MAYOR
REMY DRABKIN
MAYOR REMY DRABKIN Remy was born and raised in McMinnville, she is a small business owner, public servant, and non-profit leader. Remy is deeply rooted in McMinnville; she began working in the wine industry when she was just 14 years old. In 2006, Remy started Remy Wines, and since its inception, Remy Wines has been committed to making great wines in a climate friendly environment and showcasing the best that the Willamette Valley has to offer.
In 2022, Remy became Mayor Drabkin, first through a unanimous appointment when the former mayor resigned, Remy then won by election the following November. As Mayor Remy has worked tirelessly to address McMinville’s most pressing challenges, from building more housing, to increasing economic opportunities and strengthening government accountability. She has invited and hosted round tables on economic development, housing and child care. Remy has worked hard to knit together her community and built bridges between Councilors and organizations that found themselves at odds.
Before becoming Mayor, Remy served two terms on the McMinnville Planning Commission, starting in 2011. She then served two terms on City Council, one term as Council President.
She also served on the boards of Visit McMinnville, McMinnville Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee and most notably the McMinnville Affordable Housing Commission. During her time on Council, Remy was appointed by Governor Kate Brown as a Director on the Oregon Wine Board.
Mayor Remy is often described as tenacious, and this is an accurate term for someone like Remy who is driven to effective public policy as a non-partisan representative focused on good governance.
Remy is a graduate of Linfield College and a Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In addition to her public service with the City of McMinnville, Remy sits on the board of Wine Country Pride, a 501(c)3.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
As Mayor, Remy is leveraging her vast experience to continue delivering results for McMinnville, by tackling the dynamic changes of McMinnville and ensuring the resilience of the city budget to confront McMinville’s challenges and weather additional storms. Remy is relentless in tackling the root causes of McMinville’s most pressing challenges by building more housing, and strengthening the local economy and making the government work more efficiently and equitably.
HOUSING
Throughout her tenure in City Hall, Remy has championed expanding opportunities for people to live and work in MAC. As a near lifetime resident of McMinnville and small business owner, she is intimately aware that the extremely high cost of living makes homeownership unattainable for much of the local community. Small and large businesses alike continue to struggle to hire staff due to housing shortages.
While on the City Council, Mayor Drabkin pioneered the McMinnville Affordable Housing Commission (MAHC), through incredibly hard work MHAC..
Secured 2.1 Million dollars to have dedicated resources to address housing issues, such as a 36 bed Navigation Center that is set to open in summer of 2024.
Reformed policy and eliminated restrictive code regulations to make housing available for those earning 0 - 120% of the Median Family income.
As Mayor, Remy has used her position to build partnerships with state and local partners to raise money and unlock existing housing for almost 500 units of new housing:
Affordable Housing: -Remy Raised 7 million dollars to help fund the Stratus Village construction project which will bring 179 units which is the first housing authority project for low-income renters in over 20 years.
Workforce Housing - Mayor Remy worked closely with Representative Elmer to draft and pass HB 4134 Housing Oregon’s Workforce. This plan unlocked over 290 lots in McMinnville that were approved for development in 2007 and brought over $2 million in resources to the City for infrastructure improvements that will go toward housing for teachers and firefighters. This legislation passed the Oregon State legislature unanimously.
Safe Parking: Developed a Safe Overnight Parking Program in conjunction with a street use ordinance that has provided thousands of nights of overnight shelter while keeping people experiencing homelessness off our streets
Transitional Housing: Mayor Remy Resourced funding and drove development of a moteling program at the start of the pandemic, this eventually became Project Turnkey, a transitional shelter with up to 45 rooms operated in McMinnville.
Equitable Design: Mayor Remy is currently developing resources through Mayors Institute on City Design and Harvard Graduate School of Design to inform equitable practices in the development of future City planning projects.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
As a local Entrepreneur Remy understands the importance of the government supporting local businesses. She is working hard to limit government bureaucratic burdens on small businesses that slow down construction and present barriers to daily operations. Remy is Championing economic development by:
Secured $850K for Third street infrastructure improvements through the Federal Government
Fostered a relationship with Oregon State University focused on economic growth and development.
Focus on sustainability through the Mayor’s Sustainability Summit, supporting local businesses building into an environmentally sustainable future.
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Remy knows that it takes leadership, relationship building and accountability to get things done. As Mayor, Remy has worked hard to make local government more accessible and to communicate with State and Federal agencies about McMinnville’s needs. She is dedicated to making our government systems more inclusive, efficient and just. As Mayor, Remy Has:
Reformed processes for appointments to Commissions and committees, broadening Civic engagement.
Launched a new standard of all City communications in both Spanish and English.
Initiated a working relationship with the County to better deliver behavioral health services to McMinnville
Re-engaged the Council, and lead a focused, working, respectful body.