Carmen Rubio Becomes the First Latinx Candidate to Win a Portland City Council Seat

Her bid for an open seat was an easy one.

Carmen Rubio (Sam Gehrke)
By Nigel Jaquiss

Carmen Rubio, executive director of the Latino Network, easily won a low-key race for Portland City Council Position 1 tonight.

Rubio, 46, defeated Candace Avalos, a Portland State University student adviser, and Tim DuBois, a carpenter, for the right to succeed Commissioner Amanda Fritz in January. In early returns, Rubio secured 67.1 percent of the vote.

Rubio, who previously served as an aide to Mayor Tom Potter and to the late Commissioner Nick Fish, will bring to City Hall an understanding of how the building works, as well as a deep network of relationships built over the past decade at the Latino Network.

Her election marks an historic first: She will become the council's first-ever Latinx member.

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