Portlanders saw an election for the ages; the outcomes aren’t totally clear yet

Published 9:11 am Friday, November 15, 2024

For a perspective on how different Portland’s November election was, and how different the new-look Portland city government will be, imagine this:

You decide that it’s time to change how your family picks its next car. No more Kelley Blue Book, no more wandering car lots, no more Consumer Reports. No, you’re going to have an ad hoc committee invent a model for car searching unlike any that’s ever been tried before.

You also decide you’re trading in your old mid-sized SUV, which seated five, for an armored personnel carrier big enough to seat 12.

Oh, and you’re doing all this and making the switch while the new vehicle is zooming down the highway. “All right, kids! We’ve picked our new car! Ready? Jump!”

I’ve been doubtful that we should have changed our election system — from the traditional, first-past-the-gate races, to ranked choice voting — and also changed from a five-person city commission to a 12-person city council, all at the same time. That seemed crazy.

But readers might know that I served as press secretary and speechwriter for a Portland mayor. I worked in City Hall.

And I know the way we used to run this city is even crazier. No matter how meshuga the new City Hall will be, it’ll be less polarized, less siloed, and less silly than what came before.

I’ve been wrong before, but that’s where I’m putting my money.

And speaking of being wrong….

Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott told me on two occasions this summer that there would be little to no drop-off of Portland voters in November. And I told him I thought he would be mistaken.

He was right, I was wrong.

Here’s what I feared: Portland voters would get two ballots in the mail. A traditional looking one for nationwide and statewide votes, and for schools, special service districts, etc. And also a ranked choice voting ballot for the Portland mayor, auditor and city council races. I told Scott that a lot of Portlanders would look at the two ballots — one familiar, one not so much — and would toss the unfamiliar one aside. In other words, we’d see many thousand fewer votes for mayor than we would see for outside-Portland races.

Nope. Late on election week, Scott informed me that more than 96% of Portlanders had returned both ballots.

That impressed me. Way to go, Portlanders.

I also think I’m now a fan of ranked choice voting. It worked. It wasn’t as complicated as we feared. And reporters from other states, where it’s been used for years, told me that it’s a good model. I was told as early as this summer that we could see a cluster of like-minded candidates steal votes from each other, leading the way for an outlier to win. For example, very conservative or very liberal candidates falling to a moderate.

So when November rolled around, what did we see? Three high-profile members of the current city commission losing to Keith Wilson, our next mayor and a political newcomer. Just as my media friends from out of state had predicted.

The full, post-game analysis of ranked choice voting won’t happen for weeks. Multnomah County and a couple of civic organizations are fine-tooth-combing it all now. But when the dust settles, I think I’m going to be a fan of ranked choice voting.

Now, as to the new city council….

Let’s go over that again: Right now, we have a five-person city commission made up of one mayor and four other commissioners. And they oversee their own bureaus. For instance, the mayor might take the Portland Police Bureau, while Commissioner No. 1 takes Parks and Rec. Is the mayor a law enforcement expert? Does Commissioner No. 1 need to know anything whatsoever about a) parks or b) recreation? Nope. But that’s the way we ran things here for, oh, a century or so.

But starting in January, we’ll have a mayor and a 12-person city council. And the city councilors were selected in four districts, with three winners each. That means if you live in, say, Albina, three of the 12 members of the council represent you.

And the 12 will oversee no bureaus. Which is great. That’s how most major cities are run.

The mayor won’t vote except to break ties. The mayor will have to hire, and work closely with, a city manager. (Spoiler alert: We’ve never had a city manager. Almost every other city has ’em, but not Portland.)

The mayor will have to work closely with the president of the city council. (Spoiler alert: We’ve never had a city council president.)

Who’ll be the most important and influential person in City Hall? The answer to that used to be “the mayor.” Hands down. Next year, that could be in contention.

It’s a lot of change, for sure. It could be a monumental failure. It could be hilarious to watch.

Then again, don’t count Portland out.

We might rise to the occasion.

Again.