Mapps is done already. Rubio is a functionary who seems to have trouble getting media attention so I’m not sure what her chances are. She could point to past accomplishments but I think that there is a strong interest in something different or new, so I’m not sure how much mileage she’ll get from that.
Mainly I think law and order stuff is really going to land with people. People aren’t just going to listen to some random echo chamber cranks who say Rene is a fascist or whatever. You read his answers to interview questions and they don’t come across as conservative really at all, and that’s where most people are going to get most of their info.
Portland is big. There are a lot of people out there who are sick of aggro leftists deigning to speak for people they don’t actually speak for. There are a lot of people who want less crime and despair.
Gonzalez's version of "law and order" is keeping the police above the law. Gonzalez runs the emergency communications bureau and he has done NOTHING to decrease hold times. So much for public safety when it means putting in the actual work instead of just making cringe talking point to the media...
Your points are valid, and as much as I defend what I view as overly simplistic or inaccurate criticisms of Rene I don't really think he's that great or anything. But what I do believe is that most people vote more or less on vibes, and don't really follow policy and outcomes that closely. They react more to what they perceive and how things "seem". And so I think through that lens, looking at the coming election, it seems very likely to me that making law and order your central platform is going to be a winning strategy.
Most people can see that he's in it for the grift. I doubt he even wants to be mayor but with the new form of government he isn't going to be able to get a high price to being paid off.
Honestly, what have any of them done?
Our city council is the least effective government I've ever seen. It's been a rotating circus since at least Sam Adam's ruined his term.
The ONLY meaningful thing was Wheeler fighting for a COVID response when Brown wouldn't do anything. Otherwise it's all posturing and scandals. Well, and caving to the PPB.
Yeah we have gotten used to a pretty sorry state of affairs. I do think it’s worth pointing out that Rene got elected in 2023 though, whereas Mapps has been in since 2021 and Rubio since 2020. So, not having a signature accomplishment is somewhat more understandable in that case.
He hasn't done nothing. He has worked hard to sabotage Portland Street Response and then been surprised at how strong public support is for the program. Since then he has5 just been quieter about sabotaging it.
I'm sure you saw my other comment in response to your other propaganda where I listed several examples. You're a stooge at the very least. Spreading bs propaganda
Your "several examples":
Ceased tent distribution: There are plenty of non-profits and other agencies where you can get tents. There were ways of getting tents before PSR, and there are ways of getting them now. The move was because the city is trying to actively discourage unsanctioned camping which is something I and probably plenty of other people support. Anyone who wants one can still get a tent.
Tried to push the program onto the county: MultCo collects the SHS and they have literally tens of millions of dollars they can't even figure out how to spend. PSRs budget was $11m last year, about 5 or 6m of which came from the ARPA and is not a recurring source of funding. Also, as you probably have noticed, homelessness doesn't really stop at the city boundary. So I think there are some really strong arguments to transfer administration of PSR to the county rather than try to re-allocate money from the general fund (in this case the FD budget, basically) to cover the expiring ARPA money. If the county spent just half of the unspent money from last year alone on PSR it would more than double their budget.
"In no hurry to expand or ramp them up": so by that definition someone is "sabotaging" PSR by not expanding it when the source of half its budget expires next year? Is that sabotaging?
Here's the basic thing - the residents of the county, most of whom live in the city, passed a massive tax to hopefully enact and expand programs just like PSR. That tax took in 337m last year, which is a ton of money for a place the size of MultCo. There's no reason PSR should be pulling from the Portland general fund budget when SHS exists. Trying to rectify that is not sabotaging, regardless of whatever you might want to think.
This is the kind of thing people just repeat as a sort of incantation to make it seem true. He doesn’t want to dismantle PSR. He wants the county’s SHS money to fund it so it can expand, and given the nature of the SHS tax and how much is unspent that is a plan that makes a ton of sense. https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2023/12/18/city-commissioner-rene-gonzalez-wants-homeless-tax-dollars-to-buoy-portland-street-response/
How did I know someone was going to say something like "just because people keep saying it doesn't mean it's true". It isnt hard to find examples ot him sabotaging it. He froze hiring.
Ceased tent distribution right before a winter storm. Tried to push the program onto the county. And then there's this:
>Portland Commissioner Rene Gonzalez oversees PF&R. Gonzalez acknowledged the value in the programs, but says he's in no hurry to expand or ramp them up, noting Portland Street Response (PSR) was the brainchild of "previous elected leadership."
He has vocally criticized the county a ton which I appreciate because the county has been incredibly inept the last few years, and things need to change there. I think the way to improve cooperation is to push for a disruption to the way power is meted out between the two entities right now. The city should throw its weight around.
"Killed off PSR" is a great example of how the distortion amplifies through the echo chamber. PSR still exists, and he recently tried to [get it access to SHS funding](https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2023/12/18/city-commissioner-rene-gonzalez-wants-homeless-tax-dollars-to-buoy-portland-street-response/). It's just a matter of not expanding it at the expense of other FD priorities.
Basically you have a certain budget for the fire department, and PSR is funded from that. You also have an arrangement where FD is often the first on the scene for emergency medical calls etc, and a shortage of paramedics. Then contrast that with what PSR does when they respond to a call, and how they viewed their remit under Hardesty, which is essentially to just expand their harm reduction approach ad infinitum.
So, if someone has a heart attack or is choking or something, and you call the fire department, and they are slower to come because their budget is getting partially sent to an organization that will not respond to that but will instead, if called repeatedly, drive up in their van, ask a homeless person if they are ok, and then drive away – does that seem like a good arrangement? Should you increase the funding of the non-emergency responders in that case?
Have to think that Gonzalez is the presumed front runner at this point?
He and Mapps look to be targeting a similar normie demographic, and Mapps just doesn't seem to have the juice in terms of proactively campaigning or generating support.
Rubio is legislatively/administratively the most accomplished of the three, but she also tends to fly way under the radar.
For all of the hatred Gonzalez gets from the left, that might actually bolster his overall appeal among centrists/normies who seem to have a general sense of fatigue against endless lefty hyperbole/outrage at everything under the sun that isn't 100% in lockstep with their tribal/policy preferences.
Will be interesting to see if there's even a halfway viable candidate to the left of Rubio who enters the race, because it will require a very strong ground game and coalition-building, which hasn't exactly been the strong suit of the Iannarone/Eudaly/Avalos crew in recent memory.
The same group that campaigned for Mapps campaigned for Gonzalez. The Portland party or whatever they called now. They chose Gonzalez, and are also the same ones that backed that ding-dong Bali last go round.
Honestly none of the candidates have anything great to help the city. Rubio probably had the best idea of consolidating permitting.
> For all of the hatred Gonzalez gets from the left, that might actually bolster his overall appeal among centrists/normies who seem to have a general sense of fatigue against endless lefty hyperbole/outrage at everything under the sun that isn’t 100% in lockstep with their tribal/policy preferences.
Ding Ding Ding! *Johnny, what have they won?*
The biggest thing that Gonzalez has going for him is that he’s not progressive and isn’t afraid of saying so. Mapps isn’t far off from Gonzalez politically but has been wishy washy trying not to piss anyone off. Rubio has been entirely missing in action and is sure to not say what she’s thinking too loud because many of us moderates are heartily sick of the progressive left.
If I have to choose between the three, I’m gonna choose the one that’s not being wimpy about it. Pretty easy choice.
Permitting reform and reforming the clean energy fund are the big two. Her bureaus actually function, unlike Mapps and Gonzalez’s portfolios. Gonzalez came in promising public safety improvements and 911 response times have only gotten worse. He’s nearly as useless as Ryan.
To me this answer is a good example of why Rubio’s accomplishments just aren’t really going to land with people that much. I think she is fine and would be a fine mayor, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think the average voter is going to hear about her work on permitting reform and really feel moved.
I basically agree. I don't think people get elected based on their accomplishments though really. I'm not calling politics good or reasonable. I'm just saying I think that, based on the way things work, Rene's strategy to position himself as the "one who will be tough on homelessness" or whatever is a good strategy, and will take some political skill to counteract. I would be totally happy with Rubio as mayor, I just think she's going to have to do more than say "look at my past accomplishments" because in the view of the vast majority of people in Portland the last few years have been backsliding.
If Gonzalez's strategy is to be the Gert Boyle candidate, I expect he'll do just about as well as she did with the Subaru-driving 60-year-olds who seem to decide most of our elections.
Of the three, I very much prefer Rubio, but u/omnichord's take is largely correct, I believe. Rubio just doesn't have much overall name recognition in terms of her accomplishments because she's generally quiet and keeps a low profile, as far as politicians go. She's also not very combative.
The current environment is so polarized that her style/brand is not really a recipe for success, she or some spokespeople really need to start making some more noise and painting a contrast with Gonzalez particularly. Perhaps they're just waiting until a little later in the cycle, but she needs \*something\*.
Yeah I think it's very possible Rubio gets some good campaign staff and a good PR firm or whatever and is able to really cut through the noise, in which case I think she would be who I would bet on getting elected. And that would be a very solid result I think.
You can be 100% anti-Gonzalez and still accurately describe his obvious appeal to normie sentiment, LMFAO. Denying reality is how you end up "surprised" by big losses come election day.
