For a century, political power in Portland has been concentrated in a select few neighborhoods comprising a tiny fraction of the city's overall geography.

Portland's boundaries and population expanded east.

Political representation did not.

Broken Promises

Portland power: The Series

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Portland's power axis

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Methodology

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Limited voting rights

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Geography of campaign donors

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The city that never happened

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Changing the political system

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Neighborhood inactivism

» Read the series, then

come back Aug. 4 for a live chat with Brad Schmidt on Broken Promises.

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Follow The Oregonian's series on the future of east Portland, looking closely at promises not kept.

We need your help. Do you live, work, study or own property east of 82nd Avenue? Tell us your story.

The reason? Unlike all but one other large American city, Portland has maintained a 101-year-old political system that does not ensure representation for newly annexed neighborhoods.

Critics say the resulting absence of a political voice for east Portland is one major reason why one-quarter of the city's population lacks in basic amenities that areas west of 82nd Avenue take for granted, ranging from adequate sidewalks to developed parks.

In a liberal bastion that values equity, Portland's form of government reinforces these profound geographic disparities. East Portlanders can't elect their own city commissioner, and they lack the electoral punch to kick out those who break promises made during obligatory campaign stops.

"There's a backlog of neglect," said Jo Ann Hardesty, a former state legislator who moved to east Portland in 2010. "And since no one currently serving on the City Council lives in this community, they don't feel the urgency."

Just one politician has ascended to the City Council from the neighborhoods east of 82nd Avenue in the three decades since annexation began. Compared with the rest of Portland, these areas are poorer, less educated, more Republican, more diverse, home to a higher percentage of immigrants who are not U.S. citizens.

And they don't vote.

An analysis of census and elections data by The Oregonian shows that compared to other residents, Portlanders living east of 82nd Avenue register to vote in smaller numbers, return ballots less frequently and contribute almost no money to political campaigns.

It's an equation that makes east Portland all but irrelevant politically.

"When people feel disenfranchised they're less enthusiastic about the people they could be electing to represent them, so why vote?" said Rep. Shemia Fagan, a Democrat who represents portions of east Portland.

"And then because they don't vote, perhaps they don't get as much attention from their government."

Lack of voting

Like a lot of east Portland residents, Timothy Freeman doesn't vote.

The 31-year-old can't name Portland's mayor or any of the four city commissioners. Freeman remembers being turned off by the 2000 presidential election and has chosen not to register.

"I just don't have faith in the system," he said.

Lakisha Crane, 29, is a registered voter, but she hasn't cast a ballot since the 2012 general election.

Crane, who lives with her two daughters in an apartment near Northeast 122nd Avenue and Halsey Street, said the City Council should focus on creating more jobs and opportunities in east Portland. Then, maybe, she'd pay attention.

"Give us a reason to vote," she said.

Freeman's and Crane's limited interest in voting helps illustrate east Portland's political void.

The Oregonian reviewed census data and voting statistics for 11 elections in even-numbered years since 2004, when voters elect presidents, governors, mayors and city commissioners. Compared with the rest of the city, giant disparities emerged:

Immigration is dramatically diluting east Portland's electorate. Today, east Portland is home to more than 123,000 residents who are old enough to vote. But 1 in 6 voting-aged residents is ineligible because he or she lacks U.S. citizenship, a rate nearly three times higher than in the rest of the city.

U.S. citizens in east Portland don't bother registering to vote. Of the residents who are eligible, 24 percent are unregistered, a rate 10 percentage points higher than in the rest of the city.

When east Portland residents do register, they're less likely to return ballots. In the 11 primary and general elections since 2004, east Portland's turnout lagged the rest of the city's by an average of 8 percentage points.

As a result, in any given election thousands of would-be voters from east Portland aren't participating.

With numbers like that, it's easy to understand why politicians don't fear the wrath of east Portland residents on Election Day.

"You have a lot of competing interests in the city," said Randy Leonard, a city commissioner from 2002 through 2012 and the only politician to join the City Council while living in east Portland.

"You're going to give as much attention as you can to those who you think are going to hold you accountable at the ballot box," he said. "And if you don't vote, there's a lack of accountability."

