Councilor Will Anderson

First Election: May 21, 2024
Term Expires: December 31, 2024

Growing up in Central Oregon, Will Anderson came to love Oregon’s open spaces from a young age. His parents were involved members of the community, his dad taught elementary school special education and his mom worked as an accountant. Growing up in a union household, Will learned the importance of collective action and the value of working at the community level to improve working people’s lives. Will would go on to earn his bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University before returning to Oregon to work in the public sector. 

Upon returning to Oregon, Will spent multiple campaign cycles working to elect Democrats to the state legislature to help defend our right to abortion access, protect our environment, and fight for economic justice for working-class Oregonians. He came to Milwaukie while working for former State Representative Karin Power, who represented Milwaukie in the legislature. Working in her office, Will quickly fell in love with our town’s bikeable streets, summer concerts, food carts, and charming downtown. 

In 2022, Will was appointed by Governor Kate Brown to Oregon’s Transportation Safety Committee, a statewide board tasked with improving safety across all modes of transportation. The committee oversees a $40 million budget and is responsible for distributing grants to partners engaged in safety interventions. During Will’s tenure on the committee, he helped pass a revised Transportation Safety Action Plan (TSAP), a comprehensive plan that provides long-term goals, policies, strategies, and near-term actions to achieve Vision Zero and eliminate deaths and life-changing injuries on Oregon's transportation system. 

As your councilor, Will has made the following policies his priority in his first term in office: 

Keeping Milwaukie Affordable for All Families
As Milwaukie grows, we can’t just grow bigger, we have to grow better. That means providing incentives to build affordable, mixed-use housing and reducing the red tape preventing smart growth. No one should be priced out of their own home. 

Promoting Fiscal Stability and a Balanced Budget
The foundation of any successful city is a stable budget. State-imposed constraints on local tax revenue have created a looming budget shortfall for Milwaukie. We must restructure our tax base to ensure working-class families can afford to live in our city. Without responsible budget action, our city won’t be able to pay for basic services like road maintenance and local police.

Developing Neighborhood Hubs Across the City
The idea for Neighborhood Hubs was developed by Milwaukie community members during the city’s Community Vision and Action Plan process. Neighborhood Hubs are intended to provide gathering places where neighbors have access to local shops and services within walking distance of their homes. Will supports empowering neighborhood choice when it comes to choosing where and when hubs will be developed as well as providing economic support to new businesses in these hubs.

Building a Safe and Accessible Transportation Network
Statewide, transportation accounts for 30% of our emissions, so encouraging people to walk and bike is important to meet our climate goals. Yet people won’t opt out of driving unless they feel safe on our streets. Investing in safety improvements through programs like city's Safe Access for Everyone (SAFE) will allow for the construction of more separated bike lanes, walking paths, and sidewalks across the city.

As a growing city, Milwaukie faces myriad challenges. Will is dedicated to tackling these issues head-on, with an understanding that real change comes not from one councilor, but from the entire community. Will believes that a bright future is in store for Milwaukie, and he would like to hear your vision for where we can go next. He encourages you to reach out by phone or email with any questions, concerns, or suggestions you might have.

Will lives in the Lake Road neighborhood. Outside of his work and volunteering, you can spot Will biking around town, backpacking in Oregon’s great preserved natural spaces, or gardening in his backyard.

Contact
o: 503.786.7510
c: 541.480.9204
andersonw@milwaukieoregon.gov