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Campaign mailers are coming at Portland-area voters harder this year than perhaps ever before.
There are a variety of reasons for that. First, the new form of government Portland voters selected in 2022 means that all 12 new City Council seats and the mayor’s job are on the ballot at once, rather than staggered as they were in the old system. In addition, campaign finance limits mean City Council candidates cannot afford television, and public funding means more candidates than ever still have just enough scratch to fill your mailbox.
There are also two well-financed statewide measures on the ballot: Measure 118, a new corporate tax to fund a $1,600 rebate for every Oregonian that has topped $15 million in spending, and Measure 117, a ranked-choice voting campaign that is nearing $10 million. Add to that an unusually competitive race for attorney general and a brutally contested 5th Congressional District race and you can see why print shops are working overtime.
We’ve also noticed some recurring features: QR codes aren’t just for restaurants and real estate signs anymore, and the profusion of special interest groups and the new three-member City Council districts mean that city mail pieces often extol the virtues of more than one candidate, sometimes in puzzling combinations.
But what we noticed even more: the oddities, the sly jabs, and the Freudian slips that make reading campaign mail far more interesting than opening your utility bill.
Here’s what caught our eyes:
BEST SPOKESMODEL
Let’s face it: Ranked-choice voting, which Measure 117 asks Oregonians to adopt, is wonky, heavily partisan (Republicans hate it), and not exactly the most pressing issue for most Oregonians. Judging from endorsements and fundraising, most people who care about it are urban progressives. That’s probably why the Yes on 117 campaign has spent a big chunk of the more than $9 million it has raised on mailers featuring Dan Keeley, a flannel-clad hazelnut farmer from St. Paul. The only thing Keeley (who, unlike many farmers, is a registered Democrat) loves more than a bumper crop of filberts, apparently, is a lot of extra bubbles on his ballot.
CREEPIEST SPOKESMODEL
The Portland Firefighters Association and the Portland Police Association are hopping onto the AI trend in the most unsettling way possible with their mailer co-endorsing District 3 City Council candidates Steve Novick and Kezia Wanner. The little boy on the back has unnaturally sparkly eyes, and there’s something up with his fingers. But it’s the AI-generated image of a girl on the front that wins creepiest model: Her plasticine lip and bottom teeth blend together and her eye colors don’t match. We feel unsafe looking at her, which, in a sense, does undergird the question printed behind her: “Who’s going to keep us safe?” A computer, probably.
BEST VISION TEST
Hold the brochure at arm’s length from your face. Remove your glasses. Can you tell if it features Keith Wilson or Ted Wheeler? (Bonus points if you can explain how Wilson’s plan to end homeless camping is different from Wheeler’s eight years ago.)
MOST ENDURING DREAM OF THE ‘90S
As he plots a return to City Hall in District 3, Steve Novick, a former city commissioner, seems stuck in a time warp. His mailer proclaims his vision: “I believe Portland can be the best European city in America.” Back in the 1990s and into the 2000s, Portland aspired to be Amsterdam, constructing its identity around streetcars, bike lanes and crafty cafes. Nowadays, people just want tents and tinfoil off their streets.
LEAST HELPFUL ENDORSEMENT
City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez wants voters for Portland mayor to know he’s a Democrat, no matter what anyone says to the contrary. This label is so important to him that his mailers and yard signs both read: “Democrat Rene Gonzalez.” So who does he trot out as an endorser on his mailer? Why, it’s former 5th District U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), who doesn’t live in Portland and was drummed out of Congress in the 2022 Democratic primary (by Jamie McLeod-Skinner, no less) for being insufficiently loyal to the party agenda. That should clear up any confusion!
STEALTHIEST ENDORSEMENT
The independent expenditure group Don’t Rank Rene has raked in big money from unions and progressive advocacy groups to block Gonzalez’s rise to City Hall’s fourth floor. The instructions on the group’s mailers are as clear as its name: When you fill out the ranked-choice ballot, leave Gonzalez off. To further elucidate that directive, the mailer offers a sample ballot with filled ovals for Carmen Rubio, Keith Wilson and Mingus Mapps. But look again: It’s Rubio in the “rank 1″ column, making this effectively an ad for a struggling candidate that hardly mentions her existence.
MOST THREATENING PROMISE
Daniel DeMelo, a District 3 City Council candidate, is perched against some idyllic flowers and greenery on his postcard. But the text is where we start getting worried. “You deserve Daniel DeMelo.” Gulp, what did we do wrong?
BEST IMPROVISATION
WW’s endorsement of District 4 City Council candidate Eric Zimmerman arrived after he printed his mailers. Good thing he had a stack of “Endorsed by Willamette Week” stickers at the ready. We’d like to award extra points to whoever took the time to slap one on each mailer. That’s dedication.
BEST FAUX LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE
District 3 City Council candidate Tiffany Koyama Lane’s four-page mailer looks like it’s straight off Portland Monthly’s presses, from the coordinated pink and green color palette to the round lettering. Koyama Lane’s magazine also features a title (“Portland Voices”), a theme (“The Back-to-School Issue”) and a Q&A.
MOST STRATEGIC TATTOO REVEAL
District 4 City Council candidate Eli Arnold isn’t just a cop. He’s a cool cop—you can tell he gets it because the sleeve of his green polo is just short enough to reveal a biceps tattoo. We can only make out half of the chemical equation on his arm from the mailer, but we can tell that it’s the start of the equation for photosynthesis.
ODDEST BONA FIDE
Political action committees use mailers to convey key messages to busy voters who might only recall a fact or two about candidates. Here’s what a mailer funded by an independent expenditure from Coalition for Portland’s future chose to tell voters about City Council District 3 candidate Jesse Cornett: “His best friend was killed by a police officer, so he knows police accountability is key.” We get that lived experience is the hottest qualification, but this factoid raises some questions that go unaddressed.
MOST EFFECTIVE BOOGEYMAN
Oregonians really despise sales taxes. We’re one of only five states that doesn’t levy a sales tax. Our constitution prohibits sales taxes. And voters have rejected passing a sales tax 10 times since 1910. That’s why the No on Measure 118 campaign uses some variation of the words “sales " and “tax” whenever possible in its efforts to kill the Oregon Rebate, which would tax corporations with Oregon sales above $25 million and cut every Oregonian a $1,600 check with the proceeds. “No on Measure 118,” the typical mailer says. “Defeat the costly tax on sales.” Sales sales sales. Tax tax tax. Game over, thanks for playing.
BEST IMPRESSION OF A DR. BRONNER’S LABEL
Out in Hillsboro, they’re having the same civil war Portlanders endured a decade ago: water fluoridation. The latest mailer urging a “no” vote on Measure 34-338 is a word salad buffet that includes a lot of pseudoscience, a testimonial from Erin Brockovich, and the question: “Do you think these distinguished institutions, organizations, and professionals would purposely mislead you?” Really, it’s an opulent volume of text. We’re happy for them, or sorry it happened, but we’re not reading all that.
Correction: The item about District 3 candidate Jesse Cornett originally attributed the mailer about him to his campaign. In fact, an independent expenditure campaign produced it. WW regrets the error.