Portland Mayor’s Race Pits Wheeler Against Two Prominent Community Activists

Ted Wheeler is the first Portland mayor to try for a second term in more than a decade. The Skanner interviewed the incumbent, as well as two top candidates running to unseat him in this month’s primary election.

Candidates’ answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Teressa Raiford

Teressa Raiford is a police reform and public safety activist who founded accountability organization Don’t Shoot PDX. She previously ran for County Commission in 2014 against incumbent Loretta Smith, and for City Council, Position 1, in 2012, but lost to Amanda Fritz.

Why do you feel called to run?

I was born and raised in Portland, as were my parents and my grandparents. I’ve seen generations of disenfranchisement. I’ve seen communities be put to the side, systematically marginalized, systemically created as a commodity by adding the marginalization and the at-risk tags to who we are.

What this has done is it’s created a complex relationship with our city bureaus and our agencies that are supposed to serve communities in need, to where those that are in need are also suspects. We have community policing and we have efforts of investigating communities that are in proximity to poverty, because of that poverty’s proximity to violence and crime. I mean, we’ve created a standard to not to support communities, but to report communities.

If we're looking at at-risk as something we have to report, rather than something we have to support, again we’re losing opportunities to bridge resources. We have leaders now that are saying they’re going to go through equity training to identify those issues. But I think the lived experience of a person is something we want to utilize.

There are a lot of systemic issues, basically surrounded by policy that is biased and supported by White supremacy. I want to be a part of our generation that goes forward to dismantle those systems, and also to build civic participation through direct engagement.

What is your stance on the current at-large system of city government?

I think that it’s inequitable.

We’re seeing that there is a cry for engagement from community. There is a cry for civic representation, for district representation. And I think that’s in alignment with what we’ve seen in

the last decade with human rights social movements, and the fact that people were speaking out that had never felt less intimidated by their government. People have been providing testimony, showing up to the state capital.

I think if Portland does want to move forward, we should start the design work of what it would take for us to go into the 96 neighborhoods, and start establishing real centered community engagement. And I’ve seen what that looks like in my advocacy as an organizer, with getting people to show up to take care of our houseless community.

We could have districts instead of commissions. We could have a mayor that represents us at the state capital to make sure the policies we need in our communities are supported in the state legislature, by state representatives. It’s time.

How would you lead Portland in its post-COVID recovery?

I’d make services sustainable. Right now we’re trying to figure out how to provide mutual aid to community members because of the pandemic. And what you’re hearing from a lot of people that live in this community, and really nationally, is that the global fight of this pandemic and this disease is not new to some community members.

This crisis is not showing new inequities, it’s highlighting inequities that already existed. I’ll use the tools that we’re learning right now about being innovative and coming up with money to substantiate the need of people that are dealing with the crisis. Because we found money to deal with houselessness. We found money to deal with our healthcare system. We are finding money to help teachers and families have resources at home to provide educational assets to our kids. We’re finding money for public safety rather than policing communities, because we want to make sure that everybody’s not injured in the process of going out in society. People are looking at taking better care of their employees, making sure that they look after not only their health needs but their safety at work, and I think that that’s the type of environment that for an unfortunate amount of people, we’ve been fighting for for a very long time.

I’m hoping that we’re able to maintain and stabilize the structures that we’re putting into place so that we can move to a better and more economically sound and just society in Portland. I think we have that framework being delivered to us, unfortunately, through this crisis, but I believe that if we’re scientific and focused enough, that we can utilize it as a tool to manage forward

We are seeing a government that is relying on community organizing and community stability, and essential frontline workers that are not always the most prominent people in society. So I think that we do good by relying on those types of people. Including myself.

What would you do to increase racial and socioeconomic equity in Portland?

I’m not seeing any substantial value in the leadership we currently have to address these issues of White supremacy, or White nationalism or racism, or the ineffective distribution of support because of the biases in our system that exist.

And one of the things I want to do as a leader that seeks accountability and transparency is not just to seek that for the Black community. When we stand up for the most vulnerable and marginalized communities, then we are setting a standard for standing up for everyone. Because we shouldn’t rely on the oppression of other people in order to build economic standards for our city. Right now, we in fact do. We need to start reinvesting in those communities, not only through a priority of economic standards, but also a priority of representation, affirming communities, showing face in those communities — that’s important for all communities, not just communities of color.

