Portland's current form of government was approved by voters in a 2022 ballot measure, with the first elections under the new system held in 2024.

The Mayor and City Auditor are elected at-large using the instant runoff ranked-choice voting method.

Two candidates availed themselves of this system in 2006: incumbent Erik Sten, who won the primary election, and Amanda Fritz, who lost out to incumbent Dan Saltzman but won a seat two years later (utilizing publicly financed election money).

These offices provide support and technical assistance to the volunteer-based neighborhood associations, community groups and individual activists.

[23] As of 2022, Portland also provides tax-payer funded universal preschool, after voters approved a city measure in 2020.

[24] The city runs a number of bureaus focused on housing, development, and programs to address homelessness.

[26] In September 2020, frustrated by tents downtown, Mayor Wheeler expressed the intent to withdraw the City of Portland from its partnership with county on JOHS.

[28] Partially using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Joint Office of Homeless Services uses city-owned land to site Safe Rest Villages, which are managed temporary housing that augments the homeless shelter system.

The database was to prioritize cleanup based on "biohazards, garbage and other factors, such as whether campers are aggressive or openly using drugs".

The Oregonian summarized that the auditors found little evidence prioritization was occurring and no clear indication of what criteria were invoked in selecting which camps are to be removed or not removed and auditors documented the city often ignored hundreds of complaints made by residents.

The newspaper commented "That non-response doesn’t comport with the crackdown on illegal camping instituted by Mayor Ted Wheeler earlier in his term."

The audit conducted in summer and fall of 2018 reported that the city needed to improve communications to illegal campers as well as complainants.