By David Krogh
Portland has set a new record for the number of candidates on a single ballot for City Council positions. According to Deborah Scroggin, Elections Officer with the City Auditor’s Office, the previous record was 41 in 2004.
The last day to file for a position was March 10 and there were 54 candidates for the May 19 primary ballot: 19 for Mayor (Wheeler), nine for Position #1 (Fritz), eight for Position #4 (Eudaly) and 18 for the remainder of the term for Position #2 (Fish).
Why so many? The Southeast Examiner recently asked citizens along Hawthorne Blvd that question. The common thread among those responding was that they wanted to see change in what they perceive is a problem-filled city government lacking responsiveness to public concerns.
The Southeast Examiner has discussed five candidates in previous issues and the entire list of candidates is provided here.
Much of this information is provided at the City Auditor’s Office website, portlandoregon.gov/auditor/26642.
The Multnomah County Voters Pamphlet for the May 19 primary, including candidate descriptions and statements, is scheduled to be mailed to voters April 22. Ballot mailing is scheduled for April 29.
Many candidates do not have campaign websites at presstime. These are marked with *.
Candidates for Portland City Mayor
Sarah Iannarone: educator and activist and former city council candidate – Sarah2020.com
Teressa Raiford: self-employed nonprofit – raiford2020.com
Michael O’Callaghan (Mike O’C): homeless advocate and house designer*
Bruce Broussard: No Veterans Left Behind and former vet*
Michael Burleson: former law clerk and current State Democrats Committee member – burleson2020.com
Cash Blanco Carter: warehouse worker and speaker/entertainer – cashcarter2020.com
Ted Wheeler: current Mayor of Portland – tedwheeler.com
Ozzie Gonzalez: owner of P3 Consulting and policy advisor to several organizations – ozzie4pdx.org
Willie Banks: Rosa Parks Foundation NW, former federal government employee*
Lew Humble: retired Ferrari mechanic*
Floyd La Bar: PCC yoga instructor, formerly in theater arts*
Mark White: former program manager and neighborhood board member*
Michael Jenkins: cannabis/mushroom/hemp grower*
Beryl McNair: retired Federal government employee*
Piper Crowell: digital and innovation policy expert, Oregon Innovation Council participation, – pipercrowell.com
Sharon Joy: retired*
Jarred Bepristis: self employed/bartender, former construction work*
Daniel Hoffman: homeless rights activist – deletepoverty.yolasite.com
Randy Rapaport: board member of Sequential Biofuels, prior work in psychology*
Candidates for Commissioner; Position #1
Carmen Rubio: executive director for Latino Network, prior experience in policy advising – carmenforportland.com
Philip Wolfe: board member of Portland Commission on Disability, prior council candidate*
Timothy DuBois: carpenter, prior business league member – timforportland.com
Candace Avalos: advisor and administrator at PSU, prior citizen advisory committee work – candaceforportland.com
Isham Harris: bus driver, former postal worker*
Cullis (James) Autry: self employed*
Alicia McCarthy: naturopathic physician, emergency services background*
Corinne Patel: strategic business and artistic consultant, prior nonprofit and performing arts*
Mary Ann Schwab: retired high school secretary, long term neighborhood activist and multiple community awards winner, prior city council candidate in 2004*
Candidates for Commissioner; Position #4
Mingus Mapps: former program coordinator and educator – mingusmapps.com
Robert MacKay: transportation network driver and licensed attorney – mackaypdx.com
Keith Wilson: president of Titan Freight Systems, former assistant account executive at NBC – keithforportland.com
Kevin McKay: senior relationship banker – kevinmackayforportland.com
Chloe Eudaly: current Position #4 Commissioner and former book seller/small business owner – votechloe.com
Seth Woolley: software developer, prior involvement with Pacific Green state committee and campaign finance reform task force*
Aaron Fancher: custodian*
Sam Adams: currently a public policy consultant and commentator, former City Commissioner 2005-2009 and Mayor 2009-2012 – friendsofsamadams.com
Candidates for Commissioner; Position #2 (remainder of Commissioner Fish’s term)
Jack Kerfoot: author and former geotechnical consultant – jackkerfoot2020.com
Alicea Maurseth: civil engineer – maurseth4pdx.com
Walter Wesley: transportation services, formerly a water filtration/ionization specialist*
Diana Gutman: Disabled veteran and human rights activist*
Loretta Smith: consultant, former Multnomah County Commissioner (2011-2018) and prior city council candidate in 2018 – votelorettasmith.com
Margot Black: community organizer, former math instructor and committee work*
Terry Parker: formerly worked in account services and active in neighborhood involvement*
Julia DeGraw: nonprofit and political consultant, former city council candidate in 2018 – julia4pdx.com
Cynthia Castro: senior policy advisor for City Commissioner Fritz – cynthiacastro.com
Dan Ryan: executive coaching, former advisory and PPS board work – danforportland.com
Tera Hurst: executive director for Renew Oregon, former chief of staff for Mayor Charlie Hales – teraforpdx.com
Sam Chase: Metro Councilor, District 5, former chief of staff for Commissioner Nick Fish*
Ronault (Polo) Catalani: public policy consultant and trainer/writer, attorney and Portland City employee*
Rachelle Dixon: public advocate and author, former VC of Multnomah County Democrats*
Jeff Lang: risk and insurance consultant, former neighborhood and advisory commission participation*
James (Jas) Davis: wellness center owner, former consultant and citizen involvement member – portland2020vision.com
Aquiles Montas: family resource coordinator, business owner hospitality services – vote4montas.com
Ryan Farmer: attorney, formerly programer/developer – farmerforportland.com
Several other items will also be on the May 19 ballot, including Measure 26-209, to allow renewal of a City Gas Tax for purposes of street maintenance.
Please don’t forget to vote.