Leading Portland Council Candidates Have Government Experience

PORTLAND, Ore.–In west Portland’s District 4, Olivia Clark maintains her lead after touting her work for both the city and state.

“I’ve had a long career of public service in Oregon. I worked with several mayors. With Governor John Kitzhaber. I was his liaison to cities and counties around the state. I worked for TriMet, to find the revenue to build out the light rail system.”

The other leading candidates to represent the west Portland district are Mitch Green and Eric Zimmerman after 31 rounds of voting. In District 3, mainly in Southeast Portland, former Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick leads the pack of 30 candidates along with Tiffani Koyama Lane and Angelita Morillo.   Novick served Portland as a City Commissioner from 2013 to 2017.  “In a city council of almost entirely new people, it’s going to be useful to have some folks who have experience and the humility that comes with experience, knowing that there’s no magic bullet to solve all of our pressing problems,” he said.

District 2 voter favorite Dan Ryan is a current Portland City Commissioner.  He said, “I hope to serve and help build this new city council.”

He, Elana Pirtle-Guiney and Sameer Kanal are leading after 23 rounds of voting, in Northeast Portland.

District 1 favorites are Loretta Smith, a former Multnomah County Commissioner, Candice Avalose and Jamie Dunphy, to represent neighborhoods east of I-205.