WW recommendations for fall 2024

Portland voters wanted new options. Now we have them – so many of them.

When ballots arrive in mailboxes this week, Portland residents will be faced with a list of candidates as long as a Cheesecake Factory menu. One hundred and eighteen candidates are running for four city council districts and a vacant mayoral seat. In one district, 30 candidates will appear on the ballot.

In these city elections, voters have the chance to choose six mayoral candidates (although only one can win) and six in your (redrawn) district of residence (three will win).

It poses a significant challenge to voters, both because it is entirely new and because many candidates lack the visibility or track record of candidates they expect in local elections. It's a bit like getting out of a long-term relationship, opening a dating app and being bombarded with pictures of men holding fish.

Nobody blames you for feeling overwhelmed. But there is a lot at stake here. The next mayor and city council must form a functioning government and determine how the city operates under the control of a city manager – and they will do so while dealing with record-high homelessness, a weakened downtown and all sorts of unrest caused by the Presidential election results.

Change is hard. But anyone who has watched City Hall for more than a minute or lived in Portland knows it is necessary. The commission form of government put elected officials, often without training or experience, in charge of complex offices. This meant that bureaucrats often lacked meaningful control and commissioners were more interested in short-term political victories and protecting their turf than efficiency. The new form of government offers as many opportunities as it does the potential for disaster.

Someone had to sit down with the crowd of candidates and find out which of them was up to the challenge.

So we did it.

Last month WW invited more than 100 city candidates to our offices for a series of interviews. We divided them into groups and bombarded them with tough questions (and, to make it a little easier, asked them what they were like in high school). To our knowledge, we are the only media company in Portland that invites every candidate, whether backed by powerful interests or submitted on a whim. But we believe you deserve this level of rigor.

To make it easier for you to think through your decisions down to the last oval, we have ranked the candidates from one to six as requested. We don't expect you to follow our advice to the letter. But we believe we have to make the same complex decisions you face. (If you need more information, you can find videos of all of our endorsement interviews at wweek.com.)

As with all elections, we looked for candidates who had integrity, intelligence and a diverse range of experiences, ideally with government relevance. Above all, we looked for candidates who could demonstrate their independence from the city's two centers of power: the corporate sector and public employee unions.

We only give endorsements for contested races (which is why you won't find the City Auditor's race, where Simone Rede is running unopposed for re-election). We will be issuing an endorsement for a contested judicial race in the coming weeks.

This election has enormous consequences for someone not on the ballot: Multnomah County Executive Jessica Vega Peterson. The chairman – who wields enormous power over the agency most directly involved with homelessness and public health, including substance use disorders – must respond with clarity, urgency and effectiveness to the dysfunction on our streets. She didn't succeed. The candidates we selected in two county commissioner elections can help.

Nationally, we see a significant threat to Oregon's values ​​led by a racist, anti-science demagogue and his sycophants. The votes we are recommending to Congress are intended to be a bulwark against people who deny women the right to make decisions about their own bodies.

Elsewhere on your ballot, you'll find five statewide ballot measures (spoiler alert: we don't like most of them) and some less consequential local measures. Oregon has a small population and a user-friendly initiative system. This makes us a melting pot for new ideas, but as Drug Decriminalization Measure 110 demonstrated, new ideas require disciplined implementation. Let's pause for the policies written on the back of bar napkins or hastily referred by the legislature.

In fact, the ballot you will receive this week is unlike any you have ever received before. But it's not Sanskrit – just another way of communicating the decisions before you.

Portland and Oregon enjoy a wealth of natural assets—scenic beauty, a mild climate that supports growing everything from walnuts to Douglas firs, and an engaged, educated population. But we veered off course and lost our enviable position as the largest city in a state where others looked for inspiration. Along the way, we have wasted countless taxpayer dollars on ineffective responses to a housing undersupply and an oversupply of fentanyl.

This is where you come into play. Fill a glass with your favorite drink and open the ballot. Your voices are your chance to shape a better future. Choose wisely.