The government of Portland, Oregon is based on a city commission government system. Elected officials include the mayor, commissioners, and a city auditor. The mayor and commissioners are responsible for legislative policy and oversee the various bureaus that oversee the day-to-day operation of the city. Portland began using a commission form of government in 1913 following a public vote on May 3 of that year. Each elected official serves a four-year term, without term limits. Each city council member is elected at-large. In 2022, Portland residents approved a ballot measure to replace the commission form of government with a 12-member council elected in four districts using single transferable vote, with a professional city manager appointed by a directly-elected mayor, with the first elections to be held in 2024.
Steven "Steve" Novick is a former American politician, attorney, and activist from the U.S. state of Oregon. Most recently he served a four-year term as a Portland City Commissioner – a member of the City Council of Portland – from January 2013 to January 2017. He was elected in May 2012 and assumed office on January 1, 2013. In 2008, he ran for the Democratic Party's nomination for the United States Senate, for the seat then held by Republican Gordon Smith, but narrowly lost to Oregon House speaker Jeff Merkley. On the Portland city council, he was in charge of the city's transportation department, among other responsibilities. Novick ran for re-election to the city council in 2016 but lost to Chloe Eudaly. Starting in 2018, he works as an attorney for Oregon Department of Justice.
Jefferson Smith is a former radio personality, and former politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Oregon, founder of the Bus Project, and served in the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 47 in east Portland, from 2009 to 2012. He was one of two candidates for Mayor of Portland in 2012 to advance beyond the primary election, but lost to Charlie Hales in the November general election.
Jules Bailey is an American politician who served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2009 to 2014, representing inner Southeast and Northeast Portland. Bailey also served on the County Commission for Multnomah County, Oregon from June 2014 to December 2016. In 2016, Bailey ran for mayor of Portland in 2016, losing to Ted Wheeler. In January 2017, he began working for the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative as the chief stewardship officer, and as the CEO in January 2023.
Amanda Fritz is a British-American politician and retired psychiatric nurse from the U.S. state of Oregon. Before being elected to Portland's City Council in 2008, Fritz was a neighborhood activist and seven-year member of the Portland Planning Commission. She was also the first candidate to win public financing under Portland's Clean Elections system in 2006, though she lost to incumbent Dan Saltzman in the first round of that year's election.
Charles Randall ‘Randy’ Leonard is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. He was a member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly from 1993 to 2002 and served as a city commissioner in Portland from 2002 through 2012.
Edward Tevis Wheeler is an American politician who has served as the mayor of Portland, Oregon since 2017. He was Oregon State Treasurer from 2010 to 2016.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the five U.S. representatives from the state of Oregon, apportioned according to the 2010 United States Census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election. All five incumbents, four Democrats and one Republican, were re-elected to another term.
Eileen Brady is an American businesswoman who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Portland, Oregon, in 2012.
Charles Andrew Hales is a former American politician who served as the 52nd mayor of Portland, Oregon, from 2013 to 2017. He previously served on the Portland City Council from 1993 to 2002.
The 2012 elections for the Oregon Legislative Assembly determined the composition of both houses for the 77th Oregon Legislative Assembly. The Republican and Democratic primary elections were on May 15, 2012, and the general election was on November 6, 2012. Sixteen of the Oregon State Senate's 30 seats were up for election, as were all 60 seats of the Oregon House of Representatives.
Gail R. Shibley is an American politician who was the first openly gay person to serve in the Oregon State Legislature.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation is the agency tasked with maintaining the city of Portland's transportation infrastructure. Bureau staff plan, build, manage, and maintain a transportation system with the goal of providing people and businesses access and mobility. The Bureau received significant media coverage in 2017 for employee hazing within its maintenance operations.
On Tuesday, May 17, 2016, an election was held in Portland, Oregon, to elect the mayor. Ted Wheeler was elected after garnering 54% of the primary vote. Incumbent mayor Charlie Hales did not seek a second term.
On November 2, 2004, an election was held in Portland, Oregon, to elect the mayor. Tom Potter was elected, defeating Jim Francesconi. Incumbent mayor Vera Katz did not seek a fourth term.
Jim Francesconi is an American lawyer and politician who served on the Portland, Oregon City Council from 1997 until 2004. In 2004 he raised $1.3 million in his bid for mayor of Portland, more than doubling the previous fund-raising record for the position of $600,000, set by Earl Blumenauer in 1992. Francesconi lost the election to Tom Potter, a former police chief who placed strict limits on contributions to his own campaign, and who ultimately spent less than a tenth of what Francesconi did on the campaign.
On May 16, 2000, an election was held in Portland, Oregon, to elect the mayor.. Incumbent mayor Vera Katz was re-elected to a third term.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the five U.S. representatives from the state of Oregon, one from each of the state's five congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
Margaret D. Strachan is an American politician who served on the Portland City Council, in Portland, Oregon, from 1981–1986. She was the first woman elected to the Council.
