Mayor 2012: Katz endorses Hales; Portland Greens endorse Whitten, Brady, Smith

Kari Chisholm

There's two big endorsements in the Mayor's race.

Last week, the Portland Green Party met to consider their endorsements in our upcoming local elections. They announced their decision late Saturday night.

In the mayor's race, they endorsed three candidates (pdf), ranking them according to their preference in an Instant Runoff Voting process.

Their first preference is Cameron Whitten, the Occupy Portland activist. They said he "wowed" them with his specificity, and that his "enthusiasm and unity" is worthy of support.

Their second choice is Eileen Brady. They noted that her support from the Portland Business Alliance meant that she "was initially not considered a likely candidate for support" and that "we interviewed her in a hostile environment." But in the end, their conclusion:

"She comes across as genuine and capable. Her contributions to New Seasons are admirable and to our understanding the concerns about union busting are unfounded."

Their third-place selection is Jefferson Smith. Their conclusion, in its entirety:

"Jefferson Smith is an awesome organizer with a great Green legislative record. We love what the Bus Project has done, and we like most of his votes within the state legislature. He was perhaps too polished of a politician for us, which allowed Brady to edge him out of the 2nd choice slot."

Meanwhile, this afternoon, former mayor Vera Katz endorsed Charlie Hales for Mayor. The O's Beth Slovic got the interview:

"He's knowledgeable, he's honest, he loves this city," Katz said in an interview Monday. "He knows what's going on, and he'll be able to ask the right questions."

As for Brady? Katz said she's "competent and charming and very businesslike."

And Smith?

But she said she had reservations about Smith. "I'm not sure how really interested he is in the mayor's job," Katz said of the state lawmaker from east Portland. "It's not easy work. It's hard, hard, detailed work. Sometimes you have to spend weeks in the weeds of a budget." She added: "I'm not sure he's quite ready for that job."

Update, 3:20 p.m.: The Smith campaign would like BlueOregon readers to know that he was endorsed by Multnomah County Commissioner Diane McKeel over the weekend.

Discuss.

By Kari Chisholm Feb. 27, 2012