About Brian

In 2011 I moved to Portland, not sure if it would be my forever home, but sure it was the right place for me at the time. I’d just moved back to the United States from a year spent setting up a network of journalists from villages all across India. While we were driving across the country, the Arab Spring happened, and reinvigorated my dedication to help people tell their own stories, all over the world. In those first years, I spent a lot of time away from Portland, but whether I was spending weeks in Libya, the Western Balkans, or Zimbabwe, what kept me going was knowing Portland was here waiting for me.

In 2014, with support from my wife’s family and the proceeds from a lawsuit against the New York Police who assaulted me ten years earlier during the Republican National Convention, I became a homeowner in lovely Montavilla, one of District 3’s many great neighborhoods.

In 2017 I came home from a work trip to find my community in disarray. At the time my kid was attending ACCESS Academy, and for the first time in years, they felt at home, but the district had decided to put the school on the chopping block, as part of the reorganization of the school district. My decision was immediate, as soon as I recovered from jet lag, I jumped feet first into helping organize our community around the Save ACCESS campaign. This was my first time working as an activist and organizer in a long time, and it was extremely rewarding to have the opportunity to help my community fight for our children, and ultimately save ACCESS, a program that is unique in the district and fills a pressing need for many children.

That experience reminded me of the importance of community organizing and local politics. 

Fast-forward to 2020, and due to the pandemic I was no longer traveling to conflict zones and fragile states to teach storytelling, so when I saw the chaotic, disorganized, and dangerous way the Portland Police responded to those present at the protests, be they rioters, journalists, or moms, I saw an opportunity to use my unique skills as a journalist specialized in conflict areas. 

What I found was that the Portland Police were understaffed and overworked, and their leadership was asking for impossible goals, goals which, ultimately, exacerbated and extended the protests for months, seriously injured many Portlanders who were simply exercising their first amendment rights, wasting huge amounts of taxpayer dollars in lawsuits and Police overtime, while doing little to contain the protests.

During that time and since, our city government has failed us. A focus on appearing to do something has taken precedence over having hard conversations with those who live and work in Portland about the challenges we face. We need straight talk and proven solutions, and we need to make some hard choices about our budget priorities, and the risks that come with trying to build a city that’s safe, affordable, and welcoming to all who want to be part of our community.