Portland's mayoral race in full swing

Posted May 2020

By Taj O'Malley

Sports Editor

Nineteen candidates, including incumbent Mayor Ted Wheeler, faced-off in the May 19 primary election for Portland mayor.

Front runners for the primary include Mayor Wheeler, TriMet board member Ozzie González, community organizer Teressa Raiford, and urban policy consultant Sarah Iannarone.

Mayor Ted Wheeler is campaigning for reelection, promising stability in the city of Portland amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, reduction in the amount of homelessness in Portland, and change in the City Council’s representative system. Mayor Wheeler is also campaigning with his list of achievements in his first term of office. These achievements are listed on his campaign website, and are titled “Record of Making Progress.”

Records of “progress” aside, Mayor Wheeler’s rein as City Mayor has not been without controversy. Wheeler has made a couple of statements that point to his frustration while in office as Portland City Mayor.

“I cannot wait for the next 24 months to be over,” he was quoted as saying regarding the end of his term. Wheeler has also stated to The Oregonian that being Mayor is “not a fun job.”

Mayor Wheeler also received backlash for his handling of Antifa, an anti-fasicist, left winged, and militant political group that uses direct-action, and in some cases violence, to push its political agendas. Many local and national conservatives wish for Antifa to be labeled as a domestic terrorist group, and have also called out Mayor Wheeler’s handling of the organization. Even calls for Mayor Wheeler’s impeachment arose when many conservatives and conservative officials across the nation claimed Portland officials weren’t taking the proper action in response to conservative writer Andy Ngo being assaulted by an anti-facist group.

The biggest challenger to Mayor Wheeler’s reelection is urban policy consultant Sarah Iannarone. Iannarone is running her campaign on the basis of empowering Portlanders, taking advantage of Portland’s resources, and according to her campaign website, “organiz[ing] our communities into a formidable force for change.”

Also a civic leader and educator, Iannarone ran for mayor in 2016, finishing third in the primary with 11.76% of the vote.

Community organizer Teressa Raiford also poses a threat to Mayor Wheeler’s reelection. Raiford is running her campaign wishing for progress in housing development, and looking to address problems in neighborhood demolition.

TriMet board member Ozzie González is another major player in the race for Portland City Mayor. González has served in local government in many ways. He currently sits on the Oregon Department of Education’s Committee on Career and Technical Education, and has previously sat on contract selection committees for the City of Portland, Prosper Portland, and Multnomah County. González is planning on building a local economy that is both stable and sustainable, with an emphasis on addressing climate change.

“Climate change is humanity’s greatest challenge and Portland’s greatest opportunity,” states his website.

Other candidates include Cash Carter, Micheal O’Callaghan, Randy Rapaport, Mark White, Bruce Broussard, Michael Burleson, Willie Banks, Piper Crowell, Lew Humble, Floyd La Bar, Michael Jenkins, Beryl McNair, Sharon Joy, Jarred Bepristis and Daniel Hoffman.

The two candidates who receive the most votes will square off in the November election, unless one candidate receives 50% or more of the vote. If a candidate receives 50% or more, that candidate will be automatically become mayor.