Running a city costs money. That money has to come from somewhere. Taxes are the normal way to get it.

Steve Novick gets votes because most people understand that he loves the city of Portland and is trying to make it easier and safer to live, work, drive, walk, ride TriMet, and ride a bike here.  Fixing the streets is a part of that, which isn't cheap, and so it is his job to figure out where to get the money. 

I understand that you don't like paying taxes, but it's a huge leap from there to accuse Novick of "not having the best interest of the people at heart." Just admit that you won't vote for people who want to raise your taxes. Many people will agree with you. But thankfully there are fewer of them in Portland than you would probably consider optimal.