Sarah Iannarone

Sarah Iannarone is a teacher and urban policy consultant with a background in running a small restaurant. She previously ran for the office of mayor in 2016, placing third in the primary with nearly 12% of the vote.

Iannarone qualified for the city’s Open and Accountable Elections program, which gives candidates $6 of taxpayer funding for every $1 of campaign funds raised. Eligible candidates agree not to accept large contributions, and must demonstrate broad community support.

Why do you feel called to run?

This is no time for the status quo. Some folks have asked, well now in light of covid, don’t we want to keep the same leadership that we had prior? My counter argument to that is that the normal that the incumbent has been talking about working so well wasn’t working for too many Portlanders. So many people are being left behind by the way the City of Portland’s government is going now. And we’re seeing this amplified with covid, but for those of us that were paying close attention, and especially at the street level, we already knew this trajectory is not working. So now more than ever, we need a mayor with courage, with compassion, with deep ties to community, and with a deep understanding of how community-led policies are the answers to our sustainability and equity concerns. And we need someone who will help bring Portlanders together in community-led solutions that reflect the needs of those communities. It’s just a different mindset and a different approach than the current mayor takes, in my option.

I really think there’s an opportunity to use that special position of Portland mayor as a bully pulpit for our values, with regard to how we need to focus on climate change, we need to focus on affordability, and we need to focus on the staggering inequality that’s undermining our prosperity and our sustainability.

What is your stance on the current at-large system of city government?

We’ve crafted a comprehensive set of government reforms, and that includes rethinking the weak

mayor form of commission. We need to not jump out of the frying pan into the fire from something that doesn't work into something that may also not work. What we need to think about is what are we trying to accomplish? I go back to those three things that are our most pressing problems for basically the next generation: climate change. We have to act with urgency. Affordability. If Portlanders can’t stay here and everyone's getting displaced, our society is going to be destabilized. You’ll only have newcomers who are increasingly affluent, who are shaping outcomes in Portland. So if we don’t have permanent affordability here, the form of government we have doesn’t matter anyway, because it will all be decided by people who aren’t from here and who are more affluent than average Portlanders. And finally, inequality. If we’re not thinking about what government solutions are going to make Portland more equitable, then we’re just going to be replicating the errors of the past.

How would you lead Portland in its post-COVID recovery?

Had I been elected before, a lot of the things I was talking about in 2016 would be in place.

If we had adopted a resiliency and disaster preparation mindset, so that every neighborhood association was making sure that every neighbor knew where the nearest food pantry and safety hub was, I think that those would be spaces right now where if testing kits were available, we could start administering testing kits.

The notion of shoring up community infrastructure is hugely important to me. We struggle with schools funding, we struggle with parks funding. We have a lot of existing infrastructure there, that if we were meeting two or three needs at the same time in those places, I believe it would help us channel critical resources to maintain what we already have.

I always knew that cities would be the focus. It doesn’t matter whether it was public office or academic or activism, or even entrepreneurialism, but I think cities are a hotbed of innovation for addressing things like climate change, inequality, housing. Because look at our federal government. They have left the building. So who’s going to solve our problems for us?

What would you do to increase racial and socioeconomic equity in Portland?

The biggest place where I focused on this was in economic development. We talk a lot about climate action in Portland, and for better or for worse, we know how we’re doing on that front because we have an objective measure: reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And we can look at that measure and say we’re doing ok, or we’re not doing so great, and we need to change our behavior.

When it comes to equity, I think we need a concerted strategy along the lines of the Climate Action Plan that says we are going to set a target. It’s going to be clear, it’s going to have a timeline, and we’re going to then make concerted investments toward achieving that singular goal.

Based on the feedback that I’ve gotten from communities, we’re calling this our 30/30/30 Racial Equity Plan: By 2030, we’re going to reduce by 30% the income gap for 30-year-old Black Portlanders. If we can reduce the income gap for people when they’re younger in life, that improves their chances for reducing the wealth gap over the course of their lives. It’s going to be something like recycling, where you have to start a generation ahead and make intensified investments — in this case in education, in entrepreneurship, in access to home ownership.

