PORTLAND, Ore. – City Commissioner Nick Fish will remain a Portland City Commissioner following his victory in the May 15 Primary Election, but another city council seat is yet to be decided as two candidates will move on to the November election.
Jo Ann Hardesty and Loretta Smith will move on to the general election. Hardesty and Smith took the top two spots in the packed race for Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s seat, but neither received the 50 percent needed to clinch the race outright.
Saltzman is retiring this year, leaving his seat open.
Loretta Smith, a Multnomah County Commissioner, is giving up her county commissioner seat to run for Portland City Council. She promises to fight for vulnerable communities, and has been endorsed by Democratic lawmakers including Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), and several local unions.
Jo Ann Hardesty is a former state representative and senior policy analyst for Multnomah County. She has vowed to address housing issues, access for underserved communities, climate action and police reform. Hardesty is Bernie PDX’s pick for county commissioner. She’s also garnered support from the Portland Association of Teachers, the Sierra Club, and Basic Rights Oregon.
Smith, who had the most name recognition as a county commissioner, was seen as the front-runner in the city council race. But she failed to get key endorsements from either The Oregonian or the Willamette Week; instead, the papers threw their support behind Hardesty.
Nick Fish has served on the Portland City Council since 2008. He currently oversees the Portland Water Bureau and the Bureau of Environmental Services. After Dan Saltzman’s retirement this year, Fish, a former civil rights attorney, will be the longest-serving commissioner on the city council.