Mayor Wheeler Promises “Real Change” In Re-Election Launch Speech

For the first time in almost two decades, a Portland mayor is running for a second term.

Mayor Ted Wheeler officially kicked off his 2020 re-election campaign Monday evening, in a speech that played up his record on homeless issues, pushed back at his critics, and offered a rosy outlook for Portland’s future.

“We are at a turning point,” Wheeler told supporters gathered on the roof of Uncorked Studios in Southeast Portland. “This will either be a decade of innovation and action and progress, or it will be a decade of continued and perhaps even irreversible decline.”

Wheeler’s speech made clear he believes he is best positioned to guide Portland to a positive future. He acknowledged that the city is current facing many “crises”—crises of mental health, addiction, and homelessness; crises of transportation and infrastructure challenges; and crises of wealth inequality, increased anger, and “way too much hate.”

But despite these crises, Wheeler said, Portland is doing well by “conventional standards”—it’s one of the wealthiest cities in the US, it is continually ranked as one of the most desirable places to live, and “travel and tourism are through the roof.”

Portland’s crises can be addressed, and its prosperity can be spread, with the help of “a type of leadership that builds bridges, not one that strives to divide us,” Wheeler said, in a possible swipe at opponent Sarah Iannarone, who often positions herself as a more progressive, populist alternative to Wheeler—and blames Wheeler for a lack of vision at City Hall.

“I believe that despite a chorus of critics who often fill the halls at City Hall, we can make the changes we need to make,” Wheeler added. “We are finding solutions to very real problems.”

Among those problems, Wheeler acknowledged, is a homelessness problem that’s exacerbated by a lack of stable funding for addiction treatment and affordable housing. Wheeler touted his inclusion of funding for addiction services in this year’s city budget, and his “record year” for developing new affordable housing, as actions he’s taken to ease the problem.

Wheeler also pointed to his support for the Portland Street Response, an idea championed by Street Roots and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. The plan proposes that social workers and doctors should respond to most 911 calls about unwanted people or people with possible mental health crises—rather than armed police officers.

At a press conference after his speech, Wheeler said that a decline in federal funding for affordable housing and Medicaid programs has made it difficult for Portland to make more on an impact on homeless issues. He said that in his second term, he plans to be “much more aggressive” in partnering with other West Coast cities, like San Francisco and Los Angeles, when lobbying the federal government for more assistance.

In addition to homeless issues, Wheeler’s strong ties to the Portland business community was another theme at Monday’s campaign launch. Before Wheeler took the podium, several supporters made opening remarks—including a construction union representative, Metro President Lynn Peterson, Rep. Janelle Bynum, and Andrew Hoan, CEO of the Portland Business Alliance.

Bynum, who is a small business owner, said Wheeler’s “relationship with the Portland Business Alliance is incredible,” and thanked him for helping Portland business owners navigate an “unprecedented economic boom.” Hoan thanked Wheeler for his work on housing development—and for cleaning Portland streets.

“Picking up trash seven days a week downtown—that means something to the business community,” Hoan said.

City Commissioner Nick Fish—the only other city commissioner in attendance Monday—introduced Wheeler. Fish noted that Wheeler is the first Portland mayor to run for a second term this century, and said that the need for continuity of leadership is one of the reasons he supports Wheeler’s campaign.

“I have served with four mayors,” Fish said. “The city has not been served well by serial one-term mayors.”

Wheeler’s first term in office has been marked by strong criticism, questions about his leadership decisions, and embarrassing gaffes. His speech seemed to acknowledge that his opponents’ campaigns have plenty of fodder for disparaging him, but that he is “not interested in noise.”

“I’m interested in real change,” Wheeler added, “in positive change.”