19 mayoral candidates are vying to lead Portland, Oregon, in a race where homelessness is a focus

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — There are a lot of political changes coming to Portland, Oregon.

The open race for mayor in the state's most populous city includes 19 candidates, all vying for the leadership after years of growing frustration Homeless camps. Among them: three city council members, including one involved in a driver's license scandal; a stripper; and a trucking company CEO who promised to end homelessness in 12 months.

The race opened when Mayor Ted Wheeler decided against seeking re-election after holding the city's top job since 2017. Wheeler gained national prominence in 2020 when nightly protests erupted on the streets of Portland and across the country in response the police killing of George Floyd.

Whoever wins the mayor's seat will have full oversight new government system. Portland is expanding its city council from five to 12 members, elected by voters in individual wards rather than citywide, and adding a city manager position. And all candidates – including the almost 100 candidates for the new council seats – will be elected for the first time using ranked-choice voting.

A change to Portland's charter had previously been on the ballot but failed until then Voters approved the reform in 2022. The latest charter review began amid 2020 protests and a nationwide reckoning with racism that spurred conversations about making government more accountable and fair.

Open the door for more diversity

Numerous candidates of color are now running for the new council and mayoral seats in the majority white city. However, it is still unclear how voters and elected officials will navigate the new system and its logistics.

“I don’t think anyone really knows exactly how things are going to go in the immediate aftermath of this election,” said Chris Shortell, an associate professor of political science at Portland State University.

However, there are a few constants in this year's campaign – concerns about homelessness and public drug use. Surveys conducted in recent years have shown that Portland residents view homelessness as a major problem, said John Horvick, senior vice president of polling firm DHM Research.

“The key issues remain the key issues,” Horvick said. “These continue to be the organizing principles of politics in Portland and will certainly remain so in this election and beyond.”

City Council members Rene Gonzalez and Carmen Rubio, along with Keith Wilson, whose freight businesses include electric trucks, have been leaders in fundraising among mayoral candidates. They have presented different visions for reducing homelessness in a metropolitan area where nearly 4,000 people were homeless as of a January 2023 count.

Different approaches to homelessness

Gonzalez, backed by law enforcement, pressured Multnomah County, home to Portland, to stop distributing tents and tarps to homeless people. He pushed for stricter enforcement of anti-camping rules.

Rubio has called for more outreach workers and improved coordination among stakeholders in the homeless response system, such as shelters and social service groups.

Wilson, who founded a nonprofit that works to increase homeless shelter capacity, has committed to ending homelessness in his first year on the job. His campaign website says he will achieve this ambitious goal in part by increasing the number of walk-in shelters in existing facilities such as churches and community centers.

The top three fundraisers are followed by City Council member Mingus Mapps and Liv Østhus, a writer, musician and stripper whose stage name is Viva Las Vegas.

Mapps, whose campaign is struggling to gain momentum, hopes to become Portland's first black mayor. If either he or Rubio or Gonzalez — who has Latino roots — are elected, it would be the first time a person of color has led the city.

Rubio and Gonzalez were considered the frontrunners for much of the year. But recent revelations about Rubio's driving record — and, to a much lesser extent, Gonzalez's — have thrown the race into disarray.

Frontrunners face revelations about driving

There have been about 150 parking and traffic violations in Rubio over the past two decades. She didn't pay many of them for months or even years and her driver's license was revoked six times. She lost some endorsements after the news, first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

“The best thing I can do at this point is to reiterate that I am deeply sorry and that regaining the trust of Portlanders is an ongoing commitment that I take very seriously,” Rubio said in one statement sent by email.

Gonzalez also had his driver's license revoked twice more than 20 years ago and racked up seven speeding tickets between 1998 and 2013, one of which was dismissed, as first reported by Willamette Week.

“As a younger man, I sometimes drove too fast,” Gonzalez said in an emailed statement. “But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more responsible, and that’s reflected in my balance sheet.”

The news about driving records created an opportunity for Wilson, who has never held elected office, said Shortell, a professor at Portland State University.

“What looked like it was going to be a straightforward race has turned into a slightly more open race in the last few weeks,” he said. “That, combined with the ranked-choice voting system, opened up some wiggle room for Keith Wilson.”

Under Ranked choice votingVoters arrange their choices on the ballot paper in order of preference. If a candidate is the first choice of more than 50% of voters in the first round of counting, that candidate wins.

Otherwise the counting will continue in a second round. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the votes of voters who chose that candidate as their first choice are redistributed to the next election. The process continues with the candidate with the fewest votes being eliminated until someone emerges with the majority of votes.

If Rubio and Gonzalez end up splitting the electorate, Wilson could be a second choice for enough voters to potentially advance, Shortell said.

The new electoral system, new form of government and sheer number of candidates present many moving parts for candidates and voters, and it may take several election cycles for City Hall and residents to get a clear sense of how things will work, Shortell said .

“Right now it’s a new system and everyone is trying to figure out what it means,” he said. “And that is the nature of change.”