PORTLAND, Ore. — Liv Osthus is known in many circles, perhaps most well-known as an exotic dancer, Viva Las Vegas. But she's also a mom, author, musician and sex worker advocate — and wants to add Portland mayor to the list.
"To me, this is not me going into politics; this is me continuing my journey as an artist," said Osthus.
After graduating from William's College with a bachelor's in anthropology, Osthus moved to Portland in 1996. She said she started stripping for two reasons: one, because of her intellectual curiosity about if sex work could feel empowering, and two, to fund her budding music career.
"We were studying brothels in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and how that was one way for women to get out of very stringent paratracheal structures and have money," said Osthus. "Money is power in capitalism and it all clicked in my mind, 'This was empowerment.'"
Nearly 30 years later, she's ready to take on a new challenge: leading the city of Portland.
Osthus knows many people will be skeptical about an exotic dancer wanting to run a city challenged with drug use and homelessness. Her answer to tackling these issues downtown is turning unused office space into studios for artists.
"Artists will make that into a hub of the community. They will put on art shows, put on music shows; people will start coming down to see those. Within two weeks, there will be a coffee shop, and within a month, a lunch spot, we'll have fine dining down there again. We'll have energy flowing down there again," she predicted.
Osthus admits she has no experience in politics or management.
"The mayor doesn't need to know everything," said Osthus. "Nobody could know everything."
Instead, she sees the role of mayor as more of a figurehead or symbol of hope who leans on the 12 city council seats for guidance.
"What I want from a mayor is somebody who listens, somebody who connects and somebody who inspires," said Osthus.
"I think now is the time in Portland. We've seen mayors that try their hardest to affect what's going on downtown, and it hasn't worked. I think it's time for a message of optimism: Portland is blooming," she continued.
Osthus is running against three current city commissioners for Portland mayor. One of Osthus's competitors in the race to Portland's mayor is her mentor, City Commissioner Mingus Mapps.
Osthus said she isn't running to help him beat out any competition, and she's happy to run against candidates from all walks of life.