Portland City Councilwoman Candace Avalos spent years lecturing residents about compassion for the homeless.
She built her entire political career defending policies that let encampments take over neighborhoods.
And this woke Democrat learned what everyday Portlanders deal with when the homeless problem she championed literally blew up in her face.
Avalos spent years preaching about Portland's "unhoused neighbors"
Candace Avalos built her entire political career on being a champion for Portland's homeless population.
She wrote opinion columns defending encampments and served as executive director of Verde, an environmental justice nonprofit that advocated for the homeless.¹
In 2021, Avalos wrote a column titled "Our unhoused neighbors deserve a safe and clean place to sleep."²
The Democrat activist pushed for "housing first" policies and fought against enforcement of camping bans.
Avalos ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2020 before winning election to Portland's newly expanded council in 2024.
She currently chairs the Housing and Homelessness Committee and represents East Portland's District 1.
Throughout her campaign and tenure, Avalos consistently voted against measures that would clear homeless encampments or enforce camping restrictions.
Her track record made her one of the most vocal defenders of Portland's hands-off approach to the homeless crisis.
A cold night brought the consequences home
On October 26, 2025, reality came crashing into Avalos' townhome in the form of an out-of-control fire.³
Vashon Locust, a 51-year-old homeless man, snuck into a shed near her property seeking shelter from the cold.
When Locust started a fire to keep warm, the flames quickly spread beyond his control.
By the time firefighters arrived around 2:40 a.m., two cars, a wooden garage, storage lockers, and the exterior wall of Avalos' townhome had been engulfed.
Avalos and her cat managed to escape without injury, but the damage was extensive.
The councilwoman's immediate reaction? She publicly speculated the fire was a targeted political attack against her.
"The incident is under active investigation, including as a possible arson," Avalos told supporters in a social media post.⁴
She even compared the fire to attacks against public officials across the country.
The list included the assassination of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and arson against Pennsylvania's governor.
Avalos claimed she received an email days before the fire that read, "hope the entire state burns and your house is the first one to go."⁵
The truth exposed Portland's failed policies
Police investigations revealed a much different story than Avalos' initial conspiracy theories.
Locust had a criminal history spanning nearly two decades, with more than 50 arrests for various felony and misdemeanor charges dating back to at least 2006.⁶
His past offenses included trespassing inside a vacant apartment and chasing a woman with a stick while refusing to leave her property.
When investigators tracked down Locust at a men's shelter, he admitted to starting the fire to stay warm.
He told police his clothes were wet and he was freezing, so he snuck into the shed and lit a small fire.
When the flames got out of control, he panicked and fled to a nearby church rather than alerting anyone.
Portland Police issued a statement making it crystal clear: "Thorough, methodical investigation ultimately determined that this was not a targeted act of violence."⁷
The fire that destroyed Avalos' property and vehicles wasn't political terrorism or a coordinated attack.
It was the predictable consequence of Portland's failed homeless policies coming home to roost.
Avalos backtracked but doubled down on failed approach
After police arrested Locust on charges of reckless burning, second-degree mischief, and trespassing, Avalos completely changed her tune.⁸
She suddenly discouraged "preconceived ideas about homelessness" and even said she wanted to meet with the man who torched her home.
"I am still learning about Mr. Locust and don't want to speak about him as an individual yet, but I do hope to connect with him when the time is right," Avalos stated.⁹
Despite watching her own home burn because of Portland's lax approach to homeless encampments, Avalos refused to acknowledge the obvious problem.
"This is a reminder that far too many of our neighbors are living in crisis," she claimed.¹⁰
Portland's violent crime dropped 17% in the first six months of 2025, but that statistical decline meant nothing to Avalos when she stood watching flames consume her property.¹¹
The city has swept more than 19,000 homeless encampments since 2021, dismantling over 20 camps per day in 2024.¹²
But Portland still faces a massive homeless crisis with more than 7,000 people living on the streets.
Deaths among Portland's homeless population quadrupled from 113 in 2019 to more than 450 in 2023 – the highest rate of any major West Coast county.¹³
The Democrat policies Avalos championed created a nightmare for business owners and residents who deal with crime, drug use, and fires from homeless encampments daily.
Now she got a firsthand taste of what everyday Portland residents have been living with for years thanks to progressive politicians who put ideology ahead of public safety.
Locust was released from custody on November 5 and has not been arraigned yet.¹⁴
Avalos continues to chair the Housing and Homelessness Committee, showing Portland's radical leftists learned absolutely nothing from this preventable disaster.
¹ Meet Councilor Avalos and Her Team, Portland.gov
² Candace Avalos, Portland City Council Campaign Materials, 2021
³ Noushin Faraji lawsuit documents, Oregon Live, November 6, 2025
⁴ Candace Avalos social media post, October 2025
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Police arrest records, Multnomah County, Oregon Live, November 6, 2025
⁷ Portland Police Bureau statement, November 2025
⁸ Vashon Locust arrest affidavit, Oregon Live, November 6, 2025
⁹ Candace Avalos public statement, November 2025
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ "Portland's top leader escalates homeless sweeps," Street Roots, August 27, 2025
¹² "Portland Said It Was Investing in Homeless People's Safety," ProPublica, June 12, 2025
¹³ Ibid.
¹⁴ Multnomah County Sheriff's Office booking records, November 2025
