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The November 2024 elections produced few surprises in Oregon races but many unanswered questions as to how federal, state and local policies will affect infrastructure construction, housing and a host of other issues that will shape bottom lines for the building industry.

Like many Portlanders, real estate insiders sought improvements in urban homelessness and public camping that they say has incurred substantial costs and scared off investment.

Here鈥檚 a look at what鈥檚 changed and what to look for:

A new Portland City Council

According to preliminary results late Thursday, the new 12-member Portland City Council will have a mix of progressives such as Mitch Green and Candace Avalos, and a more moderate group including Dan Ryan and Eric Zimmerman. The city鈥檚 next mayor will be Keith Wilson, a political newcomer who is CEO of Titan Freight Systems, a trucking company with an electric-powered fleet.

Voters responded to Wilson鈥檚 pledges to end public homelessness, said Ezra Hammer, a Jordan Ramis land use attorney.

鈥淜eith Wilson鈥檚 message really resonated with a lot of folks,鈥� Hammer said. 鈥淲hat we hear from our national and regional clients is Portland鈥檚 perception issue 鈥� driven by public camping, public use of drugs and property crime associated with that.鈥�

Perhaps Wilson鈥檚 most important task will be hiring a city manager who will run the city with the council鈥檚 direction.

鈥淚 hope everybody鈥檚 working together towards a common goal,鈥� said Greg Goodman, president of Downtown Development Group.

The council has in recent years passed a long list of measures meant to encourage housing production, from the Residential Infill Project to an ordinance enacted just last month that allows unlimited building heights downtown.

That鈥檚 likely to continue with newly elected councilors such as Zimmerman, who called for reducing the Portland Design Commission鈥檚 role. In an OPB questionnaire, Zimmerman wrote that the commission had 鈥�(stalled) housing projects based on subjective issues.鈥�

Business-backed candidates lose

Vadim Mozyrsky and Sam Adams, two candidates for Multnomah County commissioner who were backed by real estate interests, were defeated by Meghan Moyer and Shannon Singleton, respectively.

City commissioners who have been critical of the county鈥檚 management of the Joint Office of Homeless Services on Thursday pulled back an agenda item that would have ended the city鈥檚 participation, leaving the matter to next year鈥檚 Multnomah County Commission and Portland City Council to decide.

鈥淚f you look at the money that the Joint Office has spent to date, how effective has it been?鈥� Goodman said. 鈥淚 would say not very effective.鈥�

He added the county should have a 鈥減hilosophy of getting people off the street and getting them shelter and treatment, because there鈥檚 one thing for sure: leaving people on the street is to their detriment.鈥�

Looming tariffs

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to enact blanket tariffs of 10 percent to 20 percent on all imports, with higher rates on goods imported from China.

If carried out, additional tariffs could result in higher prices for a wide range of construction materials, from Canadian softwood lumber 鈥� key for homebuilding 鈥� to concrete, glass and steel used in large commercial buildings and asphalt binder used in roads.

鈥淎nything that contributes to further increased price of materials is never a good thing for the industry or the public, in our view,鈥� said Mike Salsgiver, executive director of the Associated General Contractors Oregon-Columbia chapter.

鈥淭ariffs should be a tool of last resort,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e would rather see the administration engage in full-throated trade negotiations.鈥�

Yet tariffs could be a boon to producers of domestically produced materials, such as Portland-based Timberlab, which is planning to construct a mass-timber manufacturing facility in Millersburg.

鈥淭hat is going to present renewed opportunity for local production, particularly around mass timber,鈥� Hammer said.

The local construction industry is also counting on continued federal support for Oregon鈥檚 mega-projects, including the multibillion-dollar Interstate Bridge replacement project and I-5 Rose Quarter improvement project, as well as the $900 million Burnside Bridge replacement project.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important for us to maintain the full federal commitment and invest in those projects as much as we can,鈥� Salsgiver said.

Democrats lock in Legislature

Oregon Democrats were on track to lock in a state Senate supermajority that will enable them to pass legislation on a party-line vote.

鈥淭he notion of getting a supermajority is of great concern to us,鈥� Salsgiver said. 鈥淭hat is never a good thing for the industry and the state, in our view.鈥�

Salsgiver cautioned that supermajorities can result in rushed legislation.

鈥淪ometimes bad things can just fly through without any checks,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur hope is the majority will reach out to the minority party and get to policies that we can all agree on.鈥�

Business supporters were pleased to see the resounding rejection of Measure 118, which would have greatly boosted corporate taxes and was backed by California-based donors.

鈥淭here was a collective sigh of relief around Measure 118 and the recognition that Oregon doesn鈥檛 have to be the petri dish for Californians to test harebrained political ideas,鈥� Hammer said.