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Andra VItavín

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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Andra VItavín
Image of Andra VItavín

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Weber High School

Bachelor's

University of Utah, 2014

Personal
Birthplace
Baker City, Ore.
Religion
Eclectic
Profession
Activist
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Andra VItavín ran for election to the Portland City Council to represent District 4 in Oregon. VItavín lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

VItavín completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Andra VItavín was born in Baker City, Oregon. VItavín earned a high school diploma from Weber High School and a bachelor's degree from the University of Utah in 2014. Her career experience includes working as an activist, co-op director, and nonprofit founder. As of 2024, VItavín was affiliated with 350 PDX, Extinction Rebellion PDX, Portland Mutual Aid Network, and Portland's Neighborhood Emergency Teams.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: City elections in Portland, Oregon (2024)

General election

General election for Portland City Council District 4

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Olivia Clark in round 7 , Mitch Green in round 29 , and Eric Zimmerman in round 31 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 76,718
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

To view VItavín's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for VItavín in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Andra VItavín completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by VItavín's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Andra Vltavín (they/them), running for City Council in District 4, co-founded an eco-friendly cooperative as well as a local nonprofit here in Portland. Coming also from a background in climate activism, they have been mobilizing their community to urge change regarding the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub. Having volunteered with the Portland Mutual Aid Network, Columbia River Correctional Facility, and Portland’s neighborhood emergency teams, they have a firsthand look at the crises Portland faces. They will bring previous experience in class action lawsuit documentation and creative reuse strategies to local government.
  • As a climate activist and community organizer, I have helped mobilize for risk bonding, earthquake reinforcement, climate adaptation taxes, and ultimately the phasing out of fossil fuels at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub in Northwest Portland. That six-mile stretch of oil tanks puts Portland at risk of causing the biggest oil spill in US history, and the explosive oil trains run daily through residential neighborhoods are dangerous. It is the responsibility of the City Council to manage and restrict hazardous materials, and the current council has decided to prioritize dangerous industry over the health of our citizens. As a city official, I will advocate powerfully for the council to revoke the land use permit for Zenith Energy.
  • We need a thoughtful and empathetic response to the housing crisis in Portland. As someone who is doing direct mutual aid to the unhoused population downtown, I am listening firsthand to what the folx living on the street need from the city. What I have learned is that we cannot force a one-size-fits-all solution. Rather than implementing expensive sweeps and jail time, we need case managers who can assess the needs of each individual and connect with with cultural specific and trustworthy services.
  • Our law enforcement strategies in this city have left many people feeling distrustful and even downright traumatized. We need an expanded Portland Street Response with comparable authority to the Police and Fire Bureaus to empathetically address people who are in crisis. Too many people are triggered at the mere sight of a police uniform, and we need to work as a community to deescalate and approach "crime" as a health problem rather than a reason for punishment and suspicion.
Climate justice

Harm reduction
Degrowth
Resilient infrastructure
Steamlined zoning/permitting
Commercial conversions to residential living centers
Bike/pedestrian infrastructure
Shade equity

Preventing freeway expansion
The City Council is responsible for policy and infrastructure in the city, which is going to be crucial in an age of worsening climate disasters. The City Council must exercise their power over hazardous materials to protect from the deaths and environmental hazards that would result from a critical failure at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub.
Nancy Hiser from Tank the Tanks -- She is an excellent community organizer and has done so much work to educate the public on the issues at the CEI Hub.

Adrienne Marie Brown -- Her books have taught me how to experience rest and pleasure in activism.

Octavia Butler -- She is a visionary, and I love every single one of her books.
I have a list of influential books listed at the bottom of this webpage here: https://www.andraforportland.com/core-values
Empathy, willingness to stand up for policies that are not politically convenient, ability to listen to and engage the community, willingness to admit when you have made a mistake.
Non-violent communication strategies

Deep empathy
Community mobilization
Leadership in a local co-operative and non-profit
Creative reuse strategies

Class action lawsuit documentation
We need to create a collaborative environment where getting work done is possible at the council level and also when working with other government officials at the county, state, and federal levels.
The City Council has the power to lobby other government officials and should do so when their citizens support broader measures. For instance, the City Council can and should call for a ceasefire and arms embargo on behalf of the people in Palestine. This has far-reaching constituent support.
Yes and no. I think it is important to have a mixture of experience and fresh eyes. This allows for more novel and creative solutions to complex issues. Additionally, if we prioritize experience, then we may incidentally prevent younger perspectives from having representation on the council. I would like to see more intergenerationality in our government.
Nancy Hiser, a community organizer in the Linnton neighborhood, has endorsed my campaign.

Overall, because I have chosen to run a very low-budget campaign and have asked people to donate to local charities instead of donating to me, I have been disqualified from many organizational endorsements that have campaign funding requirements.

Additionally, much of my work has been in non-profit spaces, which are not allowed to endorse candidates.
We need to make the budget as easy as possible for the public to understand, and everything the government does should be transparent and accountable to the public. The council also needs to respect the will of the voters and not change measures and policies once the public has voted on them.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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External links

Candidate

Portland City Council District 4
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 1, 2024
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