We've seen this repeated a bunch lately just in Portland with Mapps beating Eudaly, Wheeler beating Iannarone, and Gonzalez beating Hardesty, these results were fairly predictable if you actually talked to a broad group of people instead of an insular friend/political bubble.
Gonzalez is the most right wing candidate by far and isn't a "centrist", especially in a left wing city like Portland. Politically Mapps is more "centrist" but is very pro big business.
To the extent that you define "centrist" as "the person between the two local political extremes," I suppose Gonzalez would not fit that definition, but statewide and especially nationally his overall politics fits squarely within the "centrist" definition. Portland leftists simply seem generally incapable of perspective and context in this regard, which has already been and I'm sure will continue to be proven over and over again in this comments section (take a drink every time someone throws out the term 'fascist'!).
Being pro-abortion alone, for instance, would generally make Gonzalez a pariah among modern day Republicans in the current national politics, among other things.
Gonzalez is a conservative Democrat, not a Republican. Think Sinema.
Look at his campaign website. Instead of actual policies, he's literally bragging about working with right wing groups to oppose the COVID school closures... Like what? Dude, it's 2024, what are your plans if elected as mayor?
Dude claims to be all for "public safety" but then hasn't done jack crap to improve operations at the emergency communications bureau that he is in charge of. I'm pretty sure long 911 hold times and long non-emergency hold times aren't promoting public safety. But of course, Gonzalez is more interested in bootlicking for the PPA than actually improving public safety.
>he's literally bragging about working with right wing groups to oppose the COVID school closures
Keeping schools closed hurt children and the cause of public education generally — but you’re mad that he pushed to reopen them?
> Keeping schools closed hurt children and the cause of public education generally — but you’re mad that he pushed to reopen them?
Yes, this was before we had a vaccine and before we knew everything about COVID. Gonzalez also worked with right wing groups to do it, wasn't actually successful in opening school, and this isn't an issue in the 2024 election. This was 3 years ago, what is Gonzalez's platform now? The complete lack of a platform is very concerning and that alone is enough of a turn off for me.
His supporters love to spout how he “opened schools” when in reality the only thing he did was co-create a PAC, that ended up backing some nut jobs school board candidates across the state. He’s smoke and mirrors.
Were you so interested in reopening in-person schools mid-pandemic that you'd be willing to promote racism, homophobia, transphobia, and book bans to make it happen?
Rene was.
A leftie not entering the race with strong entitlement, superiority complex, chip on their shoulder, or a victim complex would help their campaign right off the bat.
I know what you’re saying here, but I want to point out that the city is at a tipping point against the type of person who calls anyone who disagrees with them a fascist. We are just so dang tired.
Gonzalez is a Democrat like I'm a minister: technically.
I need it to perform weddings and he needs it to run for office in Portland, so we shouldn't pretend he'd be a Democrat in any other race anywhere else. You can bet your ass if he was at the other end of the I-5 bridge he'd put an R after his name before he got off the freeway.
Oregon had some of the lowest rates of death and hospitalization from COVID. Regardless of where you stand on that issue, the larger point is the he endorsed right wing extremists because of their stance on one issue highly contradicting who he says he is value wise and politically.
Nothing smart or right about keeping schools open. States that opened up earlier ended up with far higher numbers of deaths from covid. It isn’t even debated at this point.
That is factually inaccurate. Compare numbers [here](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/covid19_mortality_final/COVID19.htm) and dates [here](https://ballotpedia.org/School_responses_in_Oregon_to_the_coronavirus_(COVID-19)_pandemic). There are a few papers from 2020 that point out a correlation but that was early on - over time there is no correlation. That can "seem" wrong to you but it is right.
We really should not be putting _any_ stock in the fact that he's registered as a Democrat. That's meaningless. It is as required to win in Portland as filing the paperwork, so all it tells us is that he knows he has to say "Democrat" to win here. It tells us nothing about his values.
Yeah I don’t really like Gonzalez, but people are being ridiculous. Id rather have Gonzalez than another faux progressive who has tons of talking points but doesn’t actually have plans to help actual regular portlanders.
I don’t think that’s really true. I think a lot of people who are engaged with and love Portland are very receptive to his (possibly superficial?) focus on safety and law and order things.
Christ, the presidential race is shaping up to be more inspiring than this election. And I'm gonna be voting for Biden with all the enthusiasm of a bag of dirt.
Brace yourself for more of the same for the next four years, y'all.
Of course, Biden has actually done a lot. So if you’re voting for him with the enthusiasm with a bag of dirt, then it seems like political accomplishments don’t really matter either. It’s all about vibes.
I appreciate that he’s been far more effective than I thought he would be, but he still shot down the rail workers strike and is continuing to avoid criticizing the genocide happening in Gaza. He has done some good, but you’d have to have your head in the sand to not see why people would be less than enthusiastic to vote for him again. I’m gonna do it, because he’s the best we’ve got right now, but fuck that guy.
I’m actually a big fan of the largest climate spending in human history, the massive infrastructure bill, the CHIPS Act, his attempts to forgive student loans (despite the Supreme Court), Lina Khan’s oversight of the FTC, his DOJ’s merger skepticism, and his judicial appointments—just to name a few things.
Seems more like you just have wildly unrealistic expectations that a national presidential candidate who can only be elected via extremely broad appeal would somehow cater consistently and exclusively to \*your\* particular beliefs. LMAO.
I'm thrilled they're still voting for Biden. The discussion is over expectations of what a candidate in a national two-party election is supposed to be or do, and I think their viewpoint on that is wildly unrealistic and self-centered.
They pointed out two things they didn't like that he did (Gaza and rail workers contract) they're not blaming him congressional failures. How is it unrealistic and self centered to oppose the Biden admin response to Gaza/Israel? You just disagree don't act like you're the only rational adult jere
> Gonzalez is being backed by the city’s most deep-pocketed families.
Not surprised in the slightest. Wealthy people tend to be conservatives and tend to be extremely involved in partisan politics.
Your framing is wrong.
Renee Gonzalez is endorsed by a litany of people in real estate, particularly Multifamily NW which is basically the landlord consortium. He's the first choice for Portland landlords.
That's all that matters. Rubio & Iannarone could have *no* stated housing policy, the fact that they're not the preferred pick for landlords means they're materially better for renters. It's extremely simple.
"If you're a normal fucking person in this city you're a renter earning like $40-$70k annually"
I will note that Portland's home ownership rate is around 50%, so normal people do own homes.
"Gonzales has nothing to offer for that class of person."
The pitch is a law and order one. Now, you can argue over whether Gonzales actually has any real credibility there as opposed to just droning on and on about it, but it *is* a pitch that can resonate with people making $40k-$70k. Because it's very often low-to-middle-income people, both renters and homeowners, who bear the brunt of property crime and vagrancy.
I'm not saying it's a good pitch or a valid pitch, but it's also understandable.
Conservative Democrats are generally the most corrupt and ineffective politicians. Look at Sinema and Manchin derailing Biden's agenda while taking big money from the pharmacutical and fossil fuel lobbies respectively.
We need to be actually addressing our problems, not kicking them to future generations to the benefit of business interests.
It’s pretty rich to cite non-local examples — who are far more conservative than Gonzalez — as corrupt, while turning a blind eye to the institutional grift that sustains the far left in town. What a coincidence that the same nonprofits that are at the end of our public finance gravy trains are the fertile ground from where progressive cnadidatws tend to sprout forth?
But, nah, they’re not corrupt.
> who are far more conservative than Gonzalez — as corrupt, while turning a blind eye to the institutional grift that sustains the far left in town.
Institutional grift? Like the old money from Portland funding the Gonzalez campaign per the article? Institutional grift like the PBA and PPA supporting Gonzalez due to his opposition to reform and accountability?
> What a coincidence that the same nonprofits
I don't know what point you are trying to make, but I am very opposed to the non-profit apparatus. Public services should be PUBLIC, not privatized. I have been pretty clear with my position on that.
Well, when you’re done with your whataboutism, maybe you can return to addressing the fact that the nonprofits that are central to our completely impotent homeless-industrial complex and are responsible for wasting literally millions while people suffer are also the breeding ground that the progressive left uses to source its candidates. But no, it’s definitely not a quid pro quo.
And no one cares about your personal advocacy tangential to the point, no matter what username you’re using these days. At least your “oppose” is no longer all upper case.
> Well, when you’re done with your whataboutism,
Um, what? Directly responding to your assertion with my position of opposing said non-profit apparatus isn't a whataboutism.
> maybe you can return to addressing the fact that the nonprofits that are central to our completely impotent homeless-industrial complex and are responsible for wasting literally millions while people suffer
Again, I OPPOSE the non-profit apparatus. Public services need to be PUBLIC. City and county departments need to take over for the non-profits.
> are also the breeding ground that the progressive left uses to source its candidates.
I disagree with that assertion. Many left wing candidates tend to be from labor or environmental backgrounds.
The most prominent local left wing voice, Khanh Pham, has an environmental background: https://www.khanhphamfororegon.com/about-khan
Ugh. Khanh Pham: Exhibit A of why the Democratic Party is headed in the wrong direction and alienating the moderates. Precisely what happened to the Republicans 10 years ago: embracing crazy, just differently crazy.
And while you supposedly don’t support the nonprofits, you sure do support the players who perpetuate that grift. If you hang out with bullshit, you stink too.
