Recent Convenings:
Panel Conversation on Portland’s Historical Government Transition
PSU’s Institute for Metropolitan Studies (IMS) and Center for Urban Studies (CUS) were excited to host a panel discussion on the City of Portland’s upcoming government transition. This moderated discussion took place on Thursday, February 1st in the PSU Urban Center, and included a panel of PSU professors, City of Portland staff working on the transition, and a voter education expert.
- Moderator: Dr. Marisa Zapata, Co-Director of IMS & Director of HRAC, PSU Professor
- Dr. Melody Valdini, PSU Professor of Political Science
- Dr. Richard Clucas, PSU Professor of Political Science
- Leah Benson, Government Transition Advisory Committee
- Tate White, City of Portland Transition Team
- Grace Ramsey, Democracy Rising
About the Panelists
Dr. Melody E. Valdini is a professor of political science at Portland State University as well as the co-editor of the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy. Her research engages the consequences of institutional design, with a focus on electoral systems, political parties, women's leadership, and the regions of Latin America, Europe, and Russia. In 2023, she served on the Independent District Commission of the City of Portland, and she is currently the 2023/24 Fulbright-Schuman Distinguished Scholar at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
Dr. Richard A. Clucas is a Professor of Political Science in the Department of Politics and Global Affairs at Portland State University and the Executive Director of the Western Political Science Association, one of the nation’s largest political science associations. His expertise includes legislative politics, state government, and democratic reform. Among other works, he is co-editor of Governing Oregon, co-author of The Character of Democracy, editor of Readings and Cases in State and Local Politics, and author of Encyclopedia of American Political Reform. He was also the set editor for the encyclopedia series, About State Government.
Leah Benson is a member of the City of Portland’s Government Transition Advisory Committee, which provides community engagement and advice on issues related to the implementation of the voter-approved charter amendments. She is additionally the Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) Project Manager for Multnomah County where she oversees the implementation of RCV for the Elections Division.
Dr. Marisa Zapata is an Associate Professor of land-use planning and Director of the Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative at Portland State University. She received her Ph.D. in Regional Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, her M.U.P. in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and B.A. in anthropology from Rice University. As an educator, scholar, and planner, Dr. Zapata is committed to achieving spatially based social justice by preparing planners to act in the face of the uncertain and inequitable futures we face. She believes how we use land reflects our social and cultural values.
Grace Ramsey brings over 10 years of experience working on voter education campaigns across the country. She began her career as an organizer with FairVote Minnesota’s Rank Your Vote campaign, went on to become Deputy Director of Outreach at FairVote, and led voter education and organizing campaigns as a consultant with Democracy in Action before co-founding Democracy Rising in 2020. Over the course of her career, she has come to deeply understand and appreciate the power of community organizing. Grace has worked on campaigns to adopt or implement ranked choice voting in Alaska, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Oakland, Duluth, Maine, Santa Fe, Memphis, Las Cruces, New York City, Eastpointe, Albany, Palm Desert, Yakima, in 23 cities across the state of Utah, and in the 4 states (AK, KS, HI, and WY) where the Democratic party used ranked ballots for their 2020 presidential primaries.
Tate White (she/they) is a strategic projects manager with the office of the Chief Administrative Officer at the City of Portland, Oregon. In her role, Tate manages projects supporting a successful transition from the current commission form of government to a mayor-council form, as mandated by the voters for January 2025. Previously, Tate worked in collaboration with multiple bureaus as a senior planner for the Portland Parks & Recreation bureau and on public space initiatives and policy planning for City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Tate is an AICP and holds a M.A. in Community and Regional Planning from the University of British Columbia and a B.A. in Geography and International Studies from the University of Kentucky.