Join Better Portland members for a casual coffee meetup to connect with our community and support local businesses in the Portland area.

This month, we’re in Northeast Portland with City Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney. Representing District 2, she’ll be there to chat with you, answer questions, and share her priorities for the months ahead.

Soulful Sips
5261 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Portland, OR 97211

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Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney ran for office because she wants Portland to be a city where families stay, grow, and build a future. She lives in Portland's Concordia neighborhood with her wife and their two kids, who she can't imagine raising anywhere else.

Elana has spent her career standing up for working families – as a union organizer, a policy expert, and a fierce advocate for fair wages and strong workforce programs. She helped shape initiatives that prepare Oregonians for good-paying jobs and served on Governor Kate Brown's executive team, where she worked to build forward-thinking policies that support both people and the planet. Elana helped negotiate increases in the minimum wage, Oregon's Paid Family Leave policy, and increased energy-efficient housing codes. From expanding high-wage jobs and training opportunities to advocating for parks and recreation access, her work has always centered equity and justice. In 2022, she led the grassroots effort to pass Measure 114, Oregon's gun violence prevention initiative.

Elana was elected as a District 2 City Councilor in November 2024, and that January, was chosen by her colleagues to serve as the City's first Council President under Portland's new form of government.