There's been so much said over the course of this year's primary that it can be tough to keep everything straight. We've laid out reasons for our picks in local races at length (and you should read them right now).

But maybe you're a more a-la-cart-style voter, or a one-issue type? For you, we're putting together a series of posts where you can track where candidates stand on various pressing matters. Today:

Rent Control

In endorsement interviews with candidates for Portland mayor and one contested city council seat [it didn't explicitly come up in an interview of candidates for Commissioner Amanda Fritz's seat] we wanted to know whether an argument could be made that the city's housing crisis constitutes a "man-made" disaster. Since last year, activists have argued that it does, and say that means the city can enact rent control under state law, despite a preemption. They've been pressuring public officials to adopt that line of reasoning, but haven't had any success.

Here's the gist of what the candidates told us:

MAYOR

JULES BAILEY: People are really concerned, but I don’t think it makes sense to get a local government tied up in years and years of litigation and a stay that costs taxpayers a lot of money. [Bailey, as a county commissioner, says he's received legal advice that any move toward rent control would be blocked almost immediately.]

SEAN DAVIS: When I’m mayor, we pass a city ordinance despite what the state or county laws say. If our City Council hasn’t heard the people yet they’re deaf to what is really going on... The people can do this. As mayor I’ll be 100% behind this problem.

BIM DITSON:Of course [it's a man-made disaster]. I think the majority of Portlanders think that it is.

DEBORAH HARRIS— Sometimes you just have to do things and you [if it's found illegal] go, 'Oh I didn’t know that.' A lot of our citizens are looking at gentrification and it is man-made gentrification.

SARAH IANNARONE:I hate the it's-not-legal argument. Gay marriage wasn’t legal. I don't buy it. True leaders do what’s right. What leadership needs to have is compassion and understand people are being forcibly displaced from their homes and they are terrified.

DAVID SCHOR:I believe that we haven't tried to make the argument yet. I don't think we have any case law. No one’s tested the statute, just to see what we get. Our tools are limited. This is one of the tools that we do have.

JESSIE SPONBERG — [At a recent Portland Tenants United demonstration] the county attorney came up and talked to us. She said, 'If you want to make this happen, do the legal work.' My question is why are we paying taxes if we have to do this work? Any time there’s a problem the solution always comes from the community. It’s the government’s job.

TED WHEELER: I will pursue every legal option to get a just cause evictions—legal or otherwise. If it's not legal we have to go to the legislature to change it.

CITY COMMISSIONER, POSITION 4

STUART EMMONS:. I'm interested in getting more supply on the market. Rent control could slow down supply. [Emmons says there's an opportunity for a "Portland-style" rent control that works better than policies in San Francisco, New York, and other cities.]

CHLOE EUDALY: I don't think it’s a slam dunk, but it's starting some really interesting conversations around the crisis. I absolutely support lifting he ban. It’s an-anti progressive law. It was a gift to the landlord lobby.

STEVE NOVICK: I definitely want the preemption lifted. There’s a heck of a lot of preemptions I want lifted. As to the argument [it's a man-made disaster] I just can't see a court buying that. I think a court would see it as an act of war. It’s more than a long shot.

FRED STEWART: Rent control sounds like it would solve everything but it wouldn't. [Stewart says it will only result in rental properties being taken off the market.] That doesn't help a lot of the people who are struggling right now.