In my piece this week about Mayor Sam Adams not running in 2012, I talked about candidates Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales, and mentioned some historical stats on Portland's insane number of fringe candidates who run in open mayoral races... but forgot to mention the first fringe candidate in this current race! That would be 19-year-old Max Brumm.
The only explanation for this is that I completely forgot about Brumm. I just straight up forgot that he existed. Sorry, Max.
I think the best remedy for this clear failure of coverage is to give Brumm some space on the blog to explain why he's awesome and why you should vote for him. So, have at it, kid.
IDIOT MIRK: Why are you awesome and why should we vote for you?
MAX BRUMM, BEST CANDIDATE EVER: Well, I'm 19. And I know that Jake Oken-Berg ran against [former mayor] Vera Katz and he was 19, as well. I want to go out an make change. I'm for the people. I don't have any corporate suits or ties. And the other politicians who are running, I don't see them as having the same ideals.
What does being "for the people" mean?
Well, I'm part of the community. I have been involved in local politics and have been trained in that way, but I haven't owned a big corporation or bailed out half way through my term for a better paying job. I'm a part of the community.
Do you think you can actually win without the suits and ties?
Yeah. Jake Oken-Berg only raised $20,000 and only spent about $5,000 and he got 27 percent of the vote. And Jim Francesconi raised over $1 million and lost, so it's not just money that matters.
Brumm has two campaign events coming up: A town hall with voters at the Goose Hollow Inn (August 22nd, 5:30pm) and a fundraising concert with a ska band called Sitting Sideways on August 27th. Details on the concert are forthcoming.
