City Commissioner Carmen Rubio is running for Portland mayor.
Rubio announced her mayoral campaign Tuesday morning, making her the fourth person and third current Portland City Council member to enter the mayor’s race.
Rubio currently oversees the city’s housing bureau, development services, planning, and Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development agency.
In a campaign announcement, Rubio said Portland deserves a mayor “who will take us into our future without drama.”
“I made my decision with the full recognition of where we are as a city,” Rubio stated. “And we need a mayor who will take responsibility for the way forward. One with a track record of building bridges, focusing our city’s energy into a force for change, and getting results. Portlanders deserve a mayor who will take us into our future without drama – just hard, collaborative work, especially on community safety, homelessness and housing. That’s how I’ve led as a Commissioner, and how I will do so as Portland’s next mayor. This is our opportunity to do so much more.”
Since taking office in 2021 after her 2020 election win, Rubio has championed climate policy and reformed the city’s housing and permitting processes to encourage more affordable housing production.
But shortly after being assigned to oversee the city’s Bureau of Development Services, she disappointed climate activists after not yanking permits for Zenith Energy, which transports crude oil by pipeline, and most visibly, by rail throughout Portland. Rubio cited the city’s previous policy to halt expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.
Rubio’s most prominent work on the climate front rests in the Portland Clean Energy Fund, which has raked in more money over the past year than city leaders initially planned for, or knew what to do with. Now, the fund is focused on planting more trees across the city, reducing carbon emissions, particularly from transportation, and helping spur energy efficiency projects.
Like just about everyone running for office in Portland this year, Rubio cites homelessness and housing among the city’s most pressing issues. Last summer, the commissioner was the lone “no” vote on a council decision to pass time, place, and manner restrictions on homeless camping, effectively banning unhoused residents from resting in public during daytime hours. At the time, Rubio said she opposed policy that penalized homelessness while the city lacked enough shelter beds.
After announcing her run for mayor early Tuesday morning, Rubio wasted no time. In a campaign fundraising email sent less than two hours after the announcement, Rubio touted her ability to unite Portlanders to get policy passed, “especially when our communities are hurting.”
“As a City Commissioner, I’ve seen up close where bureaucracy holds us back from addressing the housing shortage, fighting the climate crisis, and setting the stage to revitalize downtown,” Rubio said in a campaign message and fundraising appeal. “I’ve brought people together and made decisive decisions to get us moving toward solutions.”
Rubio’s campaign said a formal kick-off event is planned for early February.
The city commissioner is now challenging fellow council members Mingus Mapps and Rene Gonzalez for the mayor’s seat. Commissioner Dan Ryan previously announced he will not run for mayor, and Portland’s current mayor, Ted Wheeler, isn’t seeking another term in office.
Portland’s next mayor will not serve on the city council, rather, will serve closely alongside the city’s new city administrators to help carry out daily operations. Under a revised city charter set to take effect in 2025, the mayor will only vote with council when needed to break a tie.
