- David Schor
David Schor, a 36-year-old assistant attorney general at the Oregon Department of Justice, filed his candidacy with the city on Thursday. Schor's also started a campaign committee with the Oregon Secretary of State's Office, and he says he's in the race to win.
"I’ve been pondering it and talking it over with friends and associates," Schor tells the Mercury, noting that Mayor Charlie Hales' surprise announcement a week ago that he won't run for re-election was "kind of a deciding factor."
But Schor's not doing this on a whim. He says he's been mulling mayoral bid since before state Treasurer Ted Wheeler announced his candidacy in September. And in a race that's been wanting for a truly lefty candidate, Schor says he's filling a vacancy.
"I feel that Portland needs another option," Schor says. "[Wheeler's] not addressing the issues that are really important to Portlanders."
Schor's campaign website includes platform positions on a wide variety of issues (he says he'd be happy to engage Wheeler in 12 debates, as Wheeler's camp has suggested). In a brief conversation, he highlighted housing affordability and environmental stewardship as issues he'd like to address. He made special note to shout out Portland City Council's impending vote on a policy that could kill any new fossil fuels infrastructure in the city, saying he's "very interested in seeing that succeed."
Schor graduated from the University of Oregon with a BS in philosophy and a BA in music (he plays bass for the Portland band Babel Echo). He got a law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School in 2013, and began working for the DOJ's civil enforcement division around the same time. He also spends winters working at Mt. Hood Meadows as a snow monitor.
Schor says he's never run for office before, but feels like his recent work experience has given him the tools to make a legitimate run at a seasoned politician like Wheeler.
"I needed to have a little more credibility in order to be serious candidate," Schor says. "I agree with a lot of the folks who say that Portland needs a progressive alternative to Ted Wheeler. If it's not me, someone else is gong to step into that space."
