How to Testify Before City Council Meetings

You can communicate with City Council by giving in-person testimony, virtual testimony, or written testimony. Carefully follow the directions here to register for in-person or virtual testimony or to submit written testimony.  

Oral testimony should be no longer than 2 minutes

We suggest limiting written testimony to 1 page.

In addition, you may also deliver a 2-minute oral comment on a topic of your choice in the “Communications” segment of Portland City Council’s weekly meetings. The “communications” segment is the first item of each meeting, which begins at 9:30 a.m. The deadline for requesting a slot is noon on Tuesday for an available spot at the following week’s meeting. For example, to provide a “communication” at a March 9 meeting, submit your request to testify by noon on Tuesday March 1: fill out your request to the Council Clerk here. Make sure to include your name, address, phone number, and a brief description of the subject you’ll be addressing. Note that a total of five communications are scheduled per week, and requesters are limited to one scheduled communication per calendar month.

For more information read here.  

Can't attend the hearing?

Watch it live at https://www.portlandoregon.gov/28258.

Want to watch it after the fact? Do that here.

Contact your City Commissioners today! As of January 2025, we have a 12-member City Council representing 4 districts:

District 1: Candace Avalos , Loretta Smith, and Jamie Dunphy

District 2: Sameer Kanal, Elana Pirtle-Guiney, and Dan Ryan

District 3: Tiffany Koyama Lane, Angelita Morillo, and Steve Novick

District 4: Olivia Clark, Mitch Green, and Eric Zimmerman