Curious reader — 65 sources in 90 days
Also a writer — 6 original pieces this quarter
My last set of endorsements for Primary season. I didn't just leave the best for last. I left literally all the candidates for last. Judges, Metro, Oregon Reps, US Senate -- all the good stuff enclosed. Get your ballots in by Tuesday!
May 2026 Endorsements: All the Candidates
Brief briefs on every race
mortlandia.com
Should you pay the equivalent of a sandwich in property taxes to support the Oregon Historical Society (measure 26-261)? A good question! Here's my analysis.
May 2026 Endorsements: OHS Levy Renewal
History repeats itself
mortlandia.com
In advance of Tuesday's election, I interviewed a gubernatorial candidate who is very wooden, but somehow charismatic nonetheless.
Interview: PENCIL 4 GOVERNOR
Yes, in which I sit down with an actual write-in candidate for Oregon Governor
mortlandia.substack.com
I dropped my Measure 120 analysis before all the major papers so that it didn't color my opinion and because with Mortlandia you get quality *and* timeliness.
May 2026 Endorsements: Gas Tax
To pay, or not to pay, more for your gas during an oil supply shock
mortlandia.com
I'm not always a deregulation guy but tax day felt like a good one to flex that particular libertarian muscle.
Mortlandia wishes you a happy Tax Day
Musings on how to make a big state run a little better
open.substack.com
Have I shared this before? It's a silly side project I launched a month or so ago, tracking the lineal championship across a bunch of basketball and hockey leagues. Sportsball! Whimsy!!
Championship Belt Tracker | WNBA, NBA, NHL & PWHL
The lineal championship belt - every game is a title defense. Track WNBA, NBA, NHL, and PWHL belts.
whohasthebelt.com
The Oregon legislature is considering a bill to legalize autonomous cars (e.g. Waymo). Public testimony will occur on Monday! Is this a good idea? A bad one? Somewhere in between? I went DEEP on it. Come nerd out with me.
Autonomous Autos and Vision Zero
A look ahead to the future of transportation, if we let it happen.
mortlandia.com
Only one thing on the ballot this Fall for Portland. A Portland Parks levy. I waffled! It was a much closer call than I expected.
Parks on the ballot!
Do you love walkable, urban nature? Do you love property tax increases? Let's talk about it!
mortlandia.com
Welcome to PDX, Federal troops! Staying awhile? If so, here are some things I thought you could help with.
19 Ideas for Portland's Newest Occupants
Let's put America's finest to good use in our fair streets!
open.substack.com
New in Mortlandia! I dig in to the hottest trend in housing wonkery, and why you shouldn't expect Oregon to be out ahead on it anytime soon.
Did Oregon drop the ball on Single Stair Reform?
It's time to get nerdy about building codes
open.substack.com
Did you need another Portland mayoral endorsement in your life? I think you do because I wrote it.
Portland Mayoral Race Analysis & Endorsement
Navigating the Portland political Mapps
open.substack.com
Come for my analysis on City charter amendments, stay for my ranting and raving on the Multnomah County Soil and Water Conservation District.
City of Portland Ballot Measures
Plus: the most important decision you'll make this month
open.substack.com
My analysis of the Oregon ballot measures, with a couple controversial picks, I think? More race analysis to come later this week.
Oregon Ballot Measures, Nov. 2024
Democracy, fuck yeah
open.substack.com
It's election season in Portland! Check out my two parter, of local endorsements. Part 2: my actual endorsements for every major race
Primary Endorsements, part II
Your Primary Elections primer from Mortlandia, May 2024
mortlandia.substack.com
It's election season in Portland! Check out my two parter, of local endorsements. Part 1: how I go about choosing candidates
Primary Endorsements, part I
Your Primary Elections primer from Mortlandia, May 2024
mortlandia.substack.com
Two years ago I put together ~9 hours of Christmas music that I didn't find grating. Lots of the classics, lots of instrumentals, a decent amount of blues and jazz. None of the worst offenders (Santa Baby, Baby It's Cold Outside, Two Front Teeth) but still thoroughly Christmas-y. Maybe you like mine or maybe you like someone else's list or maybe you should make your own. Regardless, I find it way easier to get in the spirit when I don't hate the tunes and I bet you will too. An upfront cost to compile but it pays dividends over time. Best played on shuffle.
Christmas songs Mort doesn't hate
Christmas songs Mort doesn't hate
open.spotify.com
My monthly roundup of the most interesting Portland-related content for July. (I decided not to include the NYTimes article that everyone was talking about. There's better analysis out there...)
PDX links for July
City Council continues to suck + more
mortlandia.substack.com
Some of the most interesting news from Portland in the month of June.
by Brendan Mortimer 🇺🇸
Mosquitoes, bike bros, and stripper unions (plus the Lloyd Center is back?)
open.substack.com
Been traveling and forgot to Seabird. But hoping my link aggregation for Portland is still interesting.
by Brendan Mortimer 🇺🇸
A fare increase, a tire fire, and more.
mortlandia.substack.com
Link aggregation on a link aggregator. It's like inception for web content about Portland.
PDX Links for April
Exactly what it sounds like: local news aggregation
mortlandia.substack.com
Not new, but for my first post on Seabird I figure I should post the only piece of original work I have, no? Originally from Oct. 2022.
Charter Reform!
Should you vote for it? More than you'd ever want to know.
mortlandia.substack.com
