Former Beaverton official Jenny Hariyama emphasizes legislative partnerships, equity lenses and targeted homelessness responses
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Summary
Jenny Hariyama, who described experience in Beaverton and regional partnerships, told Eugene council she relies on legislative strategy and coordinated IGAs to secure funding, uses an equity lens for CIP prioritization, and described outreach strategies that reduced visible encampments near a library.
Jenny Hariyama (identified in the meeting as Hariyama) told Eugene City Council on Jan. 13 that legislative relationships, intergovernmental agreements and targeted outreach are central to her approach to homelessness, climate and economic priorities.
Hariyama described Beaverton’s experience in negotiating intergovernmental agreements for supportive housing funded through Metro and said the city avoided using the general fund for one shelter project by pursuing state and federal capital grants. She told council a $2–3 million earmark was lost on one senior-housing project but was later replaced through an aggressive legislative strategy: “we aggressively went... to our representatives and designed a strategy around getting a capital construction grant through,” she said.
Asked about ALPR and vendor trust, Hariyama said her city chose different contract approaches (she noted Axon Technologies as an example) and emphasized vendor accountability and policy vetting: “making sure we are responsible where that information goes. We are responsible to protect our residents.” She highlighted translation and in‑field AI services available through some vendor platforms as potential benefits if accompanied by strong guardrails.
On homelessness, Hariyama described a focused outreach model with county partners that reduced visible encampments near a library by a large share through shelter placements, transitional housing and coordinated outreach and volunteer support. She told council the reduction was driven by partnerships and by aligning the outreach worker’s efforts with temporary housing options rather than simply distributing tents.
Hariyama described equity tools used in Beaverton including a CIP prioritization lens, a downtown equity strategy and a tenant-improvement program that directs roughly $500,000 annually into the downtown economy. She underscored listening and “belonging” programs to bring immigrant and refugee residents into government engagement.
On AI and related technologies, she said policies must make the tool an enhancement rather than a replacement for professional judgment, and that staff should retain accountability for accuracy. On workforce and culture, Hariyama emphasized listening sessions, office hours, and ‘‘work alongs’’ so managers understand frontline work before making change.
Hariyama closed by saying she is committed to deliberate prioritization: where community priorities conflict, the city must be transparent about tradeoffs and use structured engagement to surface public perspective. Council thanked her and moved to the final candidate.
No formal actions were taken during the Jan. 13 interview; council will consider next steps in an upcoming executive session.
