Miami Money Beats Portland Rules: How a 6-6 Tie Vote Sent Zenith's Oil Empire to a New Owner

So you thought the drama over oil trains and fuel storage in the Pacific Northwest had finally settled down into the background noise of the rainy season. Think again. The City Council of Portland has managed to keep the tension high yet again with a vote that felt less like a policy decision and more like a bizarre reality show episode. It comes down to a 6-6 split, which leaves Mayor Keith Wilson with the unglamorous job of breaking the tie to approve the transfer of Zenith Energy's city franchise to I Squared Capital. This Miami-based firm now has the path cleared to take over Zenith's oil-by-rail and storage operations in Northwest Portland, provided the companies actually finalize their business arrangement. It speaks to the peculiar nature of local governance where a single vote can pivot the future of a fossil fuel infrastructure asset.

This is Wilson's second time serving as the tie-breaker this year, a role he filled once before in July concerning public safety funding. The councilors were split, with Wilson joining Olivia Clark, Steve Novick, Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Dan Ryan, Loretta Smith, and Eric Zimmerman in voting for the transfer. The opposing six councilors voted no, but the legal reality is that the franchise transfer can now proceed. It is worth noting that this approval is not the finish line. Zenith Energy and I Squared Capital still have the messy business of actually completing their deal. The backdrop for this entire saga is a lawsuit that Zenith filed against the city in federal district court back in July. They alleged that city officials had unnecessarily delayed the franchise transfer, which added a layer of legal friction to an already complicated relationship.

For those who have been watching Zenith from the sidelines, their history is a colorful mix of ambition and alleged non-compliance. The company has constructed and used new piping for fossil and renewable fuel transport on at least 34 occasions between 2021 and 2024 without bothering to notify the city or the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The DEQ eventually paused a permitting process and slapped Zenith with a fine of more than $370,000 for those infractions before negotiating an appeal. Then there is the issue of the throughput. Zenith's operations have more than doubled since 2018, a time when they promised state regulators and city officials that their operations would bring no new throughput. A March 2025 report from Street Roots highlighted this discrepancy. Just last month, on March 19, the Portland City Council voted 11-1 for a resolution directing Wilson to investigate potential violations of Zenith's franchise agreement.