Commissioners Mapps and Rubio Endorse Dan Ryan’s Re-Election Run

Two Portland city commissioners have thrown their support behind fellow City Commissioner Dan Ryan in his run for re-election.

According to the Ryan campaign, both commissioners Mingus Mapps and Carmen Rubio have endorsed Ryan’s campaign to retain the City Commission, Position 2 seat in City Hall in the May 17 primary election.

“Commissioner Dan Ryan is an outcome-driven leader who has moved priority policies and investments forward in a short amount of time,” wrote Rubio in a statement shared by the Ryan campaign Monday. “In just 13 months Dan has been able to deliver real progress on our biggest problems, like bringing the city and county together to streamline and advance our work on the houselessness crisis; prioritizing temporary shelter as a way to get people off the streets faster, with connections to the help they will need to live stable lives in permanent housing.”

Ryan currently oversees the city bureaus tied to housing and homelessness. Ryan, who has been on City Council for just over a year, is currently the third-longest serving commissioner in City Hall. Rubio and Mapps, who have shorter tenures, both joined the commission in January 2021.

Ryan was elected to his council seat in an August 2020 special election to replace former Comissioner Nick Fish, who died in office in January 2020. Mapps said he’d like to see Ryan fill out “a full term” to help progress city policies that Ryan’s invested in.

“In a short amount of time [Ryan] has delivered on new and innovative solutions to houselessness,” said Mapps in a statement shared Monday. “He is a level headed team player.”

Ryan’s re-election campaign has stayed relatively quiet until this announcement. While he has yet to formally file for the race with the city’s election office, Ryan has begun collecting donations through a political action committee. He’s received contributions from both Mapps and Rubio in the past month. Ryan has also collected financial support from former City Commissioner Jim Francesconi, Portland developer Homer Williams, Oregon Historical Society director Kerry Tymchuk, Travel Portland CEO Jeff Miller, and several members of the Portland Public Schools board.

Four other Portlanders have announced a run for Ryan’s seat, including housing advocate Jamila Dozier and former state lawmaker Akasha Lawrence Spence.

Neither Mayor Ted Wheeler nor Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty—who is also running for re-election—have made an endorsement in the race for Ryan’s seat.

Update, 3 pm: In an email, Hardesty tells the Mercury she has yet to consider endorsing anyone for the Position 2 seat. But, she adds: “If Dan Ryan is interested in my endorsement I would certainly talk with him about it.”