No representation

Neighborhoods east of 82nd Avenue lack something just as meaningful as voting clout: a political system that ensures geographic diversity on the City Council.

Among America's 50 most populous cities, only Portland and Columbus, Ohio, still elect city council members exclusively through at-large elections. Everyone else designates at least some seats based on geographic districts or wards. Detroit made the switch last year; Austin will in November; Seattle launches district elections in 2015.

"The one thing about districts is it ensures representation" even without significant voter turnout, said James Svara, an Arizona State University professor who specializes in governance.

Why no district representation here?

Because Portland remains the last big city in the country with a commission form of government. City Council members serve both as legislators and as department executives, each assigned by the mayor to head city bureaus responsible for services such as roads or sewers or parks. The city charter that voters adopted in 1913 determined that Portland's mayor and four commissioners should be elected citywide for this reason.

Across the United States, political systems for large cities place city councilors in the role of legislators who become acutely familiar with issues within individual districts. The mayor or city manager alone handles administrative duties.

"It seems like every other city determined long ago that that's the best way to do things," said Paul Gronke, a Reed College political science professor and political research director for polling firm DHM Research. "Except Portland."

Portland's existing governance structure, which has withstood eight ballot campaigns to change it, produces inequitable results.

The Oregonian compiled records for the 49 Portlanders who have served on the City Council since 1913, noting the home address listed the year they first took office. The historic footprint of the city's elected leadership more closely resembles the Portland of a century ago, not of today.

The majority, 25, lived in the area bounded by: the current Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; Northeast Alberta Street; 47th Avenue; and Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard.

In a city now 133 square miles in size, more than half of its policymakers have come from a corridor spanning 7 square miles.

Only two candidates have ascended to the council while living east of 47th Avenue. Only one, Leonard, came from the 38 square miles east of 82nd Avenue.

Electing city council members from districts would give east Portland a voice, said Frieda Christopher, a board member for the David Douglas School District since 1991.

"We have felt that if we had someone on City Council just representing that area," she said, "we'd at least have someone who knew the area and spoke in our favor."

Victories are hard fought

East Portland leaders have notched some victories, but it hasn't been easy.

The city worked with neighborhood activists five years ago to create the East Portland Action Plan, a list of 268 potential improvements that became a unifying force drawing 45 to 65 community members to monthly meetings.

"We don't necessarily kick people in the shins," said Arlene Kimura, who co-chairs the group advocating for the plan. "But we do tap them strongly on the shoulder and say, 'Excuse me.'"

State legislators from east Portland have helped.

Fagan, the House member representing east Portland, secured $3.6 million in state money last year to build sidewalks along Southeast 136th Avenue where a 5-year-old girl was fatally struck by a sport utility vehicle.

This year, Fagan and Rep. Jessica Vega Pederson, a Democrat from east Portland, earmarked $1.9 million for 18 safer crossings east of 82nd Avenue.

Portland Mayor Charlie Hales balked at a similar request from Commissioner Steve Novick to spend $1 million for pedestrian safety projects in east Portland.

"If the city doesn't feel like it has the right method of doing that right now, we're going to work as hard as we can to find a solution," Vega Pederson said.

City commissioners also have paid renewed attention to east Portland in recent years.

Amanda Fritz, from Southwest Portland, steered funding to build two new parks, and Nick Fish from close-in Northeast secured money for basic parks improvements. Dan Saltzman, from Hillsdale on the westside, championed a domestic violence center. Novick, from the Multnomah neighborhood in Southwest, assigned an employee as an east Portland liaison.

Still, those efforts aren't quite the same as having someone who understands the concerns because they live in the area.

Leonard, the former commissioner from east Portland, said he could recall a handful of times when his place of residence affected his vote. Among those was a 2011 plan to allow food waste to be temporarily held in Lents, which Leonard opposed.

"It felt more like I was geographically in tune with that issue than my colleagues," Leonard said.

During that City Council hearing, Fish – who lives in the city's historic power core – noted that he actually visited the proposed site in east Portland. Leonard quipped that he passed it twice a day.

"I'm just curious," Leonard asked, "did you need a map to get to Lents?"

East Portland residents in the audience booed. The City Council approved the plan, 4-1.

-- Brad Schmidt

-- Mark Friesen of The Oregonian contributed to this report