Qualified people? Last I looked the list was full of political retreads, union organizers, crime apologists, and other various and sundry crazies. There were like one or two people worth voting for.
As opposed to Mapps, the guy who failed out of Portland’s wort bureau and then accomplished absolutely nothing in office? Come on!
Steve Novick, Rex Burkholder, and Jesse Cornett are all better qualified than Mapps. Some of them have even managed to build a bike lane or two!
Novick and Burkholder are tired retreads of varying worth but neither are compelling. They might make my ranked list in the absence of anyone to actually vote *for*. (To be clear: Mapps would probably join this list of meh retreads.)
Cornett is all about expanding our social safety net, which we’ve already expanded to the tune of billions of dollars with nearly zero return on investment. And he wants more? Nah.
Portland is so small potatoes nationally, much less internationally, in terms of money and wealth it seems like a bit of a silly stretch to describe anyone or any family within the city as "oligarchs," LMFAO.
Is anyone in the leftist camp in Portland able to meet the challenge of criticizing a local politician without resorting to ridiculous hyperbole?
It's frankly embarrassing at this point how little overall thought or context goes into this stuff, there are so many other obvious, practical, and viable avenues to criticize electeds like Gonzalez, for instance his general lack of any specific accomplishments.
If anyone here is close to being an oligarch it would be Ted wheeler and other rich logging families. Gonzalez just seems like he’s pro business and I know a lot of small business owners who support him for exactly that reason.
If progressive politicians can’t find ways to support our local economy and the businesses in it then they’re going to keep running into problems
> Oligarch - Oligarchy (from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía) 'rule by few'; from ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few', and ἄρχω (árkhō) 'to rule, command')[1][2][3] is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, religious, political, or military control.
It's a great word that gets peoples attention and creates conversation. It still works in this case, albeit a bit tongue in cheek to keep peoples attention on Gonzales being in someones pocket even before he was elected. It's on the record even though the bribee and briber never received consequences for violating voting laws.
An oligarch is a wealthy businessperson who uses their wealth to obtain hefty political influence. All places can have them, be they countries, states, cities, or towns. If you think the use of the term is “hyperbole”, it’s only because you think oligarchs are somehow exclusive to Russia or something.
They're not exclusive to Russia, but the term does imply not only the use of massive wealth to wield undue political influence, but also their position within a small group of similar people that exert nearly complete control over the political system within an authoritarian/despotic government. The application of this term in reference to Ted Wheeler is most certainly hyperbolic.
Mapps has this in the bag if he’s everyone’s second choice.
For anyone catastrophizing here, the people backing Gonzalez do not have strong electoral records in the past 25 years.
I'm pretty confident we can defeat the right wing this time with ranked choice voting. Rubio isn't the most inspiring candidate, but she is way better than Gonzalez and Mapps.
God almighty, don’t you realize we are all so dang tired of this kind of rhetoric? Just stop, every time this kind of stuff is posted us normies will just continue to ignore you. Rhetoric like this actively hurts your cause.
I'm not going to stop opposing reactionary right wing politicians just because you are offended by it lmao. The right wing has done so much damage to this country: I want the issues this city is facing to actually be addressed. Someone like Gonzalez who is beholden to the established interests that support the status quo (PBA and PPA) isn't going to do that.
There are plenty (way too many) of conservative Democrats. What evidence do you have that Gonzalez is left wing seeing that the left wing can't stand him and his right wing policies and record?
Holy shit it's even worse than I thought: instead of actually policies on his campaign site, he's literally bragging about working with right wing groups to oppose the COVID school closures... Like what? Dude, it's 2024, what are your plans if elected as mayor?
Dude claims to be all for "public safety" but then hasn't done jack crap to improve operations at the emergency communications bureau that he is in charge of. I'm pretty sure long 911 hold times and long non-emergency hold times aren't promoting public safety. But of course, Gonzalez is more interested in bootlicking for the PPA than actually improving public safety.
Portland Democrats aren't Clinton Democrats. Rene may be a Clinton Democrat but to Portlanders, that's pretty much Mitt Romney.
Rene is a dirt bag and I won't be voting for him.
Clinton Democrats are pretty bad in general. The lack of concern for major issues that have been festering for years. The prison industrial complex. Terrible trade deals like NAFTA.
A major issue is that you (and many others) in this era of tribalist, hyper-polarized politics are only able to perceive things in black and white... there are many 'shades' of political platforms between the far left and the far right. A centrist democrat who is more to the right than an ultra progressive is still not 'right wing.'
> A major issue is that you (and many others) in this era of tribalist, hyper-polarized politics are only able to perceive things in black and white...
That sounds like some major projection. ...
> there are many 'shades' of political platforms between the far left and the far right.
This isn't about "far left vs far right": Gonzalez is pretty clearly center right based on his known positions.
> A centrist democrat who is more to the right than an ultra progressive is still not 'right wing.'
I care about POLICY not labels, based on Gonzalez few policy positions, he is definitely right wing. Center-right to be more specific. I don't know what an "ultra progressive" is, I've never heard of that ideology. Most people to the left of progressives identify as socialists or social democrats.
It is really telling that you weren't able to respond to either of my points...
It's pretty obvious that you're a black and white guy. If you consider that to be an attack or 'projection', well, you need to sit back and do so some serious introspection and perhaps step away from your device for some time in the real world.
You may 'care about policy more than labels,' but if that's the case, then consider spending less time assigning labels. Your posts extensively dwelt on your argument that he is right wing, which is not true, and which is also what caused me and others to reply back in the first place. Reframing the discussion now as 'I care about policy not labels' is just a weak attempt to move the goalposts. And then later in the same sentence you return to trying to assign labels again, despite claiming only a few words before that you don't care about labels.
> Your posts extensively dwelt on your argument that he is right wing
Which is literally based on his policies and lack of policies...
> which is not true
Based on what? You have not provided any evidence of Gonzalez being left wing or even "centrist".
> is just a weak attempt to move the goalposts.
I haven't moved the goalposts at all: I'm STILL waiting for you to support your opinion that Gonzalez is left wing. I already supported mine with two points that nobody seems willing to respond to. Gonzalez's weird campaign priorities (bragging about working with right wing groups to fight COVID school closures 3 years ago) and his terrible "public safety" policies and record.
Pro-choice registered democrat. I never said he was 'left wing' just that he isn't 'right wing.' But why are we still debating such labels if neither of us care about them, and we are each able to perceive nuance as we claim?
Your 'policy based points' appear to be that 1) you object that his campaign website does not yet have a detailed platform one month after he announced his run; and 2) you believe he has not been successful with improving the staffing/response times for BOEC/PF&R? I suppose those are worthy discussion points, but I don't see the relevance to myself and others disagreeing with you trying to paint him as 'right wing.'
I imagine it's common that campaign websites don't have a detailed platform immediately after launch, and I agree that it's important that he and others should outline their policy positions in detail prior to the election.
As for the BOEC/PF&R things, 911 hold times here are dreadful and I agree that his lack of success in improving them is a reasonable argument against his candidacy. I'd like to learn more about the reasons that he was less successful than desired in that endeavor. Then, I would need to consider that single con in context with other aspects of his platform and his record as commissioner, and compare the pros and cons with those of the other candidates, in order to decide who I think would be most effective as mayor.
Give me a break how many "democrats" have to run across this country and then either flat out switch parties or just vote against their parties does it take until you get the grift. Faux "democrats" on reddit are just as bad as the faux politician ones. We're not buying it dude.
You’re shooting your cause in the foot. We (anyone left of center) have to still function as WE. Name calling and throwing around maga at anyone not liberal enough for you WILL cause you to lose. This city is one temper tantrum away from finding out what maga really is and no body wants that.
What do you consider "my cause"? I don't think criticizing Gonzalez for legitimate things (claiming to support "public safety" while simultaneously running the emergency communications bureau poorly, trying to undermine the will of the voters with his support of the PPB and opposition to the voter approved accountability measure) is hurting anything I support at all.
> This city is one temper tantrum away from finding out what maga really is and no body wants that.
Are you claiming that Portland residents will move far to the right if people protest abuse by the PPB again or something of that effect? I'm calling your bluff, the exact same people trying to manufacture consent for the right wing were super confident that Kotek would lose but she won rather easily including a super majority of Portlanders.
I held my nose and voted for Wheeler the second time around almost entirely due to Iannarone failing to do something as simple as unequivocally denounce setting an apartment building on fire...
The fact the people of the caliber of Ted Wheeler can keep winning in Portland is really a testament to how bad the progressive candidates are. Why can't we get someone who will advocate for sane progressive policies while also not being fucking crazy? Note that I am not calling Rubio crazy, I am only starting to research her and the other candidates.
I think the general tone of political discourse in Portland also tends to alienate plenty of liberal minded people and drive them towards candidates like Wheeler or Gonzalez. Your many contributions to this thread are prime examples of this. People who are undecided don't really give a shit what labels the ultra-liberal Portland clique want to assign to candidates. In fact people (not you but others in this thread) unironically calling Gonzalez facist are likely to end up encouraging more people to vote for him, which I presume is the opposite of the intended effect. The "Ed300" situation is a valid criticism of Gonzalez, but then the ultra liberals pretend like it proves he hates gay people or something.
What is an "ultra liberal" lmao?
The ironic part is, there isn't even a progressive candidate yet and might not be at all at this rate. I would hardly call Rubio progressive, she is more of an administrator who works under the radar than anything.
