Portland Commissioner, Position 1: Alicia McCarthy

When we see that someone is a naturopathic physician, we tend to immediately skip ahead. That just screams hippie. We’re glad we gave Alicia McCarthy a second look anyway because holy cow, she gets it.

“Portland has done a great job providing accessible services for the homeless. In fact, we have done such a great job Portland has become a destination for individuals who are experiencing homelessness or nearing homelessness. … Portland needs to hold other municipalities accountable for encouraging mass migration of homeless people to our city,” she told The Oregonian. “First, we must start holding individuals accountable for their actions. We cannot continue to allow needles to be left on our sidewalks, streets and parks. The public health risk of spreading communicable disease from human waste left in public areas is unacceptable. ... Police officers should be allowed to enforce the law.”

McCarthy also would bring a fresh outsider perspective and some needed energy to the council.

Unfortunately, the political establishment has aligned behind Carmen Rubio. She’ll probably win, which is bad news for Stabtown. Her homelessness approach is the sort of enabling that will only make matters worse and encourage more stabbers to move to town. She also is dreadful to work with according to our one Stabtown founder who has had cause to do so in the past.

Mary Ann Schwab deserves mention. She’s won’t knock your socks off, but she did come up through the neighborhood associations (Sunnyside) and therefore understands the importance of livability issues and preserving public spaces for all residents.

The good news is that unless you’re a political insider, you’ve probably never heard of Rubio. Voters could rally around a surprise winner or at least force a runoff in November. Cast your vote for Alicia McCarthy and hope it happens.