Portland Mayor

Look, Ted Wheeler is an awful mayor. Homelessness has only gotten worse on his watch. He tries to blame coronavirus, but the fact is that we were going downhill long before the pandemic and he hasn’t done anything to improve the situation. In fact, his decision to suspend sweeps of problematic camps have allowed them to form shantytowns that are loci of crime and drugs in many neighborhoods. Stabtown’s parks and public spaces are overrun, and the city does nothing about it. Want to take your kids out to play? Watch out for needles and warn them in advance not to look the stabber in the eyes.

When Wheeler ran four years ago, he promised the city would turn the corner on homelessness. He promised to shut down entrenched illegal camps like Hazelnut Grove in North Portland. He's done none of it. A vote for Wheeler is a vote for four more years of inept leadership when it comes to homelessness and stabbings.

But Sarah Iannarone would be even worse. At least Wheeler mentions homelessness in his voters guide statement. Iannarone doesn’t, though on the campaign trail she promises all sorts of coddling to encourage people to continue living on the streets and funnel taxes to homelessness organizations that exist to perpetuate and normalize the situation.

Truly this is one of those races where all you can do is hold your nose and vote for the less-bad candidate: Ted Wheeler.

(Side note: Sarah’s Ph.D. (ABD) really rubbed Stabtown the wrong way. That’s not a degree. That’s an abbreviation meant to fool people who didn’t go to graduate school into thinking you’re more educated that you are. It’s also an admission that you weren’t dedicated enough to write you’re freaking dissertation. Did you even pass your quals, Sarah? Stabtown’s founders have several graduate degrees among us including a real Ph.D. Screw you for pretending you put in the work.)