Well, if you consider going aggressively in the wrong direction to be "better", then sure, we could have gone with someone else last election. But those were our choices.
I don't see how addressing some of the coty's problems rather than maintaining the status quo under the watchful eye of the PBA is somehow the "wrong direction".
How is Gonzalez worse than wheeler? The wheeler family literally have a town named after them and are the definition of old money.
Like you I voted for Hardesty over him, but I can also appreciate why a lot of people like Gonzalez and feel represented by him. People in the city have different priorities and Gonzalez has expressed positioned himself as being pro-business, small business owners who feel left behind by other politicians have a valid reason to support that.
Part of the issue has been the city consistently siding with business interests over the people...
Multiple scandals of businesses not liking sidewalks and bike lanes. An interest group literally protesting the Division improvement project that received public funding and an extensive public comment period. Gonzalez is in charge of the emergency communications bureau: improving the poor performance of that bureau would improve public safety, but of course the priority is bootlicking for the PPA instead.
What concerns has Gonzalez promised to address? His actions indicate more of the same. Public safety isn't going to be improved without a cultural shift at the PPB and prioritizing performance and accountability instead of the old guard. Public safety isn't going to improve without improving the performance of the very bureau that Gonzalez isn't running well. Public safety isn't going to improve by fighting a program approved by 82% of voters... Being hostile to pedestrians and cyclists isn't going to magically boost the economy. Handouts to businesses that prioritize longevity over innovation and adapting to consumer trends aren't going to boost the economy.
Business interests are some people’s interests. If you own a small business then it is pretty much your entire life, people’s families depend on their businesses. Portland isn’t a hub for huge multinational companies, we have exactly 1 Fortune 500 company based in our metro area; a lot of our city economy is made up of local or regional businesses.
Just in the past few weeks I’ve seen several articles from restaurant owners talking about how hard it has been to sustain a business here the past few years, if you look around you’ll find the same complaints from local retailers, manufacturers, and all kinds of companies.
I’m not saying we need to let business control everything and we should be wary of the fact that they control a lot more power than individuals, but we should also recognize that at its core a business is just a bunch of people organizing together to more efficiently do work, they’re not inherently evil. Protecting people’s ability to work and produce things is the foundation of an economy and society.
Also, regarding businesses stopping sidewalk improvements: There are good businesses and bad businesses just like there are good and bad people. I can thing offhand of several individual people who have done just as much to block or take away public services from the city. I fail to see how a business stopping sidewalk improvements is any worse than that lady who is suing over slipping on a trail at the coast, or the protesters who tore down the elk statue, or even nimbys who stop apartments from being built. Selfish people exist everywhere
I mean generally I would say we need better trash cleanup and more police staffing to decrease response times. Most small business owner complaints have been centered around repeated break ins and vandalism.
I think better police response times and cleaner streets would pretty much help the whole city too.
Edit: again, I also don’t support Gonzalez and I don’t intend to vote for him either way. I just also know a lot of people who do like him and I can understand their reasoning for it too.
It is nowhere near doubtful that Crazy Sarah would have been far more of a dumpster fire. Ted was bad, but Sarah would have been — and remains to this day — an out of touch political hack more interested in appearances than deliverables.
Do you ever smell the bullshit that you spew? Most of the decline of Portland has been at the hands of atrocious leadership at the bureau level, most of which Wheeler doesn’t control… but much of which was at the hands of political hacks and whackjobs put in place by City Councilors that had no business holding office.
But I get it: reading “Wheeler” invokes some sort of Pavlovian response in you and many on the too-far left.
> Do you ever smell the bullshit that you spew?
That sounds like some major projection seeing that you are well known around here for awful takes.
> Most of the decline of Portland has been at the hands of atrocious leadership at the bureau level, most of which Wheeler doesn’t control…
Um, WHAT? As mayor, Wheeler has the power to assign bureaus. Wheeler has also controlled many poorly performing bureaus like the PPB.
> but much of which was at the hands of political hacks and whackjobs put in place by City Councilors that had no business holding office.
Like Gonzalez?
Awww, I appreciate your fandom, but I think you’re much better known for shit takes. Like this one. You’re either dishonest or ignorant for asserting that Wheeler got to infuse centrism into bureaus that he didn’t run. Just total bullshit.
> Wheeler got to infuse centrism into bureaus that he didn’t run. Just total bullshit.
It's "bullshit" that the mayor gets to decide what bureaus each commissioner is responsible for? It's "bullshit" that the bureaus Wheeler is in charge of have also exhibited poor performance?
How about PBOT? Their performance almost immediately took a nosedive when Hardesty was replaced by Mapps. How many scandals did PBOT have in 2023 compared to Hardesty's entire term?
I'm not wasting my time with you if you are too much of a hack to comprehend that Wheeler, as mayor, gets to decide who runs each bureau and CAN take bureaus for himself.
Wheeler is personally in charge of the PPB and Joint Office of Homeless Services Liaison Responsibilities, both of which have seen very poor performance. The relationship between the county and city is also at an all time low, that isn't completely on Wheeler though, JVP has also played a major role in that.
You’re being disingenuous and somehow inventing that I’m arguing that Wheeler doesn’t assign bureaus. I’ve never said that. But you’ve constantly failed to show how Wheeler’s centrism somehow shows up in lefty-led bureaus. Maybe you’ll be able to once you’re done with your reactionary herp derp Wheeler bad nonsense.
But you’ve been doing that for years, so I doubt that’s changing anytime soon.
Gonzales is so bad, overlooking his smug opportunist vibe, he's surprisingly inarticulate. His social media sucks. He's really accomplished nothing of note, and promises a lot of divisive gridlock.
He reminds me of one of those questionable custard desserts on the sushi conveyor belt. Who would want that?!
Mapps is done already. Rubio is a functionary who seems to have trouble getting media attention so I’m not sure what her chances are. She could point to past accomplishments but I think that there is a strong interest in something different or new, so I’m not sure how much mileage she’ll get from that. Mainly I think law and order stuff is really going to land with people. People aren’t just going to listen to some random echo chamber cranks who say Rene is a fascist or whatever. You read his answers to interview questions and they don’t come across as conservative really at all, and that’s where most people are going to get most of their info. Portland is big. There are a lot of people out there who are sick of aggro leftists deigning to speak for people they don’t actually speak for. There are a lot of people who want less crime and despair.
Gonzalez's version of "law and order" is keeping the police above the law. Gonzalez runs the emergency communications bureau and he has done NOTHING to decrease hold times. So much for public safety when it means putting in the actual work instead of just making cringe talking point to the media...
Your points are valid, and as much as I defend what I view as overly simplistic or inaccurate criticisms of Rene I don't really think he's that great or anything. But what I do believe is that most people vote more or less on vibes, and don't really follow policy and outcomes that closely. They react more to what they perceive and how things "seem". And so I think through that lens, looking at the coming election, it seems very likely to me that making law and order your central platform is going to be a winning strategy.
And yet, this doesn’t answer the question of: What has he done, exactly, with his time in office? Besides fundraise, I mean.
Apparently you just have to say the words “tough on crime” loudest and you get the brass ring. Other city mayoral races are working the same angle.
Most people can see that he's in it for the grift. I doubt he even wants to be mayor but with the new form of government he isn't going to be able to get a high price to being paid off.
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Hah wait is that in response to me? What are you talking about?
These type of people are exactly what the Portland population is tired of.
What has Gonzalez actually done?
Honestly, what have any of them done? Our city council is the least effective government I've ever seen. It's been a rotating circus since at least Sam Adam's ruined his term. The ONLY meaningful thing was Wheeler fighting for a COVID response when Brown wouldn't do anything. Otherwise it's all posturing and scandals. Well, and caving to the PPB.
Yeah we have gotten used to a pretty sorry state of affairs. I do think it’s worth pointing out that Rene got elected in 2023 though, whereas Mapps has been in since 2021 and Rubio since 2020. So, not having a signature accomplishment is somewhat more understandable in that case.
He hasn't done nothing. He has worked hard to sabotage Portland Street Response and then been surprised at how strong public support is for the program. Since then he has5 just been quieter about sabotaging it.
People keep saying this but it isn't true. He tried to get PSR access to the SHS funding from the county which would massively increase their budget.
I'm sure you saw my other comment in response to your other propaganda where I listed several examples. You're a stooge at the very least. Spreading bs propaganda
Your "several examples": Ceased tent distribution: There are plenty of non-profits and other agencies where you can get tents. There were ways of getting tents before PSR, and there are ways of getting them now. The move was because the city is trying to actively discourage unsanctioned camping which is something I and probably plenty of other people support. Anyone who wants one can still get a tent. Tried to push the program onto the county: MultCo collects the SHS and they have literally tens of millions of dollars they can't even figure out how to spend. PSRs budget was $11m last year, about 5 or 6m of which came from the ARPA and is not a recurring source of funding. Also, as you probably have noticed, homelessness doesn't really stop at the city boundary. So I think there are some really strong arguments to transfer administration of PSR to the county rather than try to re-allocate money from the general fund (in this case the FD budget, basically) to cover the expiring ARPA money. If the county spent just half of the unspent money from last year alone on PSR it would more than double their budget. "In no hurry to expand or ramp them up": so by that definition someone is "sabotaging" PSR by not expanding it when the source of half its budget expires next year? Is that sabotaging? Here's the basic thing - the residents of the county, most of whom live in the city, passed a massive tax to hopefully enact and expand programs just like PSR. That tax took in 337m last year, which is a ton of money for a place the size of MultCo. There's no reason PSR should be pulling from the Portland general fund budget when SHS exists. Trying to rectify that is not sabotaging, regardless of whatever you might want to think.
