Your 2 Cents Portland
The "Your 2 Cents Portland" campaign is a initiative petition and ballot measure campaign to bring participatory budgeting open to all residents to Portland by July 2028. The campaign proposes that residents have a direct voice and vote on how a 2% of the city's budget is spent.
Campaign Timeline (November 2026 Ballot) The campaign is currently in motion, aiming for the November 2026 ballot:
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Signature gathering is ongoing through June 2026.
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Ballot Qualification is targeted for July 2026.
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The Ballot Measure Campaign runs from July to November 2026.
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Implementation is planned from 2026–2029.
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Learn how you can help below and at your2centspdx.com
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Why Your 2 Cents Portland?
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Portlanders have advocated for PB for over a decade and City Council failed to act. Community advocacy culminated in a PB charter amendment developed and proposed by the Charter Commission proposed in 2023 which City Council ignored. Portland remains the last major west coast city to launch a municipal PB process and the current city budgeting process remains opaque and inaccessible to most residents. This continues to erode public trust in fiscal management and produce inequitable budget outcomes. Ordinary Portlanders have little say in how public funds are spent and budget decisions favors entrenched interests and their lobbyists. PB Oregon and Next Up initiated the campaign because we believe all Portlanders deserve greater voice and vote over how public funds are spent on their behalf. Ordinary Portlanders need a recurring way to exercise their power and advance their budget priorities. The goal the Your 2 Cents Portland campaign is to deliver on this promise.
The Initiative Petition to put Participatory Budgeting on the November 2026 Ballot
The Your 2 Cents Portland campaign aims to put charter-mandated PB on the November 2026 ballot. The charter amendment is based on similar charter reforms adopted by voters in New York City in 2018 and Boston in 2021. It would require the City to establish an annual or bi-annual PB process starting by July 2028 open to all residents- including youth and non-citizens who can’t vote in elections. Following policy innovations in Paris, all residents would be enfranchised by charter-mandate to participate in allocating the equivalent of at least 2% of the City's annual discretionary budget (~$16 million starting in FY28-29). The City Council would have flexibility in implementing the process but the charter amendment would permanently redistribute some budgeting power directly to residents.
PB is a proven mechanism for expanding democracy beyond elections, one practiced by thousands of municipalities worldwide and over a hundred in the U.S.. Both Metro and young people in East Portland have already piloted PB. That's why dozens of other organizations and community organizations have already endorsed the Your 2 Cents Portland campaign.
How can you help?
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You can help collect signatures! Request a signature gathering packet by emailing your request and your mailing address at info@your2centspdx.com.
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You can also volunteer in other ways such as tabling at events, hosting a house party, or helping an organization endorse the campaign.​
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Donate to the campaign! Every donation helps and build our movement and win in November 2026.​