A Look Back at Hales' Responses to Homelessness, Housing Affordability

As Mayor Hales' term is coming to an end, the Portland Mercury is taking a look back at how he has dealt with the issues of homelessness and housing affordability over the past few years. Although the Mayor started his tenure with a conservative policy of sweeps and arrests that did not have much effect on the underlying causes of homelessness, he signaled a shift in tone when he declared a housing state of emergency in the Fall of 2015. Many of the programs he launched have been controversial, and there is some debate about how successful he has been at reducing homelessness or improving affordability, but there is no denying that housing has been a defining issue of his administration. Read more.