News The unions representing Portland police and firefighters have endorsed State Rep. Jefferson Smith (D-East Portland) for mayor. The public safety unions last year announced they'd be withholding their endorsement in the race for the time being.Smith is perceived to be the most liberal of the three leading candidates. He's running against businesswoman Eileen Brady, former City Commissioner Charlie Hales ...   More

News We're sending the leading mayoral candidates back to school—David Douglas High School, to be precise—at 7 pm this Sunday for Mayoral Debate Club. There'll be no chewing gum, no running in the halls, and definitely no dodging the questions as WW and KATU team up to give Eilleen Brady, Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith a pop quiz.Update: The debate is now over. You can relive the magic below, then ...   More

News An environmentally themed Portland mayoral debate on Wednesday night saw two foiled gatecrashing attempts by lesser-known candidates on the ballot. The most surprising incident of the night came when moderator April Baer called the candidates onto the Benson High School auditorium stage, where a podium each was set aside for the three leading candidates: Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith. ...   More

News An elections-law complaint against former City Commissioner Charlie Hales threatens his campaign for mayor. Portlander Seth Woolley, a Green Party activist, filed complaints late Tuesday with the city auditor, Multnomah County and the state Elections Division based on facts reported by WW over the past year. The complaint alleges Hales wasn’t a legal voter in Oregon when he filed to run for mayor—a ...   More

News Tuesday night's Candidates Gone Wild featured mayhem and embarrassment: political hopefuls belted show tunes, answered questions on Portland history, and built a mini-Columbia River Crossing for a dog. But with the three mayoral candidates locked in a tight race, the show was more tense and barbed than in past years.Jefferson Smith and Charlie Hales both took pointed jabs at a "$4 tomato"—a not-especially-veiled ...   More

News Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott this afternoon rejected a complaint filed yesterday against mayoral candidate Charlie Hales.That complaint alleged Hales was not a legally registered Oregon voter when he filed to run for mayor. Here's Scott's response the complainant, Seth Woolley:Mr. Woolley, I have reviewed your letter of April 17, 2012, in which you request an investigation by my ...   More

News As WW reported last week, mayoral candidate Eileen Brady is outspending her primary opponents by a wide margin—her $824,000 is more than what Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith have spent, combined—and she's spent $233,500 of that on television ads. Her ads moved into heavy rotation last week, with Brady loaning her campaign $40,000. She looks positioned to push her mayoral foes off viewers' TV ...   More

Elections There’s a little more than two weeks before May primary ballots go out, and the contest for Portland mayor remains wide open. The most competitive mayoral primary in 20 years comes down to this:   More

Cover Story Not many people remember the great snout-house debate of 1999.  But Jeff Fish does. His company, Fish Construction NW Inc...   More

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