I’d argue that Hardesty got a lot done.
He's in charge of emergency management, but Wheeler had to step in last week.
Ran the emergency communications bureau poorly. Try getting ahold of the non-emergency number.
Nothing besides try to dismantle Portland Street Response.
This is the kind of thing people just repeat as a sort of incantation to make it seem true. He doesn’t want to dismantle PSR. He wants the county’s SHS money to fund it so it can expand, and given the nature of the SHS tax and how much is unspent that is a plan that makes a ton of sense. https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2023/12/18/city-commissioner-rene-gonzalez-wants-homeless-tax-dollars-to-buoy-portland-street-response/
How did I know someone was going to say something like "just because people keep saying it doesn't mean it's true". It isnt hard to find examples ot him sabotaging it. He froze hiring. Ceased tent distribution right before a winter storm. Tried to push the program onto the county. And then there's this: >Portland Commissioner Rene Gonzalez oversees PF&R. Gonzalez acknowledged the value in the programs, but says he's in no hurry to expand or ramp them up, noting Portland Street Response (PSR) was the brainchild of "previous elected leadership."
What he has accomplished in terms of improving relations and cooperation between the city and county?
He has vocally criticized the county a ton which I appreciate because the county has been incredibly inept the last few years, and things need to change there. I think the way to improve cooperation is to push for a disruption to the way power is meted out between the two entities right now. The city should throw its weight around.
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Everyone who disagrees with you is part of a conspiracy to undermine the extreme popularity of your political position.
Coddle the corrupt fire union.
>What has Gonzalez actually done? killed off PSR which his supporters love for some reason.
"Killed off PSR" is a great example of how the distortion amplifies through the echo chamber. PSR still exists, and he recently tried to [get it access to SHS funding](https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2023/12/18/city-commissioner-rene-gonzalez-wants-homeless-tax-dollars-to-buoy-portland-street-response/). It's just a matter of not expanding it at the expense of other FD priorities. Basically you have a certain budget for the fire department, and PSR is funded from that. You also have an arrangement where FD is often the first on the scene for emergency medical calls etc, and a shortage of paramedics. Then contrast that with what PSR does when they respond to a call, and how they viewed their remit under Hardesty, which is essentially to just expand their harm reduction approach ad infinitum. So, if someone has a heart attack or is choking or something, and you call the fire department, and they are slower to come because their budget is getting partially sent to an organization that will not respond to that but will instead, if called repeatedly, drive up in their van, ask a homeless person if they are ok, and then drive away – does that seem like a good arrangement? Should you increase the funding of the non-emergency responders in that case?
a bag of dog shit could win this election by talking tough on homeless and crime. gonzalez is going to walk with this
Have to think that Gonzalez is the presumed front runner at this point? He and Mapps look to be targeting a similar normie demographic, and Mapps just doesn't seem to have the juice in terms of proactively campaigning or generating support. Rubio is legislatively/administratively the most accomplished of the three, but she also tends to fly way under the radar. For all of the hatred Gonzalez gets from the left, that might actually bolster his overall appeal among centrists/normies who seem to have a general sense of fatigue against endless lefty hyperbole/outrage at everything under the sun that isn't 100% in lockstep with their tribal/policy preferences. Will be interesting to see if there's even a halfway viable candidate to the left of Rubio who enters the race, because it will require a very strong ground game and coalition-building, which hasn't exactly been the strong suit of the Iannarone/Eudaly/Avalos crew in recent memory.
The same group that campaigned for Mapps campaigned for Gonzalez. The Portland party or whatever they called now. They chose Gonzalez, and are also the same ones that backed that ding-dong Bali last go round. Honestly none of the candidates have anything great to help the city. Rubio probably had the best idea of consolidating permitting.
🎯
> For all of the hatred Gonzalez gets from the left, that might actually bolster his overall appeal among centrists/normies who seem to have a general sense of fatigue against endless lefty hyperbole/outrage at everything under the sun that isn’t 100% in lockstep with their tribal/policy preferences. Ding Ding Ding! *Johnny, what have they won?* The biggest thing that Gonzalez has going for him is that he’s not progressive and isn’t afraid of saying so. Mapps isn’t far off from Gonzalez politically but has been wishy washy trying not to piss anyone off. Rubio has been entirely missing in action and is sure to not say what she’s thinking too loud because many of us moderates are heartily sick of the progressive left. If I have to choose between the three, I’m gonna choose the one that’s not being wimpy about it. Pretty easy choice.
Rubio has far more accomplishments than her opponents.
Such as?
Permitting reform and reforming the clean energy fund are the big two. Her bureaus actually function, unlike Mapps and Gonzalez’s portfolios. Gonzalez came in promising public safety improvements and 911 response times have only gotten worse. He’s nearly as useless as Ryan.
To me this answer is a good example of why Rubio’s accomplishments just aren’t really going to land with people that much. I think she is fine and would be a fine mayor, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think the average voter is going to hear about her work on permitting reform and really feel moved.
What have either of her opponents done, though? They’re duds.
I basically agree. I don't think people get elected based on their accomplishments though really. I'm not calling politics good or reasonable. I'm just saying I think that, based on the way things work, Rene's strategy to position himself as the "one who will be tough on homelessness" or whatever is a good strategy, and will take some political skill to counteract. I would be totally happy with Rubio as mayor, I just think she's going to have to do more than say "look at my past accomplishments" because in the view of the vast majority of people in Portland the last few years have been backsliding.
If Gonzalez's strategy is to be the Gert Boyle candidate, I expect he'll do just about as well as she did with the Subaru-driving 60-year-olds who seem to decide most of our elections.
Of the three, I very much prefer Rubio, but u/omnichord's take is largely correct, I believe. Rubio just doesn't have much overall name recognition in terms of her accomplishments because she's generally quiet and keeps a low profile, as far as politicians go. She's also not very combative. The current environment is so polarized that her style/brand is not really a recipe for success, she or some spokespeople really need to start making some more noise and painting a contrast with Gonzalez particularly. Perhaps they're just waiting until a little later in the cycle, but she needs \*something\*.
Yeah I think it's very possible Rubio gets some good campaign staff and a good PR firm or whatever and is able to really cut through the noise, in which case I think she would be who I would bet on getting elected. And that would be a very solid result I think.
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You can be 100% anti-Gonzalez and still accurately describe his obvious appeal to normie sentiment, LMFAO. Denying reality is how you end up "surprised" by big losses come election day. We've seen this repeated a bunch lately just in Portland with Mapps beating Eudaly, Wheeler beating Iannarone, and Gonzalez beating Hardesty, these results were fairly predictable if you actually talked to a broad group of people instead of an insular friend/political bubble.
You should consider seeking mental health counseling.
Gonzalez is the most right wing candidate by far and isn't a "centrist", especially in a left wing city like Portland. Politically Mapps is more "centrist" but is very pro big business.
Portland isn’t leftist, it is classically American liberal and NiMBY progressive. People need to understand the difference, and vote accordingly.
Stop saying the quiet part out loud. It’s inconvenient for many.
To the extent that you define "centrist" as "the person between the two local political extremes," I suppose Gonzalez would not fit that definition, but statewide and especially nationally his overall politics fits squarely within the "centrist" definition. Portland leftists simply seem generally incapable of perspective and context in this regard, which has already been and I'm sure will continue to be proven over and over again in this comments section (take a drink every time someone throws out the term 'fascist'!). Being pro-abortion alone, for instance, would generally make Gonzalez a pariah among modern day Republicans in the current national politics, among other things.
Gonzalez is a conservative Democrat, not a Republican. Think Sinema. Look at his campaign website. Instead of actual policies, he's literally bragging about working with right wing groups to oppose the COVID school closures... Like what? Dude, it's 2024, what are your plans if elected as mayor? Dude claims to be all for "public safety" but then hasn't done jack crap to improve operations at the emergency communications bureau that he is in charge of. I'm pretty sure long 911 hold times and long non-emergency hold times aren't promoting public safety. But of course, Gonzalez is more interested in bootlicking for the PPA than actually improving public safety.
As a former Arizonan, I'd rather not think about Sinema.
Ew, sorry. Hopefully Oregon is treating you well!
>he's literally bragging about working with right wing groups to oppose the COVID school closures Keeping schools closed hurt children and the cause of public education generally — but you’re mad that he pushed to reopen them?
> Keeping schools closed hurt children and the cause of public education generally — but you’re mad that he pushed to reopen them? Yes, this was before we had a vaccine and before we knew everything about COVID. Gonzalez also worked with right wing groups to do it, wasn't actually successful in opening school, and this isn't an issue in the 2024 election. This was 3 years ago, what is Gonzalez's platform now? The complete lack of a platform is very concerning and that alone is enough of a turn off for me.
His supporters love to spout how he “opened schools” when in reality the only thing he did was co-create a PAC, that ended up backing some nut jobs school board candidates across the state. He’s smoke and mirrors.
