PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan is the only Portland commissioner not running for mayor. He's running for City Council again in what is now District 2, representing North and Northeast Portland.

If he's reelected, he'll be the only current city commissioner to be a city councilor under Portland's new form of government.

Ryan is also one of the architects of the city's Safe Rest Villages, now called Temporary Alternative Shelter sites (TASS).

On this week's Eye on Northwest Politics, Commissioner Ryan discussed current business on the council and what we may be able to expect after the election.

Regarding why he chose not to run for mayor, Ryan said one reason revolves around his personal attachment to District 2, having grown up in the area. The other is to serve as a helpful guide to those entering the new, expanded city council, should he be elected.

"I've been on the council since 2020, definitely seems like it's been Portland's toughest time to serve," he said. "And I've learned a lot in those four years, so I wanted to bring some of that current institutional memory to help build the new city council."

Last week, Mayor Wheeler proposed a 5% budget cut across the board, stating he didn't want to pass that budget burden to the next city council. Despite this, Ryan noted the key budget priorities of homelessness, public safety and economic development which are still preserved. But another one is livability.

"Portland's a city, a top 25 city, and it's really because of livability," he said. "Families have come here for generations to raise their children and go to our public schools. People love our parks. They notice that right away. Our access to arts, it's a vibe."

He continued, "So we have to take care of that asset and continue to invest in that as well."

The city just opened its 10th homeless shelter site -- this one on North Portland road -- bringing the total number of shelter beds to 858. Ryan said that, though there has been apprehension about the building of these sites in certain neighborhoods, he believes "we're seeing some success."

"We're seeing close to 50% of those in the villages and task sites are in housing, as opposed to the 2-3% we've seen traditionally with the concrete shelters," he said. "So that's what's important. We're bringing services where the people are."

Ryan, as well as fellow city commissioners Mingus Mapps and Rene Gonzalez, have asked the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would withdraw the city from its Joint Office of Homeless Services contract with Multnomah County. Ryan stressed this stems from a need for clear roles and responsibilities when tackling the issue of homelessness, as well as improved measurements for success.

"The fact that there's some disagreements, that's also healthy. That's called democracy," he said. "We're going to stay at the table. There's no such thing as going away from the table. Some of us just think we can build a better table."

Despite there being upcoming changes to the role of city council, Ryan is excited for the opportunity to serve in a different way, should he be elected.

"I'm going from a current job, where a commissioner has some executive oversight, to a legislator and one thing's common for both, but this will give me more time to do it, and that is to be a constituent public servant," he said. "I'll have more time to be on the main streets of District 2, out in St. Johns, on Mississippi, over in the Alberta Arts District, in Alameda, up in the Beaumont area. My point is, I enjoy that. My job as a pubic servant is to really listen to what constituents are saying."

Watch the full interview in the video above.