Samuel Francis Adams is an American politician in Portland, Oregon. Adams was mayor of Portland from 2009 to 2012 and previously served on the Portland City Council and as chief of staff to former Mayor Vera Katz. Adams was the first openly gay mayor of a large U.S. city.
The history of the city of Portland, Oregon, began in 1843 when business partners William Overton and Asa Lovejoy filed to claim land on the west bank of the Willamette River in Oregon Country. In 1845 the name of Portland was chosen for this community by coin toss. February 8, 1851, the city was incorporated. Portland has continued to grow in size and population, with the 2010 census showing 583,776 residents in the city.
The mayor of Portland, Oregon is the official head of the city of Portland, Oregon, United States. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and has no term limits. By law, all elections in Portland are nonpartisan. The current mayor is Keith Wilson, who has served since January 1, 2025, and was first elected in the 2024 election.
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is an organization that administers arts grants in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties that also do advocacy in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It evolved from the city’s Metropolitan Arts Commission agency in the 1990s. In 1995, the Metropolitan Arts Commission became the RACC as an independent non-profit organization. It's board of director ousted the executive director Carol Tatch in November 2023 following an outside investigation.
The government of Portland, Oregon is based on a mayor–council government system. Elected officials include the mayor, a 12-member city council, and a city auditor. The city council is responsible for legislative policy, while the mayor appoints a professional city manager who oversees the various bureaus and day-to-day operations of the city. The mayor is elected at-large, while the council is elected in four geographic districts using single transferable vote, with 3 winning candidates per district. Portland's current form of government was approved by voters in a 2022 ballot measure, with the first elections under the new system held in 2024.
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.
Mildred A. Schwab was an attorney and politician from Portland, Oregon, in the United States. She served as a City Commissioner from 1973 to 1986; she was appointed to fill the vacancy created when Neil Goldschmidt was elected mayor, and was re-elected three times. Her brother, Herbert M. Schwab, served on the Oregon Court of Appeals.
Edward Tevis Wheeler is an American politician who served as the mayor of Portland, Oregon from 2017 to 2024. He was Oregon State Treasurer from 2010 to 2016.
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.
Allen Golden Rushlight was an American politician and businessman, in the U.S. state of Oregon. A Republican, Rushlight served one term as mayor of Portland, Oregon, and was later elected to three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives.
William A. Storey was the mayor of Portland, Oregon, United States, from 1899 to 1900. He later served as Multnomah County Sheriff, from 1902 to 1904.
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.
In 2016, a report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revealed that the U.S. state of Oregon had an estimated homeless population of 13,238 with about 60.5% of these people still unsheltered. In 2017, these numbers were even higher. As of January 2017, Oregon has an estimated 13,953 individuals experiencing homelessness. Of this homeless population, 1,083 are family households, 1,251 are veterans, 1,462 are unaccompanied young adults, and 3,387 are individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. As of 2022, 17,959 people total experienced homelessness in Oregon, with 2,157 individuals being youth under 18, 6,671 being female, 10,931 being male, and 131 being transgender. Also among the 17,959 total homeless in 2022, 15,876 were Non-Hispanic/Non-Latino, 2,083 were Hispanic/Latino, 13,960 were white, 1,172 were Black, African American, or African, 101 were Asian or Asian American, 880 were Native American, and those of multiple race were 1,619. Oregon has seen an increase in its total homeless population consistently every year since 2010. In last three years specifically Oregon has seen a 98.5% increase 2021-2022, 22.5% increase 2020-2021, and a 13.1% increase 2019-2020.
On May 19, 2020, and November 3, 2020, elections were held in Portland, Oregon, to elect the mayor.
Starting in May 2020, protests following the murder of George Floyd were held in the city of Portland, Oregon, concurrent with protests in other cities in the United States and around the world. By July 2020, many of the protests, which had been held every day since May 28, drew more than 1,000 participants. Protests continued into August, September, and October 2020, often drawing hundreds.
Rene Gonzalez is an American businessman, politician, and former lawyer. He held a seat on the Portland, Oregon City Council from January 2023 to December 2024. He challenged incumbent commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty in the 2022 election, running on a platform that emphasized law and order and livability.
The 2024 Portland mayoral election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the mayor of Portland, Oregon. Businessman Keith Wilson was elected, defeating 3 city council members and 15 other candidates.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Oregon on November 5, 2024. Primary elections were held on May 21, 2024.
The 2024 Portland municipal elections were held on November 5, 2024, to elect the mayor, city auditor and city council of Portland, Oregon. This was the first Portland election to use ranked-choice voting following the implementation of charter reform approved by voters in a 2022 ballot measure.
The 2022 Portland City Auditor election took place on May 17, 2022, to elect the Auditor of Portland, Oregon in the US. Incumbent Mary Hull Caballero did not seek re-election.