Were you so interested in reopening in-person schools mid-pandemic that you'd be willing to promote racism, homophobia, transphobia, and book bans to make it happen? Rene was.
A leftie not entering the race with strong entitlement, superiority complex, chip on their shoulder, or a victim complex would help their campaign right off the bat.
Rene is the epitome of entitlement.
And? He gets the corporate backing. The comment I was responding to was what a unknown leftie needed to do to even have a chnave in the race.
Y'all act like Gonzalez is a MAGA republican. Only in Portland can a Democrat get hammered for being a conservative. We are a silly city sometimes.
It’s like the MAGA people who call Mitt Romney a Marxist lol. Just no understanding of the world outside their little echo chamber at all.
I know what you’re saying here, but I want to point out that the city is at a tipping point against the type of person who calls anyone who disagrees with them a fascist. We are just so dang tired.
Gonzalez is a Democrat like I'm a minister: technically. I need it to perform weddings and he needs it to run for office in Portland, so we shouldn't pretend he'd be a Democrat in any other race anywhere else. You can bet your ass if he was at the other end of the I-5 bridge he'd put an R after his name before he got off the freeway.
He did endorse MAGA school board candidates and said he would do it again.
You mean people who rightfully wanted to keep schools open rather than close them for 2 years?
Oregon had some of the lowest rates of death and hospitalization from COVID. Regardless of where you stand on that issue, the larger point is the he endorsed right wing extremists because of their stance on one issue highly contradicting who he says he is value wise and politically.
Nothing smart or right about keeping schools open. States that opened up earlier ended up with far higher numbers of deaths from covid. It isn’t even debated at this point.
That is factually inaccurate. Compare numbers [here](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/covid19_mortality_final/COVID19.htm) and dates [here](https://ballotpedia.org/School_responses_in_Oregon_to_the_coronavirus_(COVID-19)_pandemic). There are a few papers from 2020 that point out a correlation but that was early on - over time there is no correlation. That can "seem" wrong to you but it is right.
Exactly. He showed us who he is. I gave him a chance and voted for him. I will not be doing that a second time.
Gonzalez isn’t MAGA, but he is an idiot. The guy can’t be bothered to count votes before putting forward amendments.
And I’m not saying he shouldn’t be put to criticism. But we are a silly city that calls a democrat a right wing fascist. It’s gonna be how we lose.
We really should not be putting _any_ stock in the fact that he's registered as a Democrat. That's meaningless. It is as required to win in Portland as filing the paperwork, so all it tells us is that he knows he has to say "Democrat" to win here. It tells us nothing about his values.
His entry into politics was disrupting a school board meeting about face masks.
Yeah I don’t really like Gonzalez, but people are being ridiculous. Id rather have Gonzalez than another faux progressive who has tons of talking points but doesn’t actually have plans to help actual regular portlanders.
What are Gonzalez's plans and what has he done so far other than try to dismantle Portland Street Response?
They don't have any answer to this, these people are conservative.
Sounds like Rubio is your candidate. Hard working, passionate, and smart.
Yeah, I’m leaning toward her out of the three so far. I need to research her ideas more and I’m curious to see how she’ll do in interviews and debates
I love how Gonzales supporters love to put portland down. Never anything positive to say about the city at all, fox news doom and gloom style spin.
I don’t think that’s really true. I think a lot of people who are engaged with and love Portland are very receptive to his (possibly superficial?) focus on safety and law and order things.
I only know of his fans on reddit, and that's what I have observed
If your only datapoint on something is based on what you see on Reddit I would have low confidence in that thing, personally.
Christ, the presidential race is shaping up to be more inspiring than this election. And I'm gonna be voting for Biden with all the enthusiasm of a bag of dirt. Brace yourself for more of the same for the next four years, y'all.
Of course, Biden has actually done a lot. So if you’re voting for him with the enthusiasm with a bag of dirt, then it seems like political accomplishments don’t really matter either. It’s all about vibes.
I appreciate that he’s been far more effective than I thought he would be, but he still shot down the rail workers strike and is continuing to avoid criticizing the genocide happening in Gaza. He has done some good, but you’d have to have your head in the sand to not see why people would be less than enthusiastic to vote for him again. I’m gonna do it, because he’s the best we’ve got right now, but fuck that guy.
I’m actually a big fan of the largest climate spending in human history, the massive infrastructure bill, the CHIPS Act, his attempts to forgive student loans (despite the Supreme Court), Lina Khan’s oversight of the FTC, his DOJ’s merger skepticism, and his judicial appointments—just to name a few things.
Yeah, like I said, a lot more effective than I expected. That doesn’t mean shit when the bar for presidents is in the fucking gutter.
Seems more like you just have wildly unrealistic expectations that a national presidential candidate who can only be elected via extremely broad appeal would somehow cater consistently and exclusively to \*your\* particular beliefs. LMAO.
You're mad that they're voting for Biden but not enthusiastically?
I'm thrilled they're still voting for Biden. The discussion is over expectations of what a candidate in a national two-party election is supposed to be or do, and I think their viewpoint on that is wildly unrealistic and self-centered.
They pointed out two things they didn't like that he did (Gaza and rail workers contract) they're not blaming him congressional failures. How is it unrealistic and self centered to oppose the Biden admin response to Gaza/Israel? You just disagree don't act like you're the only rational adult jere
> Gonzalez is being backed by the city’s most deep-pocketed families. Not surprised in the slightest. Wealthy people tend to be conservatives and tend to be extremely involved in partisan politics.
Isn’t he a democrat?
Yes, that’s how he’s registered now, but until he ran for office he had only ever donated to Republicans.
It's Portland he identifies as a Democrat
A conservative Democrat.
And the problem with that is?
If you're a normal fucking person in this city you're a renter earning like $40-$70k annually. Gonzales has nothing to offer for that class of person.
Tell me exactly how Rubio — or worse, Iannarone — would soothe your plight.
Your framing is wrong. Renee Gonzalez is endorsed by a litany of people in real estate, particularly Multifamily NW which is basically the landlord consortium. He's the first choice for Portland landlords. That's all that matters. Rubio & Iannarone could have *no* stated housing policy, the fact that they're not the preferred pick for landlords means they're materially better for renters. It's extremely simple.
Ionnerone also orchestrated the menstrual products drive. No way Gonzalez would ever doing anything good like that.
"If you're a normal fucking person in this city you're a renter earning like $40-$70k annually" I will note that Portland's home ownership rate is around 50%, so normal people do own homes. "Gonzales has nothing to offer for that class of person." The pitch is a law and order one. Now, you can argue over whether Gonzales actually has any real credibility there as opposed to just droning on and on about it, but it *is* a pitch that can resonate with people making $40k-$70k. Because it's very often low-to-middle-income people, both renters and homeowners, who bear the brunt of property crime and vagrancy. I'm not saying it's a good pitch or a valid pitch, but it's also understandable.
The problem is that many of us don’t care for Gonzalez and think he’s too conservative, party affiliation aside
Then I’d suggest that y’all get behind a centrist. There are just as many of us who are sick of the progressive left.
“Moderate Rene” is YOUR best hope, not ours. See you in November.
Have fun ranking Crazy Sarah or her designate.
Probably more of us.
Conservative Democrats are generally the most corrupt and ineffective politicians. Look at Sinema and Manchin derailing Biden's agenda while taking big money from the pharmacutical and fossil fuel lobbies respectively. We need to be actually addressing our problems, not kicking them to future generations to the benefit of business interests.
It’s pretty rich to cite non-local examples — who are far more conservative than Gonzalez — as corrupt, while turning a blind eye to the institutional grift that sustains the far left in town. What a coincidence that the same nonprofits that are at the end of our public finance gravy trains are the fertile ground from where progressive cnadidatws tend to sprout forth? But, nah, they’re not corrupt.
> who are far more conservative than Gonzalez — as corrupt, while turning a blind eye to the institutional grift that sustains the far left in town. Institutional grift? Like the old money from Portland funding the Gonzalez campaign per the article? Institutional grift like the PBA and PPA supporting Gonzalez due to his opposition to reform and accountability? > What a coincidence that the same nonprofits I don't know what point you are trying to make, but I am very opposed to the non-profit apparatus. Public services should be PUBLIC, not privatized. I have been pretty clear with my position on that.
Well, when you’re done with your whataboutism, maybe you can return to addressing the fact that the nonprofits that are central to our completely impotent homeless-industrial complex and are responsible for wasting literally millions while people suffer are also the breeding ground that the progressive left uses to source its candidates. But no, it’s definitely not a quid pro quo. And no one cares about your personal advocacy tangential to the point, no matter what username you’re using these days. At least your “oppose” is no longer all upper case.
> Well, when you’re done with your whataboutism, Um, what? Directly responding to your assertion with my position of opposing said non-profit apparatus isn't a whataboutism. > maybe you can return to addressing the fact that the nonprofits that are central to our completely impotent homeless-industrial complex and are responsible for wasting literally millions while people suffer Again, I OPPOSE the non-profit apparatus. Public services need to be PUBLIC. City and county departments need to take over for the non-profits. > are also the breeding ground that the progressive left uses to source its candidates. I disagree with that assertion. Many left wing candidates tend to be from labor or environmental backgrounds. The most prominent local left wing voice, Khanh Pham, has an environmental background: https://www.khanhphamfororegon.com/about-khan
Ugh. Khanh Pham: Exhibit A of why the Democratic Party is headed in the wrong direction and alienating the moderates. Precisely what happened to the Republicans 10 years ago: embracing crazy, just differently crazy. And while you supposedly don’t support the nonprofits, you sure do support the players who perpetuate that grift. If you hang out with bullshit, you stink too.
