Annual Meeting and Board Elections May 11th

We hope you will join us for our annual election and consider running for one of our open board positions. The meeting is going to be on May 11th at 7 p.m. at SE Uplift (3534 SE Main Street). No experience is required, and our fun and friendly board will help you figure things out right from the beginning. It’s a great way to get involved in your community and have a voice.

All residents within the Sunnyside neighborhood boundaries are eligible to run and vote (whether you rent or own is not relevant), as well as non-resident property owners. You can also run (and vote) if you are the sole designated representative of any businesses, nonprofit organization, school, or church in Sunnyside. This year we are looking to fill four two-year terms. Meetings are on the second Thursday of each month. Commitments vary depending on your interests and passions. 

Serving on the neighborhood association board can be rewarding and very educational. You will be among the first to know when things are changing in the neighborhood. If you would like to send in a brief candidate’s statement to post to our website and be made available at the election, please email us at [email protected].

Candidates’ Statements

Ignacio Simon
I moved to Portland from Boston in early 2022. My partner Eleanor and I initially picked Sunnyside because of its excellent location and accessibility to transit. We like to move around by foot, bike or bus and the neighborhood certainly makes this easy. The more time I spend here, the more I realize that I made the right choice. Sunnyside is friendly, safe, and, most importantly, filled with people that understand the need for all of us to work together to support and improve our neighborhood. 

Though I love living in Sunnyside, I also recognize that the neighborhood, like the city at-large, has its share of problems. As a renter, I am keenly aware of the housing/renting affordability crisis within our city. Many of us in Sunnyside feel precarious about our living situation and that’s more than the cause of a lot of stress; it threatens the very qualities that make Sunnyside a great place to live. The neighborhood’s sense of safety and community cannot survive if people are constantly priced out of settling down and building their lives here. Fundamentally, this is what the Sunnyside Land Use and Transportation Committee (which I now co-chair) believes and advocates for, and it is this message that I wish to amplify within the SNA as a board member.

Daniel Mandel
​My family and I have been in the Sunnyside neighborhood for about 7 years. There were no lack of draws. The neighborhood’s quirky sense of individuality, architecture, lush gardens, a diverse array of restaurants, bars, shopping, art and very friendly neighbors all cemented our love for the neighborhood and will likely keep us here for many years to come. Advocating for a community that is safe, resilient and welcoming to current and future residents is at the heart of what I do as Co-Chair of the Land Use & Transportation Committee. I intend to build on Sunnyside’s inclusive and independent spirit by encouraging more of our neighbors to have their voices heard so we can all get involved with the future of our awesome neighborhood. 

Mike Thelin
I fell in love with Sunnyside in the early 2000s when some friends and I rented a large flat across the street from the Triple Nickel, where we hosted open mics and music shows in our living room. That spirit of fun, creativity and collaboration has always been alive and well in this wonderful neighborhood, and I have always loved the diverse mix of people who call Sunnyside home—families, working artists, activists, and so many independent business owners. After living in North and Downtown Portland (and places further afield), my wife Winslett and I bought a house on SE 34th Avenue in 2018. Through my role as founder of Feast Portland, I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with many individuals in Portland’s food, beverage, and cultural communities. I believe that its unique spirit of individualism, heartfelt small businesses and nonprofits are what make Portland such a gem, and nowhere is that more apparent than in Sunnyside. 

Annual Meeting and Board Elections May 11th

We hope you will join us for our annual election and consider running for one of our open Board positions on May 11th, 7 p.m. at SE Uplift (3534 SE Main Street). No experience is required, and our fun and friendly Board will help you figure things out as you learn on the job. It’s a great way to get involved in your community and amplify our voice to other community groups, and local governments.

Anyone who lives in the Sunnyside neighborhood (our boundaries are 28th, 49th, Hawthorne and Stark) is eligible to run. This year we are looking to fill one- and two- year terms. Meetings are on the second Thursday of each month. Commitments vary depending on your interests and passions.

