Activists Call For New Candidate in Mayor’s Race

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Friday, November 06, 2015

With Charlie Hales out of the race for Mayor of Portland and no one yet filling his spot, community activists told GoLocal they are calling for a strong challenger to step up and run against State Treasurer Ted Wheeler (D).

Teressa Raiford, an organizer with Don’t Shoot PDX, told GoLocal she was glad to see Mayor Hales drop his campaign for re-election campaign. Last month, as GoLocal reported, she criticized Hales for tweets regarding a community forum between the Portland Police and a local high school, saying Hales was spreading “propaganda.”

Now, Raiford is saying she hopes to see a new candidate jump into the race and challenge Wheeler, who she says, represents “more of the same” in Portland politics. She said that the ideal candidate for Portland’s next leader would be someone who has dealt with these issues first-hand and spoke frequently, and passionately, about them.

“It needs to be someone that has reached out in the past and has been involved, that isn’t just doing it for positive press and to get elected,” Raiford said. “They need to have thick skin and be able to withstand a real and true democratic process.”

Wheeler’s Views “Problematic.”

Raiford too said she was not thrilled but the candidacy of Ted Wheeler.

“I would love to see someone step up and run,” Raiford said. “Ted Wheeler seems like he would be a fine choice practically considering his background as the State Treasurer, but he has not reached out to me or any other groups fighting for the rights of Black Portlanders. He’s just more of the same.”

Teressa Raiford

Frustrated By Lack of Attention

Raiford said she was incredibly frustrated by the lack of attention that issues surrounding civil rights and police brutality have received in Portland and Oregon politics. She criticized Wheeler, Hales and many other candidates for “ignoring such a critical issues.”

“This is a national, major issue right now,” Raiford said. “It’s probably the biggest issue in this country right now. No candidate for Mayor of Portland, not even a candidate for Governor of Oregon has addressed it. That is inexcusable to me.”

Cabouet agreed. 

“There is no one to support that has spoken out about this issue,” Cabouet said. “It’s really disappointing, and it’s very frustrating, the lack of attention this issue has gotten. It’s just more politic as normal in Portland.”

Big Changes Needed

Cabouet said that if Portlanders want to see issues of police brutality and city rights become major issues in their city elections, they will have to make candidates speak on it, as they have proven they will not speak on it themselves.

“We have to force candidates to speak about it. They’ve shown this is an issue that they will not address if we do not make them address it,” Cabouet said. “That’s true even on a national scale. Look at Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. They don’t speak about it unless they are really forced to, and even then they try to wiggle around it.”

Raiford said that until big changes are made by Portland politicians, she will refrain from supporting or working to get a particular candidate into office.

“I’m not interested in supporting anyone until they address this issue,” Raiford said. “I’ll keep my eyes on the coverage, I’ll be at the debates, I’ll be following it. But until someone makes a real commitment to this issue, I won’t be supporting anyone.”

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Related Slideshow: SLIDESHOW: Ted Wheeler Announces Portland Mayoral Candidacy on Rooftop of Revolution Hall

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