Buel Defeats Gonzalez In Key Portland Public Schools Board Race

Steve Buel defeated incumbent Martin Gonzalez in Tuesday's election in the race for Portland Public Schools board for Zone 4, which includes North Portland.

Buel—who has previously served on the board—is leading Gonzalez 54 percent to 44 percent in the race. Another 2 percent of votes went to write-in candidates.

The two men also faced each other in 2009. Normally, the power of incumbency would be enough to guarantee Gonzalez an easy victory, but Buel got the endorsement of the Portland Association of Teachers and out-raised Gonzalez $29,200 to $3,200. That money difference allowed Buel to get his name in front of voters.

Although there were three Portland Public School board seats on tonight's ballot, the Buel-Gonzalez race was the only race that was truly contested.

In Zone 5 (central northeast), incumbent Pam Knowles ran unopposed. In Zone 6 (central southeast), an open seat, Tom Koehler, who ran an active campaign easily defeated David Morrison, who did not mount much of a campaign. Koehler held a 79-19 lead over Morrison, with 2 percent of the vote going to write-in candidates.

WWeek 2015