Portland City Council: Ben Cannon? Shelli Romero?

Kari Chisholm FacebookTwitterWebsite

In addition to the race for Mayor, the 2012 cycle will feature an election for two seats on the Portland City Council -- those currently held by Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Randy Leonard. While the two of them have declined thus far to discuss their plans, there's a lot of speculation that one or both won't run again.

Last week, the Portland Tribune reported that State Rep. Ben Cannon is considering a run for city council:

This week, three-term state Rep. Ben Cannon (a Democrat whose district stretches across much of Southeast Portland to Interstate 205) told Sources he is considering running for the council in 2012.

Cannon, an eighth-grade teacher by profession, says he is having conversations about the race with family, friends and supporters, but is too busy with the press of legislative business to make a decision yet.

And a couple weeks ago, Willamette Week's Hank Stern reported that Shelli Romero is considering a run as well. Romero served as chief of staff to County Commissioner Maria Rojo de Steffey and currently works at ODOT.

"I have long considered running for Portland City Council," Romero said in an email responding to a question about an interest in a council campaign.

She adds that she's unsure about the timing of an announcement, should she decide to run in 2012.

"I am still considering it," she said, "and being encouraged/recruited to run."

Romero, who in 2005 completed an executive leadership program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, could be a candidate to watch. She has a long resume in local politics, and has two personal qualities that have traditionally been in woefully short supply on the council—her gender and the fact that she's Latina.

What do you think about the City Council races? Feel free to name names of people you think might run and/or that you might support. Or, setting aside names, what sort of candidates are thinking about? Are there particular issues that matter to you - or particular sorts of backgrounds and resumes?

By Kari Chisholm
April 10, 2011

  • 3:35 p.m.
    Apr 10, '11
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    You didn't say which districts they are in. Would they run against each other or not?

    Since Amanda may not run because of the end of public financing and Ben ran a very low budget campaign for the House, my question to him is how he thinks he will finance a campaign. I don't think he can do at $5 a pop, but if he is in, then I will be one of his supporters.

    •
      5:40 p.m.
      Apr 10, '11
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      Portland City Council has no districts. Candidates may be from any part of the city, and run city-wide. (Though I will note that Randy Leonard is the first and only council member from east of 82nd.)

      This is in contrast to Portland School Board, where candidates must live in their district, but run city wide (er, school-district-wide).

      And the exact opposite for Congress, where the voters vote by district, but candidates may live anywhere in the state.

      And Multnomah County Commission, where candidates must live in the district prior to the election, but anywhere in the county afterwards (unless that changed during the last flurry of charter changes, I don't recall.)

      And of course, the lege - which has strict boundaries for both voters and candidates.


      • 7:47 p.m.
        Apr 10, '11
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        Thanks, I always screw this up and remember the last election, which in this case was the county race.


      • 11:57 p.m.
        Apr 10, '11
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        Kari - are you sure this is right? "And the exact opposite for Congress, where the voters vote by district, but candidates may live anywhere in the state."

        I thought for Congress you had to live in the district, just like the lege.

        •
          7:24 a.m.
          Apr 11, '11
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          Earl Blumenauer's most recent opponent, Delia Lopez, lives far away from the 3rd district.

          And I believe that one of the things that was recently discovered about David Wu is that he's living outside of his district.

          •
            8:57 a.m.
            Apr 11, '11
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            Michael is correct. Delia Lopez lives in Roseburg. Living outside the congressional district is a political problem, not a legal one.


  • 6:30 p.m.
    Apr 10, '11
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    I think the council has benefited from Fritz taking what looks to me like a deliberate "outsider" position. If she doesn't run I'd look very favorably at anyone who would step into that role.

    •
      10:36 a.m.
      Apr 12, '11
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      I thought that at the beginning, but a series of mindless 4-1 votes born in multiple cases from not really grasping the data (like the PGE Park sweetheart deal) has not been encouraging.


  • 9:42 a.m.
    Apr 11, '11
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    I don't have much hope for the Council until it's districted. I think I am one of about 5 people who voted for the charter changes last time around (though an awful lot of commentators seem in favor of them in hindsight).

    Honestly, I think Ben's talents would be wasted in the council. I had hopes for him to move up to governor or Congress eventually, but it may be that family responsibilities will keep him closer to home.

    He's very bright and capable.

    •
      9:43 a.m.
      Apr 11, '11
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      He's a young guy. City Council would be a fine stop on that road. Our city council members get more earned media than our elected statewide officers (except the Governor, and even him sometimes.)

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        8:25 p.m.
        Apr 11, '11
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        I am with Paul on this. Municipal government is historically a graveyard for political advancement. While there are some notable exceptions (such as the current Rep from District 3), going into a city office generally precludes someone from moving into federal or statewide office, later.


        • 9:39 p.m.
          Apr 11, '11
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          I'm not sure that's true for any meaningful reason other than that there's exactly one congressional district that has a majority in Portland.

          As long as Blumenauer is in the seat, it's not likely any member of the Council is going to get elected to Congress - but that says more about Blumenauer than it does about the Council members or the value of being on the Council.

          •
            10:08 p.m.
            Apr 11, '11
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            The municipal trap is generally true throughout the entire country; state government offices tend to beget state government office or open up more paths to federal office. Some of the historical reasons for this are not really an issue for Portland (the machine legacy) but others still hold (such as the rest of the state resisting having someone closely identified with the major city taking on more statewide power).


          • 10:37 a.m.
            Apr 12, '11
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            as a by the way in answer, didn't Earl use Council as his stepping stone to Congress?

  •
    12:39 p.m.
    Apr 11, '11
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    Whoever runs, I hope that poverty becomes an issue in the next City Council race. We need a City Councilor who understands that we as a city are are judged by how we care for the least of these in our city. Too many people lack access to transportation, education, jobs and opportunity.

    Economic development and job growth will come to Portland when we address issues of poverty.


  • 12:42 p.m.
    Apr 11, '11
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    "Also, stop reading blog comments. As someone who read in several blog posts "vote for the fat guy with yellow teeth" I know that you have to learn how to either avoid reading things like that or not get upset by it. Stopping reading them is probably easiest." As much of a blogger as Amanda is, this was a consistent self-policy of hers during the campaign. It is really difficult to focus on what you bring to the table and what your goals are, when constantly interrupted by most blog chatter. It is unduly taxing on your brain space and energy-both of which will be pushed to the limit and beyond, in any campaign.

  •
    1:46 p.m.
    Apr 11, '11
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    Didn't you get the gender wrong on this, Kari? The spelling is Maria Rojo De Steffey.

  •
    5:27 p.m.
    Apr 15, '11
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    A a very happy constituent of Ben Cannon's State House district I would support him in any political endeavor he chose to pursue. He is a very smart and very considerate person who I think is in politics for the right reason. I'd be sad to lose him as my congressman but happy to have him as one of my city councilmen. My only worry would be wondering who would replace him in Salem. Though happily it's highly unlikely that a Republican would win this seat.

  •
    3:53 p.m.
    Apr 16, '11
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    When Shelli Romero was with Comm Rojo de Steffey, as a county employee at the time I worked with her on a project and found her to be efficient, very bright, a great communicator and and that was more than 10 years ago. I hope she runs and gets elected. I could see her aspiring to and achieving a great deal politically.

  •
    3:56 p.m.
    Apr 16, '11
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    I would say Delia Lopez lives "far, far away, in a distant galaxy........"

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