New Bureau Assignments
June 4, 2013
Yesterday, Mayor Charlie Hales reassigned the City’s bureaus among his Council colleagues.
Nick is now the Commissioner in Charge of the Portland Water Bureau and the Bureau of Environmental Services, as well as liaison to Venture Portland, Elders in Action, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
For the last five years, Nick had the honor to serve as Commissioner in Charge of Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) and the Portland Housing Bureau (PHB). We made a lot of progress with both bureaus.
Portland Parks & Recreation won the Gold Medal for excellence in park management in 2011, we strengthened public-private partnerships with programs like Summer Free for All, Gateway Green, Buckman Fields, and Harper’s Playground, we invested in parks in East Portland neighborhoods, created 1,000 new gardens, and expanded our Park Rangers program.
Working with our community partners, the Portland Housing Bureau made substantial progress during the worst recession in generations. Together we built the award-winning Bud Clark Commons and Gray’s Landing, launched the first-ever Fair Housing Action Plan to combat discrimination, preserved hundreds of federally-subsidized apartments for older adults and people with disabilities, streamlined the VASH voucher program for our veterans, reformed the Section 8 voucher program, developed the first Severe Weather Emergency Plan, secured millions in new funds for removing hazardous materials like lead paint from homes, and protected the Safety Net each year.
The new bureau assignments are effective today. Nick is proud of the work he has done with PP&R and PHB, and looks forward to the opportunities and challenges that come with his new assignments.