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Commissioner Steve Novick may be the most vulnerable member of Portland City Council in a long time, but he's yet to see a major candidate willing to challenge him for re-election next year.
Concordia University instructor Nick Caleb dropped his brief campaign against Novick on July 14.
The next day, real estate broker Fred Stewart, 50, filed registration papers with the state Elections Division to run against Novick in the May 2016 primary. Stewart previously ran to fill then-Commissioner Erik Sten's vacated council seat in 2008. (Nick Fish won—Stewart finished fourth out of five candidates.)
Stewart says he has a poll in the field and doesn't yet have results back. But he believes voters are unhappy with Novick.
"I thought Steve would be our best city commissioner ever—that turned out to be really wrong," Stewart says. "I'm bitterly disappointed in him. I feel our city needs a positive choice."
Sellwood Cycle owner Eric Tonkin has talked about running against Novick but has yet to file for the race. Charles McGee, co-founder of the nonprofit Black Parent Initiative, has also mulled a bid.
WWeek 2015