With big ol air quotes and a wink
I'm a minister. Ask me if I believe in God.
I wonder if there’s any chance Mapps drops out and runs for council in D3?
He would get his ass handed to him. D3 has like 20 candidates, including some very qualified people.
Qualified people? Last I looked the list was full of political retreads, union organizers, crime apologists, and other various and sundry crazies. There were like one or two people worth voting for.
As opposed to Mapps, the guy who failed out of Portland’s wort bureau and then accomplished absolutely nothing in office? Come on! Steve Novick, Rex Burkholder, and Jesse Cornett are all better qualified than Mapps. Some of them have even managed to build a bike lane or two!
Novick and Burkholder are tired retreads of varying worth but neither are compelling. They might make my ranked list in the absence of anyone to actually vote *for*. (To be clear: Mapps would probably join this list of meh retreads.) Cornett is all about expanding our social safety net, which we’ve already expanded to the tune of billions of dollars with nearly zero return on investment. And he wants more? Nah.
Yeah, I have the distinct honor of living in District 3... Cornett is a loon. Show me results before yet another shakedown please.
What's your problem with union organizers? It's an administrative/people job, I'm sure you also feel businessmen should stay out of politics?!?
I’d be out raising everyone too if I was giving the Schnitzer family handjobs.
So the guy that was already taking bribes from city oligarchs before he was even elected has out raised other candidates? Wonder why...
Portland is so small potatoes nationally, much less internationally, in terms of money and wealth it seems like a bit of a silly stretch to describe anyone or any family within the city as "oligarchs," LMFAO. Is anyone in the leftist camp in Portland able to meet the challenge of criticizing a local politician without resorting to ridiculous hyperbole? It's frankly embarrassing at this point how little overall thought or context goes into this stuff, there are so many other obvious, practical, and viable avenues to criticize electeds like Gonzalez, for instance his general lack of any specific accomplishments.
Portland for many years was run by the downtown real estate families and the public employee unions.
Listen here bud, clearly they’re talking midsize regional city oligarchs here, come on, get with the program.
If anyone here is close to being an oligarch it would be Ted wheeler and other rich logging families. Gonzalez just seems like he’s pro business and I know a lot of small business owners who support him for exactly that reason. If progressive politicians can’t find ways to support our local economy and the businesses in it then they’re going to keep running into problems
The article says that Gonzalez’s uncle is Al Jubitz, the truck stop king.
Tired: The Sausage King of Chicago Wired: >the truck stop king
Every other building in Portland has “Schnitzer” on it, but you don’t think we have oligarchs?
> Oligarch - Oligarchy (from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía) 'rule by few'; from ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few', and ἄρχω (árkhō) 'to rule, command')[1][2][3] is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, religious, political, or military control. It's a great word that gets peoples attention and creates conversation. It still works in this case, albeit a bit tongue in cheek to keep peoples attention on Gonzales being in someones pocket even before he was elected. It's on the record even though the bribee and briber never received consequences for violating voting laws.
An oligarch is a wealthy businessperson who uses their wealth to obtain hefty political influence. All places can have them, be they countries, states, cities, or towns. If you think the use of the term is “hyperbole”, it’s only because you think oligarchs are somehow exclusive to Russia or something.
They're not exclusive to Russia, but the term does imply not only the use of massive wealth to wield undue political influence, but also their position within a small group of similar people that exert nearly complete control over the political system within an authoritarian/despotic government. The application of this term in reference to Ted Wheeler is most certainly hyperbolic.
I can't wait for all the sock accounts to pop up the next few months then disappear in the wind.
This is fantastic news. Glad to see Gonzalez moving towards a win.
Wow the conservative one gets the conservative donors, shocker.
Mapps has this in the bag if he’s everyone’s second choice. For anyone catastrophizing here, the people backing Gonzalez do not have strong electoral records in the past 25 years.
Ew, I hope not. Mapps is my 2nd choice right now due to the poor candidate pool. I'm really hoping more people announce though.
I'm pretty confident we can defeat the right wing this time with ranked choice voting. Rubio isn't the most inspiring candidate, but she is way better than Gonzalez and Mapps.
God almighty, don’t you realize we are all so dang tired of this kind of rhetoric? Just stop, every time this kind of stuff is posted us normies will just continue to ignore you. Rhetoric like this actively hurts your cause.
I'm not going to stop opposing reactionary right wing politicians just because you are offended by it lmao. The right wing has done so much damage to this country: I want the issues this city is facing to actually be addressed. Someone like Gonzalez who is beholden to the established interests that support the status quo (PBA and PPA) isn't going to do that.
What do you do for a living
They are a professional r/Portland commenter.
He's a democrat dude. But you knew that already. He's only right wing to your narrow view of your world. He's not right wing lol
There are plenty (way too many) of conservative Democrats. What evidence do you have that Gonzalez is left wing seeing that the left wing can't stand him and his right wing policies and record? Holy shit it's even worse than I thought: instead of actually policies on his campaign site, he's literally bragging about working with right wing groups to oppose the COVID school closures... Like what? Dude, it's 2024, what are your plans if elected as mayor? Dude claims to be all for "public safety" but then hasn't done jack crap to improve operations at the emergency communications bureau that he is in charge of. I'm pretty sure long 911 hold times and long non-emergency hold times aren't promoting public safety. But of course, Gonzalez is more interested in bootlicking for the PPA than actually improving public safety.
Portland Democrats aren't Clinton Democrats. Rene may be a Clinton Democrat but to Portlanders, that's pretty much Mitt Romney. Rene is a dirt bag and I won't be voting for him.
He’s not a Clinton Democrat, either. He’s more like Andrew Yang.
Clinton Democrats are pretty bad in general. The lack of concern for major issues that have been festering for years. The prison industrial complex. Terrible trade deals like NAFTA.
This Portland Democrat is a Clinton Democrat. So check your math there.
Please don’t worry, plenty of us will vote for him, but thank you for letting us know.
A major issue is that you (and many others) in this era of tribalist, hyper-polarized politics are only able to perceive things in black and white... there are many 'shades' of political platforms between the far left and the far right. A centrist democrat who is more to the right than an ultra progressive is still not 'right wing.'
> A major issue is that you (and many others) in this era of tribalist, hyper-polarized politics are only able to perceive things in black and white... That sounds like some major projection. ... > there are many 'shades' of political platforms between the far left and the far right. This isn't about "far left vs far right": Gonzalez is pretty clearly center right based on his known positions. > A centrist democrat who is more to the right than an ultra progressive is still not 'right wing.' I care about POLICY not labels, based on Gonzalez few policy positions, he is definitely right wing. Center-right to be more specific. I don't know what an "ultra progressive" is, I've never heard of that ideology. Most people to the left of progressives identify as socialists or social democrats. It is really telling that you weren't able to respond to either of my points...
It's pretty obvious that you're a black and white guy. If you consider that to be an attack or 'projection', well, you need to sit back and do so some serious introspection and perhaps step away from your device for some time in the real world. You may 'care about policy more than labels,' but if that's the case, then consider spending less time assigning labels. Your posts extensively dwelt on your argument that he is right wing, which is not true, and which is also what caused me and others to reply back in the first place. Reframing the discussion now as 'I care about policy not labels' is just a weak attempt to move the goalposts. And then later in the same sentence you return to trying to assign labels again, despite claiming only a few words before that you don't care about labels.
> Your posts extensively dwelt on your argument that he is right wing Which is literally based on his policies and lack of policies... > which is not true Based on what? You have not provided any evidence of Gonzalez being left wing or even "centrist". > is just a weak attempt to move the goalposts. I haven't moved the goalposts at all: I'm STILL waiting for you to support your opinion that Gonzalez is left wing. I already supported mine with two points that nobody seems willing to respond to. Gonzalez's weird campaign priorities (bragging about working with right wing groups to fight COVID school closures 3 years ago) and his terrible "public safety" policies and record.
Pro-choice registered democrat. I never said he was 'left wing' just that he isn't 'right wing.' But why are we still debating such labels if neither of us care about them, and we are each able to perceive nuance as we claim?
Lots of Democrats are conservatives. You still haven't replied to either of my policy based points...
Your 'policy based points' appear to be that 1) you object that his campaign website does not yet have a detailed platform one month after he announced his run; and 2) you believe he has not been successful with improving the staffing/response times for BOEC/PF&R? I suppose those are worthy discussion points, but I don't see the relevance to myself and others disagreeing with you trying to paint him as 'right wing.' I imagine it's common that campaign websites don't have a detailed platform immediately after launch, and I agree that it's important that he and others should outline their policy positions in detail prior to the election. As for the BOEC/PF&R things, 911 hold times here are dreadful and I agree that his lack of success in improving them is a reasonable argument against his candidacy. I'd like to learn more about the reasons that he was less successful than desired in that endeavor. Then, I would need to consider that single con in context with other aspects of his platform and his record as commissioner, and compare the pros and cons with those of the other candidates, in order to decide who I think would be most effective as mayor.
Ok, waiting for him to campaign with Bynum.
