Three Candidates for Portland City Council Juggle Campaigning With Their Day Jobs

One case raises questions about the mayor's help.

Jo Ann Hardesty (V. Kapoor)

Last week, Portland City Council candidate Jo Ann Hardesty stepped aside from her role as president of the NAACP of Portland.

Her decision came after WW raised questions about the NAACP's policy that requires officers to resign at least temporarily when seeking elected office. (Hardesty entered the race in August.)

Hardesty isn't the only candidate in the race juggling other duties and an election campaign.

One of her opponents in the race to replace City Commissioner Dan Saltzman already faced a lawsuit over her decision not to resign her post. A third candidate's run raises questions for her boss, Mayor Ted Wheeler.

Here's a comparison.

Jo Ann Hardesty

Job: President of the NAACP of Portland

Salary: Hardesty is an unpaid volunteer.

NAACP rules require elected officers seeking public office to resign their role with the civil rights organization—at least for the duration of the campaign.

The NAACP is heavily involved in politics but attempts to distance itself from partisan campaigns or particular candidates.

When WW asked about the conflict last week, Hardesty initially denied she was violating policy and then agreed she'd "step back" from her volunteer post.

"This is people looking for dirt," Hardesty told WW. "Just to make this a non-issue, I will step back and ask the [vice president] to facilitate the next few meetings."

Loretta Smith

Job: Multnomah County commissioner

Salary: $103,000

Since December, Smith has faced a series of questions whether seeking endorsements, fundraising and other campaign activities violated the county charter's prohibition on officially seeking office before the final year
of her term.

Smith now faces a lawsuit by good-government activist Seth Woolley over her failure to resign. He says either the county or the state should force her resignation. The lawsuit is expected to get a hearing in six weeks.

Smith maintains that the county charter only required her resignation if she had officially filed for office before January, and she says she sought county legal advice before running.

Andrea Valderrama

Job: Senior policy adviser to Mayor Ted Wheeler

Salary: $74,588

Unlike her opponents, there's no question Valderrama followed the rules of her job.

She hasn't worked Fridays since the last week of October and has shifted her schedule to work longer days during the first part of the week. She takes vacation time for the four remaining hours of her work week on Friday.

But there's been no pretense she's continuing to carry the same responsibilities: She requested no late nights and no early mornings, and she off-loaded some responsibilities, according to the Oct. 12 memo in which she documented her request for a flexible schedule.

Valderrama shifted out of a role advising the mayor on most housing policies—including keeping eye on the $258 million affordable housing bond passed by voters last November. She continues to do work related to the city's Office of Equity and Human Rights.

Her flexible schedule may raise more questions about her boss's decision to effectively support her run.

Wheeler does not plan to endorse any candidate in the race, says spokesman Michael Cox, and is following city human resources rules.

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