PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland city commissioner Dan Ryan has officially ruled out running for mayor in 2024, making him the third of Portland's five current city council members to take a definitive position on seeking the top office next year.
Ryan's fellow commissioner Mingus Mapps launched his campaign for mayor back in July, and current mayor Ted Wheeler ruled out seeking a third term in September. The other two current commissioners, Carmen Rubio and Rene Gonzalez, have not yet made definitive statements either way.
Ryan previously told KGW in September that he was weighing a run but wanted to stay focused on his current city commissioner work, and said he would make a decision in January. Ryan will still "decide his future public service in late January," he said in a news release Monday morning, without directly stating if he plans to run for a different office such as one of the new city council positions.
"Portland and the State of Oregon are my heart, and my work is not complete. While the role of Mayor was appealing and I am well-suited for the role, I decided a fourth city-wide campaign in three years is not my passion at this time," he said, referencing his special election campaign to join the council in May 2020, the runoff for the position later that year and his campaign for a full term in 2022.
The November 2024 election will usher in a complete turnover of Portland's elected leadership, coinciding with the city's January 2025 transition to a new form of government with an expanded 12-member city council that will no longer include the mayor. The new system will put the council in charge of setting policy while switching the mayor to an entirely administrative role, overseeing an appointed city manager in charge of the city's executive functions.
The current terms for Wheeler, Mapps and Rubio all finish at the end of 2024, coinciding with the transition. Ryan and Gonzalez were elected in 2022 to what would have been four year terms, but Portland voters approved the government overhaul plan at the same time, which will cut off their current terms halfway through.