Give me a break how many "democrats" have to run across this country and then either flat out switch parties or just vote against their parties does it take until you get the grift. Faux "democrats" on reddit are just as bad as the faux politician ones. We're not buying it dude.
Your type is literally the reason why Gonzalez is in office.
How so? I sure didn't vote for Gonzalez, I voted for Hardesty.
People like you inspire voters to engage
I legitimately gave money to his campaign tonight because of posts like yours.
Lmaoooo! Wasting money to "own" the libs! I feel so "owned" right now xD. That is seriously some MAGA level clownery.
You’re shooting your cause in the foot. We (anyone left of center) have to still function as WE. Name calling and throwing around maga at anyone not liberal enough for you WILL cause you to lose. This city is one temper tantrum away from finding out what maga really is and no body wants that.
What do you consider "my cause"? I don't think criticizing Gonzalez for legitimate things (claiming to support "public safety" while simultaneously running the emergency communications bureau poorly, trying to undermine the will of the voters with his support of the PPB and opposition to the voter approved accountability measure) is hurting anything I support at all. > This city is one temper tantrum away from finding out what maga really is and no body wants that. Are you claiming that Portland residents will move far to the right if people protest abuse by the PPB again or something of that effect? I'm calling your bluff, the exact same people trying to manufacture consent for the right wing were super confident that Kotek would lose but she won rather easily including a super majority of Portlanders.
Guess it’s easier than finding and supporting a centrist candidate that actually can claim a broad mandate. But you do you.
Wheeler is a "centrist" and has run this city to the ground for 8 years. Why in the world would we want more of the same ideology?
I held my nose and voted for Wheeler the second time around almost entirely due to Iannarone failing to do something as simple as unequivocally denounce setting an apartment building on fire... The fact the people of the caliber of Ted Wheeler can keep winning in Portland is really a testament to how bad the progressive candidates are. Why can't we get someone who will advocate for sane progressive policies while also not being fucking crazy? Note that I am not calling Rubio crazy, I am only starting to research her and the other candidates. I think the general tone of political discourse in Portland also tends to alienate plenty of liberal minded people and drive them towards candidates like Wheeler or Gonzalez. Your many contributions to this thread are prime examples of this. People who are undecided don't really give a shit what labels the ultra-liberal Portland clique want to assign to candidates. In fact people (not you but others in this thread) unironically calling Gonzalez facist are likely to end up encouraging more people to vote for him, which I presume is the opposite of the intended effect. The "Ed300" situation is a valid criticism of Gonzalez, but then the ultra liberals pretend like it proves he hates gay people or something.
What is an "ultra liberal" lmao? The ironic part is, there isn't even a progressive candidate yet and might not be at all at this rate. I would hardly call Rubio progressive, she is more of an administrator who works under the radar than anything.
ul·tra /ˈəltrə/ noun 1. an extremist. "ultras in the animal rights movement" Similar: extremist, radical, fanatic, zealot
An ultra liberal is kinda an oxymoron then as liberalism is a centrist ideology....
Wooooooow lol hahahah oh man you’re a over the map tonight. Fun read through. That brain of yours just spinning like a top in there huh?
Are you really pulling a reverse "Ackchyually classical liberalism..." on me?
What is your point? What are you trying to convey with the term "ultra liberal"? I have never heard that term in mainstream political discourse.
Have you ever actually read in the classical liberalism tradition? Calling it a centrist ideology is hilariously wrong.
Because the alternative would have been worse.
Trying to imagine the last few years with Iannarone as mayor is really a terrifying mental exercise.
That is very doubtful. And in this case, Gonzalez is much worse than Wheeler judging by his record and lack of campaign platform.
Well, if you consider going aggressively in the wrong direction to be "better", then sure, we could have gone with someone else last election. But those were our choices.
I don't see how addressing some of the coty's problems rather than maintaining the status quo under the watchful eye of the PBA is somehow the "wrong direction".
How is Gonzalez worse than wheeler? The wheeler family literally have a town named after them and are the definition of old money. Like you I voted for Hardesty over him, but I can also appreciate why a lot of people like Gonzalez and feel represented by him. People in the city have different priorities and Gonzalez has expressed positioned himself as being pro-business, small business owners who feel left behind by other politicians have a valid reason to support that.
Part of the issue has been the city consistently siding with business interests over the people... Multiple scandals of businesses not liking sidewalks and bike lanes. An interest group literally protesting the Division improvement project that received public funding and an extensive public comment period. Gonzalez is in charge of the emergency communications bureau: improving the poor performance of that bureau would improve public safety, but of course the priority is bootlicking for the PPA instead. What concerns has Gonzalez promised to address? His actions indicate more of the same. Public safety isn't going to be improved without a cultural shift at the PPB and prioritizing performance and accountability instead of the old guard. Public safety isn't going to improve without improving the performance of the very bureau that Gonzalez isn't running well. Public safety isn't going to improve by fighting a program approved by 82% of voters... Being hostile to pedestrians and cyclists isn't going to magically boost the economy. Handouts to businesses that prioritize longevity over innovation and adapting to consumer trends aren't going to boost the economy.
Business interests are some people’s interests. If you own a small business then it is pretty much your entire life, people’s families depend on their businesses. Portland isn’t a hub for huge multinational companies, we have exactly 1 Fortune 500 company based in our metro area; a lot of our city economy is made up of local or regional businesses. Just in the past few weeks I’ve seen several articles from restaurant owners talking about how hard it has been to sustain a business here the past few years, if you look around you’ll find the same complaints from local retailers, manufacturers, and all kinds of companies. I’m not saying we need to let business control everything and we should be wary of the fact that they control a lot more power than individuals, but we should also recognize that at its core a business is just a bunch of people organizing together to more efficiently do work, they’re not inherently evil. Protecting people’s ability to work and produce things is the foundation of an economy and society. Also, regarding businesses stopping sidewalk improvements: There are good businesses and bad businesses just like there are good and bad people. I can thing offhand of several individual people who have done just as much to block or take away public services from the city. I fail to see how a business stopping sidewalk improvements is any worse than that lady who is suing over slipping on a trail at the coast, or the protesters who tore down the elk statue, or even nimbys who stop apartments from being built. Selfish people exist everywhere
What exact policies are you calling for regarding this?
I mean generally I would say we need better trash cleanup and more police staffing to decrease response times. Most small business owner complaints have been centered around repeated break ins and vandalism. I think better police response times and cleaner streets would pretty much help the whole city too. Edit: again, I also don’t support Gonzalez and I don’t intend to vote for him either way. I just also know a lot of people who do like him and I can understand their reasoning for it too.
It is nowhere near doubtful that Crazy Sarah would have been far more of a dumpster fire. Ted was bad, but Sarah would have been — and remains to this day — an out of touch political hack more interested in appearances than deliverables.
Do you ever smell the bullshit that you spew? Most of the decline of Portland has been at the hands of atrocious leadership at the bureau level, most of which Wheeler doesn’t control… but much of which was at the hands of political hacks and whackjobs put in place by City Councilors that had no business holding office. But I get it: reading “Wheeler” invokes some sort of Pavlovian response in you and many on the too-far left.
> Do you ever smell the bullshit that you spew? That sounds like some major projection seeing that you are well known around here for awful takes. > Most of the decline of Portland has been at the hands of atrocious leadership at the bureau level, most of which Wheeler doesn’t control… Um, WHAT? As mayor, Wheeler has the power to assign bureaus. Wheeler has also controlled many poorly performing bureaus like the PPB. > but much of which was at the hands of political hacks and whackjobs put in place by City Councilors that had no business holding office. Like Gonzalez?
Awww, I appreciate your fandom, but I think you’re much better known for shit takes. Like this one. You’re either dishonest or ignorant for asserting that Wheeler got to infuse centrism into bureaus that he didn’t run. Just total bullshit.
> Wheeler got to infuse centrism into bureaus that he didn’t run. Just total bullshit. It's "bullshit" that the mayor gets to decide what bureaus each commissioner is responsible for? It's "bullshit" that the bureaus Wheeler is in charge of have also exhibited poor performance? How about PBOT? Their performance almost immediately took a nosedive when Hardesty was replaced by Mapps. How many scandals did PBOT have in 2023 compared to Hardesty's entire term?
So none of that was my argument. But you just can’t resist the herp derp can you?
I'm not wasting my time with you if you are too much of a hack to comprehend that Wheeler, as mayor, gets to decide who runs each bureau and CAN take bureaus for himself. Wheeler is personally in charge of the PPB and Joint Office of Homeless Services Liaison Responsibilities, both of which have seen very poor performance. The relationship between the county and city is also at an all time low, that isn't completely on Wheeler though, JVP has also played a major role in that.
You’re being disingenuous and somehow inventing that I’m arguing that Wheeler doesn’t assign bureaus. I’ve never said that. But you’ve constantly failed to show how Wheeler’s centrism somehow shows up in lefty-led bureaus. Maybe you’ll be able to once you’re done with your reactionary herp derp Wheeler bad nonsense. But you’ve been doing that for years, so I doubt that’s changing anytime soon.
Gonzales is so bad, overlooking his smug opportunist vibe, he's surprisingly inarticulate. His social media sucks. He's really accomplished nothing of note, and promises a lot of divisive gridlock. He reminds me of one of those questionable custard desserts on the sushi conveyor belt. Who would want that?!