Tualatin's two mayoral candidates agree the city faces big challenges on traffic and housing but differ sharply on what matters most.

Council President Valerie Pratt and Councilor Octavio Gonzalez, both sitting members of the Tualatin City Council, laid out their priorities in a Valley Times Q&A published Friday, Sept. 25. Ballots mail Wednesday, Oct. 14 for the Nov. 3 election to replace Mayor Frank Bubenik, who is term-limited after eight years as mayor and eight on the council.

It is Tualatin's only contested race.

The biggest issue

Gonzalez, first elected to the council in 2022, named the rising cost of local government as Tualatin's top problem. He said he has consistently pushed back against increasing the financial burden on residents and called for asking what is essential and what the city can afford before adding new programs, taxes or fees.

Pratt, council president since 2022 and a certified public accountant, pointed to housing affordability. She cited the city's housing needs assessment, saying the median Tualatin household can afford a $320,000 home while the median home price is $640,000. She said more than 50 percent of households are cost-burdened by rent.

Those housing figures come from Pratt's Q&A response; the underlying assessment was not independently reviewed.

Traffic

Both candidates called traffic congestion a major quality-of-life concern, but they proposed different fixes.

Pratt said she would prioritize updating the software that manages the city's traffic signal system. She also noted the council is exploring options to reduce congestion at the at-grade rail crossing near Boones Ferry Road and Tualatin-Sherwood Road.

Gonzalez said no single project will solve the problem and called for working with regional and state transportation partners. He emphasized weighing the traffic impacts of future development and protecting neighborhoods from cut-through traffic.

Downtown revitalization

The city's downtown revitalization project covers about 300 acres around the Lake of the Commons. Phase Three, a community design master plan backed by a $740,000 Metro grant, began in September 2026 and runs through March 2028. The council on Sept. 14 hired two firms to lead the next design phases, with Riverfront Park construction expected to start in 2029.

Pratt said the top focus should be expanding housing and retail near the Lake of the Commons. She envisioned a large multi-story building at the corner of Boones Ferry Road and Tualatin-Sherwood Road and a clear route connecting the new Riverfront Park to downtown.

Gonzalez said he wants to concentrate first on infrastructure, pedestrian safety and helping existing businesses succeed. "Before adding major new projects, I want to understand the cost, how they would be funded and the long-term maintenance responsibility," he said in the Q&A.

Who they are

Gonzalez has worked at Pacific Landscape Management since 2017 and previously served nine years on the Tigard-Tualatin School District Budget Committee. He became a U.S. citizen seven years ago and said his community involvement started as the "crosswalk dad" at Bridgeport Elementary.

Pratt has lived in Tualatin for 32 years. She holds a bachelor's degree in business-accounting from Portland State University and serves as CFO at WJR II, LLC. She is also president of the Tualatin Police Foundation.

Ballots mail Wednesday, Oct. 14. No candidate forum or debate has been announced before that date.