And when you set something that may seem arbitrary — remember, greenhouse gas emissions is just one indicator of climate action — and you put your mind on it and your eyes on it, then what you measure is what you’ll get. And if we can reduce that gap, then we’ve improved the life outcomes for a larger swath of our population.

Ted Wheeler

Mayor Ted Wheeler transitioned into city politics after previously serving as Oregon State Treasurer from 2010 to 2017, and as Chair of the Multnomah County Commission from 2007 to 2010.

Why do you feel called to a second term?

To be brief, the work isn’t done. I’m really proud of everything that we’ve accomplished, and I want to be clear: There’s nothing I do here that I do alone. I do it all in partnership with my colleagues on the City Council, with our bureau directors -- I think they’re effective and visionary leaders -- and of course the community. All the best ideas are coming from the community right now, there’s just more work to be done. We’re making good progress around housing and homelessness, public safety, shared economic prosperity and equity, and making sure our government’s effective and accountable to the public. We’ve made good progress, and I want to continue that work. If you want to get the job done, you’ve got to stick around for a while.

What is your stance on the current at-large system of city government?

First of all, just to be crystal clear, I ran for mayor with the understanding that I’d be mayor under this form of government. I’ve made the most of it, I prepared to run for re-election under the same form of government. But I’m also determined to be the last mayor to function under the commission form of government.

My view is that it was created 100 years ago, in large measure to maintain the status quo that existed in the community at that time. Our city has become much larger, it’s become more diverse. The issues that we’re dealing with at the city level are much more complicated. And in particular, people demand a seat at the table. This form of government, the commission form of government, does not save minority communities well, it does not serve lower income people well. The fact that you have to run at-large means you already have to have connections, you already have to have access to deep pockets or other resources that can help you get elected. And I would argue that while there are inefficiencies in the commission form of government, while there is definitely undue fragmentation of services under the commission form of government, what’s going to change and encourage the public to support a new form of government is just flat-out the lack of representation.

To give you an example, you could be the most effective advocate for North and Northeast Portland. You could know all the issues, you could know the players, you could have relevant lived experience, but under our current form of government, you have to sell that to the city as a whole. In other words, you have to sell your lived experience, your passion, and your knowledge of the community to the majority community. That is what the commission form of government forces people to do.

And I think that’s why over the course of the history of this city, we have had so few people of color, and so few women, elected to positions on the Portland City Council. It holds us back.

How would you lead Portland in its post-COVID recovery?

The way I already have been, with urgency and with intentionality around equity and inclusion. Looking at the work we’re already doing, I’m really pleased that my economic impact task force is leading with an equity lens, that we’re making sure that there is clear representation at the table from all of the communities in our cities -- we put frontline communities first.

The goal not only of our economic recovery or our housing recovery, but also the budget process we’re engaged in at the city level, is lifting equity and inclusion as the fundamental value because I want to build a bridge to a future where all Portlanders see themselves being included in the good things that are happening in our community around housing, around job creation, around wealth generation, around making sure that our young people in our communities of color have access to educational opportunities and good job training opportunities, and employment opportunities-- these are things that are central to my administration, and they’re going to continue to be central to my second administration.

What would you do to increase racial and socioeconomic equity in Portland?

What we’ve been doing. Around leadership, I’ve made sure since the very beginning of my administration that we would elevate leaders of color in my administration, as well as throughout the city bureaucracy. I’ve lived up to that promise that I made to the community.

I’ve also made sure that as we go about specific policies decisions, that it’s not top-down leadership. That it’s actually community-based. And we’ve done that through our housing programs, like the North/Northeast housing strategy, where we’re continuing to work with the community in North and Northeast Portland.

We most certainly have done that around our economic development proposals, for example the Inclusive Business Resource Network that we launched in 2017. That’s technical assistance, storefront improvements, access to capital, shared ideas for 1,000 business owners

last year. The vast majority of which, I think it was 85%, were businesses owned and operated by people of color in this community.

The Portland Means Progress initiative, which is my centerpiece job initiative, is specifically focused to make sure young people -- predominantly young African Americans, but young people of color generally -- have access to employment opportunities and high-wage jobs in our community.

These are the kinds of initiatives that have driven this administration forward around the equity and inclusion front. Those are the kinds of opportunities that we’re going to continue to see going forward.