Skip to main content
Portland Commissioner Steve Novick illustrated again Thursday morning why Portland voters haven't ousted a City Council incumbent since 1992.
Thursday, Novick announced he had the public support of the majority of the Portland City Council—Mayor Charlie Hales, Mayor-elect Ted Wheeler and Commissioners Dan Saltzman and Nick Fish. The only person on the current council not on his list is Commissioner Amanda Fritz.
Novick's press release announcing the endorsements is a window into his re-election campaign strategy against lefty bookstore owner and housing activist Chloe Eudaly. The release lists progressive causes Novick supported as a commissioner and statements saying he's grown up in his first three years in office.
"When he first took office, Novick was eager to move quickly and at times was difficult to work with," the release acknowledges. "But over the course of his term in office, Novick has matured – listening to others' ideas and respecting those with different perspectives."
Novick was forced into a November runoff with Eudaly after 57 percent of voters picked someone other than him in the May primary.
Eudaly, though, faces a steep climb to win election in November. She finished second in the primary with 15 percent of the votes.
Fritz, as of Thursday, hasn't endorsed anyone in the race. It's common for sitting commissioners to stay neutral in these circumstances so as to not anger any potential colleagues. As the seventh woman on the City Council, Fritz is pushing a revived public campaign financing system that Eudaly also supports.
"I value both," Fritz tells WW.
Willamette Week