Portland may choose a political newcomer as mayor
In addition to the many federal and statewide races around the country, several major American cities will be choosing their next mayors today. And there are a few cities where under-the-radar competitive mayoral races may shift local politics, mostly on the West Coast. First up, Portland, Oregon!
For the first time this year, Portland voters will be selecting their new mayor using ranked choice voting. All candidates will appear on the same ballot, and voters will rank their top 6 choices out of the 19 candidates. The nonpartisan race features among its frontrunners three sitting members of the Portland City Council — Mingus Mapps, Rene Gonzalez and Carmen Rubio — and local businessman Keith Wilson, who also ran for City Council in 2020.
Advocates of ranked choice voting claim it gives voters more choices, but voters in Portland don't seem to be jumping at the opportunity to learn about the long list of candidates. In an October poll by DHM Research/The Oregonian, nearly a third of voters were undecided in the race, and almost two-thirds of voters said they had no third choice. And the voting system may lead to an interesting outcome this time around: While law-and-order candidate Gonzalez leads in the first choice votes in that poll, when votes are reallocated according to second- and third-choice preferences, he comes in behind Wilson.
As has been the case in past races in the Portland area, a key issue in this election is homelessness in the city. Gonzalez has taken a fairly hardline stance, advocating for stricter enforcement of camping bans, while Wilson has advocated first providing more shelters before strict enforcement of the bans. Wilson has also emphasized his background as a businessman as an asset for the office. Perhaps contributing to his failure to consolidate second and third choice votes, Gonzalez has been plagued by a series of scandals throughout the campaign.