Serving on the neighborhood association board can be rewarding and very educational. You will be among the first to know when things are changing in the neighborhood and get to meet and work with all kinds of other committed neighbors and community advocates. If you would like to send in a brief candidate’s statement to post to our website and be made available at the election, please email us at [email protected].

Get to Know Your Neighbors – Ben Wyatt, Multnomah STEP Court Program Coordinator

Q&A with Ben Wyatt

Born in San Diego, Ben Wyatt grew up mostly in Salem and Jefferson, Oregon, before relocating to Dallas, Texas, at the age of 12. He returned to Oregon in his late 20s to be closer to his extended family after the tragic death of his mother and uncle in a plane crash. In 2020, he, his wife Petrina, and their then 11-year old son moved to a house in Sunnyside, where they’re happy to be setting down roots. Ben even joined the board of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association in 2021, where he is serving as Secretary. Trained as a mental health and substance use disorder therapist, he is now the Program Coordinator for Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt’s new STEP Court, which helps people convicted of a crime access behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment instead of receiving a lengthy prison sentence. 

How long have you been in Sunnyside and what brought you here?

Ben: My wife, son and I moved to Sunnyside in the summer of 2020, right at the height of the pandemic, from the Buckman neighborhood. We had a little condo and with two dogs, a cat and the three of us it just seemed little much for 700 square feet.

You moved to Dallas, Texas when you were 12. Dallas strikes me as stereotypically opposite from Portland. Would you say that’s true?

Ben: When I moved to Portland it was during the George W. Bush presidency and there was a lot of political tension. In Portland, whenever I told people I was from Dallas, they didn’t really talk to me. It was kind of hard to make friends at first. I was working at REI in Dallas—which is about the most liberal place you can work there. Then I transferred to an REI out here and people would find out I came from Dallas and they would … um …

They would judge you.

Ben: Yeah, they would judge me.

How did that manifest?

Ben: Here in Portland we recycle. In Dallas there wasn’t as big a focus on it. One time when I was working in an REI bike shop in Portland, I came back from lunch to see that my co-worker had all my garbage from lunch strewn out on the counter where he worked on bikes and he goes, “I know your mother just died, but that’s no excuse for not recycling.”

Wow … That is some Portlandia stuff right there.

Ben: I know, I was like, “Welcome to Portland.” 

Continue reading our Q&A with Ben Wyatt

Come to a Candidates Forum as part of SNA’s April 14th Meeting

Please join us on April 14th, 2022 at the Sunnyside United Methodist church (3520 SE Yamhill Street) for a discussion with Metro Council Seat #6 candidates Duncan Hwang and Terri Preeg Riggsby and City Commission candidates Jo Ann Hardesty, Vadim Myzorzsky and Rene Gonzales. This evening event, co-sponsored by SNA and Groves Church, will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. A discussion with Metro candidates begins at 7:30 p.m.; the discussion with City Council candidates starts at 8 p.m. (A brief neighborhood association meeting will take place immediately prior at 7 p.m.) We will be collecting written questions from the audience throughout the event and via our Zoom livestream. If you would like to submit a question beforehand, send an email to [email protected]. Please check back here for additional details and connection information.

Help us spread the word with this printable flier!

Join via Zoom:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85245621378?pwd=WnVhejVkOVJNM0tucHprZ3QxODJwQT09

SNA Volunteer Webmaster Request

Sunnyside Neighborhood Association is looking for a volunteer to help manage our WordPress-powered website. You would be responsible for basic content and administration only; no hosting, domain management, code editing or server interaction is required. You will be asked to create a few posts and pages per month including meeting minutes, agendas and committee information, and manage a Google Calendar. Newsletter articles are NOT part of this job and will continue to be handled by the NL team. Training and support, as necessary, can be provided by an experienced professional. This is a good opportunity to dip your toe in the civic waters, learn a little about websites, and meet some fun and interesting neighbors. If interested email [email protected] to learn more.