I’m Tony Morse. I’m a father, former attorney, and a former small business owner. I’ve worked hard to make sure our friends, family members, and neighbors struggling with addiction get the help they need to recover, and I believe our city council needs an expert in addiction and recovery policy to help Portland solve the unprecedented addiction crisis in our community.
I’m running for Portland City Council because I see our city struggling. Our community is asking for help, and sometimes, it feels like no one is listening. I owned a small business helping people find their first homes, and right now, it seems like working people can’t afford to live in Portland anymore. As a parent, I routinely talk to people who are concerned about our city being a safe place for their children to grow, play, and attend school. And, like every Portlander, I see people living on our streets suffering from mental health crises and battling drug addiction.
I want to do my part to help Portland recover from all of these challenges, and to see our neighborhoods get the help they need. And I know what it means to ask for help.
Anyone who has, like me, been in long-term recovery knows that it is a lifelong journey. I have been in recovery for years, but I will never forget when my mom told me that my wife was on the verge of leaving me. I knew then that I needed help, and in my work as a recovery advocate, I learned there are many other people who are struggling with the same feelings of guilt and shame. I was on track for a future I didn’t want, but recovery offered a pathway to the one I did. And it’s a path I’m still happy to walk today.
Too many people in Portland today are suffering from those same feelings, but our city can help. Too many people are wondering if every conversation they have with a loved one facing addiction might be their last, but it doesn’t have to be that way. And while our compassionate community has paid millions of dollars in taxes to address mental health and addiction services needs, our city government seems consistently unprepared for the scope and scale of the problems we’re facing. I’m ready to help fix that.
I know the addiction crisis isn’t the only problem facing our community. But those same feelings of shame and guilt are weighing down too many of our fellow Portlanders. Working parents are worried that they might not be able to keep affording to live in the communities where their kids go to school. City residents are embarrassed by the trash on the streets in their neighborhood. And business owners feel guilty about letting down their employees should they have to close their doors.
Our community has an abundance of compassion and expertise, and we have the resources to ensure that no struggling Portlander should feel alone or without help. But time and time again, the approach of city leadership has been too little and too late. I’m running for Portland City Council because our new form of city government offers a chance for us to change how we confront challenges, and provides an opportunity to start solving our problems earlier and more directly. Changing how we run our city won’t be easy, but you can’t finish solving problems if you never start.
Election day is a long way away, and I look forward to connecting with neighbors and local leaders across District 4. If you have a question or concern about our city, please reach out at [email protected]. In the coming months, I will be rolling out policy plans for critical issues like housing, homelessness, and livability as a way to connect with our community. In the meantime, please take a look at the leaders and organizations that have chosen to endorse my campaign.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time, and thank you so much to everyone who chooses to support my campaign as a volunteer or with a donation.
Sincerely,
Tony Morse
Tony Morse is a former attorney and former small business owner who has worked as an advocate for Oregonians experiencing addiction. Tony has done extensive work in the Legislature to help improve recovery resources for those who need them most. He played a key role in passing the 2023 Fentanyl Education Bill to help protect our kids from the dangers of the Fentanyl crisis, and successfully advocated in support of recovery school legislation to create more safe learning environments for students who struggle with addiction. His expertise as an advocate in the Legislature will help him navigate our new form of city government, and deliver the results that our communities need.
After a legal career and running a small business helping people find their first home, Tony felt moved by national attacks on reproductive healthcare rights to shift his focus away from his business and helped elect champions for reproductive justice up and down the ballot in Oregon. As a policy advocate in the State Legislature, Tony has seen up close how government does and does not help Portlanders in crisis.
A former union member, Tony is honored to be supported by local union tradespeople, and he understands that working people are being priced out of Portland.
Tony and his wife, Erin, live in the Woodstock neighborhood in SE Portland with their daughter, Nora, son, James, and two cats, Oscar and Henry.
