Can Jesse Cornett Challenge Ted Wheeler in the Mayor’s Race?

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Brendan Murray, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Jesse Cornett; via Jesse Cornett's Facebook page

Ted Wheeler may have a challenger yet. Jesse Cornett, a Lents neighborhood activist, has said that he is considering jumping into the race to be Portland’s next Mayor. Experts told GoLocal, however, that while Cornett is a "candidate to watch," he will have a tough hill to climb to defeat Wheeler.

Cornett has already garnered one important vote of confidence when Mayor Charlie Hales mentioned his as someone Hales would like to see run after he dropped out of the race during a radio interview. Cornett told GoLocal, however that he would need a show of support from the voters before he decided if he would enter the race.

“I won’t run unless I can sure up enough support to be viable,” Cornett said in an interview. “Encouragement is nice. Prospective support is what I am seeking.”

Rebecca Tweed, Political and Communications Director for State Street Communications, told GoLocal that Cornett would be a tough challenger for Wheeler, but would have to organize and build a campaign quickly.

“Cornett is a candidate to watch, but he will have to quickly show a large amount of support and campaign infrastructure, and he will have to draw very clear distinctions for his policy ideas and plans for Portland from what Wheeler has laid out as his agenda,” Tweed said. “Typically, an open-seat gives both, or all, candidates a relatively fair shot at securing the candidacy. However, in my opinion, Wheeler is miles ahead of potential challengers at this stage. That is not to say that a candidate cannot still become a viable challenger, but they would need to move in big and move in quickly.”

Why He Could Win

Jim Moore, Director of the Tom McCall Center for Policy Innovation at Pacific University, told GoLocal that Cornett could appeal to Portland voters who do not see Wheeler as “liberal enough.” Specifically, Moore cited the issue of Portland's Police force as an issue Wheeler could be vunderable on. Cornett told GoLocal he has been a vocal critics of the city's police since a close friend was shot and killed by a police sniper.

“Cornett could play this role,” Moore said. “He needs some kind of a strong issue that resonates with voters. He has been somewhat vocal about accountability among the Portland police force. This could work, but there is a sense that concerns about the police only dominate voters' minds when there is some questionable police action. And running for mayor, in effect, in opposition to the police force, would make for a very interesting time as the city's chief executive.”

Tweed said that in order to compete with Wheeler, Cornett would need to hit the ground running, and announce key endorsements early in his campaign.

“He would need to come out almost immediately with strong, equally credible endorsements to what Wheeler has acquired, and that would be a challenge given that Wheeler has locked in a number of high-value, high-influence endorsements,” Tweed said.

Tweed also said that Cornett would need to show monetary strength during the early moments of his candidacy.
“Secondly, he would need to show a strong fundraising presence,” Tweed said. “Who supports him, how many people are contributing, and can he raise enough at a competitive pace to at least show that he at least has potential to catch up to Wheeler in a short amount of time.”

Jesse Cornett; via Jesse Cornett's Facebook page

Why He Won’t

Moore said that Cornett is “not the A-team of contenders.”

“The problem he faces is that his big claims to fame, such as the Bus Project, are seen as only a bit liberal in Portland,” Moore said. “They may not be enough to separate him from the other liberal candidates. If Cornett were running almost anywhere else in Oregon, he would have no problem being seen as the more liberal among the contenders.”

Tweed agreed, saying that Wheeler is in a strong position at this point in the race.

“Wheeler still has the upper hand as far as momentum, campaign infrastructure, name recognition and actual time on the campaign trail,” Tweed said. “At this stage, it’s tough for any candidate to match, so-to-speak, what Wheeler has accomplished since he has filed. Cornett has some experience running for office in the Portland area, but that was five years ago and voters, opinions, and issues change. He’s starting from scratch in this campaign and Wheeler, while a first-time candidate for Mayor, has already developed strong name familiarity, both with his position as Treasurer and with months of mayoral campaigning under his belt.

Editor's Note: Jesse Cornett is a former contributor to GoLocalPDX

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

Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler was joined by the press and many close friends, family members, and supporters on the rooftop of Revolution Hall off of SE Stark so that he could officially make his candidacy announcement for Portland mayor in the 2016 mayoral race.

Can Jesse Cornett Challenge Ted Wheeler in the Mayor’s Race?

Why He Could Win

Jesse Cornett; via Jesse Cornett's Facebook page Why He Won’t

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

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Jesse Cornett; via Jesse Cornett's Facebook page

Why He Won’t