City Council considered the term sheet this summer, he succeeded in passing an amendment designed to get us a deal where the city, over 20 years, will get back what it puts in. The term sheet is the starting bid of the City’s negotiations with the Blazers, and Steve thinks we’re in a strong position to drive a good deal for the city.

  • In last year’s budget Steve fought hard to restore life saving positions in both Police and Fire, as well as important money for police training. He has also been focused on increasing efficiency in call response structures,  so that the right personnel go to the right calls, freeing up officers to respond to higher priorities.

    In a second term, Steve plans to develop and advocate for a policy that would steer funds away from prison to public safety interventions that actually reduce crime long term. The public safety system - which is held in parts by the city, county, state, and federal governments - has a bizarre feature in that prosecutors have an unlimited budget for prisons. When the District Attorney sends someone to prison, the state must pay for that prison sentence - no questions asked. Anytime something is free, it is, by definition, overused. We know that prison is one of the least cost-effective ways to improve public safety, and it is often counterproductive. Steve is speaking with leaders across Oregon about this idea and plans to advocate for it during a second term on the City Council.

  • Steve strongly opposes any effort to divert Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) dollars from their voter-approved purpose of addressing climate change. He also sees an opportunity for PCEF to envision and invest in a robust climate-friendly transportation system for the city that includes transit, active transportation, and electric vehicles. To date, PCEF has spent most of its funds on projects that improve energy efficiency in buildings. While investments in buildings are good, the transportation system is one key to reducing climate-changing emissions. Steve will be pushing for a vigorous discussion about transportation as part of PCEF’s next Climate Investment Plan. 

A Brighter Future

It’s Time To Move Portland Forward.

Portland has had some challenging years, but Steve truly believes that better days are on the horizon and is working hard to reach them. He has the right experience and priorities to get there, and will continue to work with any of his colleagues interested in improving the circumstances of our City.

Portlanders are struggling with affordability, a high tax burden, cuts to services, and distrust in our civic institutions - not to mention a combative federal administration. We can’t count on anyone to come to our rescue, and so must be intentional in fostering the kind of progress Portland, and Portlanders, need.

  • Much has been made about Portland’s national reputation, and some of it for good reason. Portland was once a national and international leader in things like biking, climate policy, investment, and more. But while some our luster has waned in recent years many of the things that got us that reputation remain. The next four years will be critical in reminding the nation, the world, and even our regional partners that Portland has everything it takes to be a place worth investing in - that goes for families looking to live here, businesses thinking of moving here, and institutions considering betting on our success. These are things that Steve, and hopefully all of Council, will keep in mind while developing and voting on future policies.

  • City Council has some serious repair work to do - both internally and with its constituents. Portlanders are tired of 6 to 6 votes and petty disagreements. They look around their neighborhoods and see real world problems while their representatives struggle to move the ball forward. Steve is willing to work with his colleagues who come to the table in good faith looking for sensible solutions. He understands the importance and fragility of the moment, and is committed to delivering results.

    Half jokingly, Steve suggested the City Council have a semi-regular “airing of grievances” in reference to the classic Seinfeld / Festivus tradition. That concept seems more and more necessary as time goes on, and is something he will be bringing up again should he earn a second term.

Hear It Straight From Steve

Steve is known for putting a unique spin on the topic of the day through both obscure pop culture references and thought provoking analysis. Get that and more straight to your inbox by signing up for his mailing list.

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