This story has been updated to include information about ballot box arson, and to correct the name of a political action committee. 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That’s how we’d describe the year in politics. 

Nationally, much of America is bracing for what the next four years will look like under another Trump administration.

Locally, the region is doing less bracing and more embracing of what’s to come, after replacing two county commissioners, picking a new mayor, and electing a whole new Portland City Council as the Rose City ushers in a new form of city government.

Multnomah County is getting fresh faces in government

Multnomah County voters elected two new county commissioners in November. Meghan Moyer, a public policy strategist with Disability Rights Oregon and former labor union political organizer, was elected to District 1. Moyer defeated Vadim Mozyrsky for the seat. 

Shannon Singleton, a clinical social worker and former interim director of the Joint Office of Homeless Services, was elected to serve out the rest of Susheela Jayapal’s term in District 2. Jayapal resigned before the May primary so she could run for Congress. In November, Singleton beat out former Portland Mayor Sam Adams, who was also vying for the county seat. Her win came despite hefty spending by political action group Coalition For Portland's Future, which spent more than $120,000 on opposition ads against Singleton. 

Voters also elected a new Multnomah County district attorney in May. Nathan Vasquez, a senior deputy district attorney who billed himself as a tough on crime prosecutor that could help keep criminals off the streets, defeated his boss, DA Mike Schmidt. Vasquez had support from wealthy donors like Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Portland developer Jordan Schnitzer. 

Big money's big role in a federal race

The 2024 November election also saw shakeups in two key federal races: Congressional Districts 3 and 5.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer—who has represented Oregon’s 3rd US House District since 1996—announced his plans to retire last October, leaving room for a new representative to take his place. While former Multnomah County Commissioner Jayapal was the first person to enter the Democratic primary race to replace Blumenauer, she was quickly joined by others, including former Oregon Representative Maxine Dexter and Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales.

The race became the subject of national attention ahead of the May primary election. Campaign finance reports revealed unprecedented levels of outside spending in the race, including from individual out-of-state donors and political action committees (PACs) with undisclosed donors. The PACs, which dropped millions to support Dexter and attack Jayapal through mailers and other advertisements, were suspected (and later confirmed) to be associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Though many voters were concerned about the impact of out-of-state, pro-Israel and conservative groups on Oregon politics, Dexter won the primary election in May, and easily beat her Republican challenger in November. She’ll take over Blumenauer’s seat come January. 

Meanwhile, state Representative Janelle Bynum defeated attorney Jamie McLeod-Skinner in the Democratic primary for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. McLeod-Skinner previously beat former Oregon Congressman Kurt Schrader in the 2022 Democratic primary for the same seat, but lost to Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer in the general election. This time around, however, the Democrat won in November. Bynum will be sworn in as a US representative in January, becoming Oregon’s first Black member of Congress. 

Arson at the ballot box

Though the incident had little impact on elections operations in Portland, an incendiary device placed in a Southeast Portland ballot drop box the week before the November election drew immediate concern and international news coverage. 

On October 28, the Multnomah County Elections Office confirmed that security at the Elections Division office responded to a fire at ballot box during the early morning hours that day. 

Elections officials said the box was equipped with fire suppressant, which "protected virtually all the ballots." Just three ballots were damaged, and elections workers contacted the voters whose ballots were affected.

Still, the incident caused alarm, especially since it was one of two ballot box explosions that same morning. Another incendiary device was also found in a ballot box in Vancouver, Washington. In that case, at least 490 ballots were destroyed, after the box's fire suppressant didn't activate.

A brand new Portland government is taking shape

By far the most significant local election was November’s Portland City Council and mayor’s race, which gave the city its most diverse and politically progressive Council ever. Voters elected 12 councilors to serve four new districts in Portland after a charter change measure approved by voters in 2022 called for a local government overhaul.

Portland’s new mayor is Keith Wilson, owner of local trucking company Titan Freight Systems. Wilson prides himself on using a mostly electric fleet at his company, which he will step down from as CEO to serve as mayor. Wilson campaigned heavily on the need to ramp up Portland’s supply of shelters and vowed to end unsheltered homelessness within his first year in office.

Who else is going to City Hall in January?

In Portland City Council District 1, representing East Portland:

Candace Avalos- a former Charter Commission member, nonprofit leader, and former Council candidate Candace Avalos;

Loretta Smith- a former Multnomah County commissioner and longtime staffer in Sen. Ron Wyden’s office; 

Jamie Dunphy- a musician and public policy wonk who spent years working for Oregon politicians like Sen. Jeff Merkley and former Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish

In City Council District 2, which covers North and Northeast Portland:

Dan Ryan- a current city commissioner who will return to City Hall, this time as a city councilor;

Elana Pirtle-Guiney- a former labor union organizer and policy specialist who worked in former Gov. Kate Brown’s office;

Sameer Kanal- a city of Portland employee who worked in the Community Safety Division and previously oversaw Portland’s Police Accountability Board

In District 3, which represents most of Southeast Portland west of I-205:

Angelita Morillo- policy advocate and former staffer in JoAnn Hardesty’s office;

Tiffany Koyama Lane- a Portland Public Schools elementary school teacher; 

Steve Novick- an environmental attorney and former Portland city commissioner making a return to City Hall

District 4, covering Southwest Portland and pockets of Southeast Portland:

Olivia Clark- a consultant who previously worked for former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber;

Mitch Green- an Army veteran and energy economist who most recently worked for Bonneville Power Administration; 

Eric Zimmerman- an Army veteran who most recently served as chief of staff to County Commissioner Julia Brim Edwards 

Order up! 

The November election also marked the first in Portland using ranked choice voting. Overall, the process was deemed a success, with the majority of voters (roughly 71 percent) utilizing the multi-choice option on their ballots. It also revealed a lingering gap in voter engagement, particularly in East Portland's District 1, where only 55 percent of voters filled out the ranked choice part of their ballots for at least one race. Multnomah County's Elections Office notes turnout in District 1 "has historically been lower" compared to other parts of the city, leading elections officials to ramp up voter education in East Portland and East Multnomah County.  

The first run of ranked choice voting may have highlighted a need for even more voter outreach and education, but it was also evidence of a system working as intended, says Seth Woolley, a computer scientist and data analyst who closely analyzed the November election results.

“What it demonstrates is that there is proportional representation in effect in the transfer [outcomes],” Woolley says. He points to District 4, where Councilor Green won a seat despite not being among the top three most frequently ranked candidates in that district. Green was, however, ranked higher by a larger group of voters, which pushed him to the top three.

Green was among the most progressive candidates in District 4. His win means voters who aligned with him and his agenda will be represented, even if they don't represent the majority of the district.

“If just the top three were elected, the progressives wouldn’t have any representation,” Woolley adds.

With an overcrowded field of nearly 120 candidates running for mayor and City Council, November’s election also brought a plethora of elections-related complaints. The city Auditor’s Office stayed busy, investigating everything from sign code violations, to improper disclosure of donors, the use of city money on a commissioner's campaign, illegal contributions, and the nuanced issue of donation “swapping” that occurred among Council candidates participating in the city’s Small Donor Elections Program.

The Oregon Secretary of State is investigating whether those candidates who donated to each other's campaigns violated state elections laws.