Skip to main content
Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan announced Monday morning he will not run for mayor next year.
The next mayor of Portland—to be elected in November 2024 alongside 12 new city councilors—will oversee an entirely new form of government that’s managed by a professional city administrator.
For months, sources close to Ryan told WW he was considering a run for mayor, weighing his chances against fellow Commissioner Mingus Mapps, who announced his candidacy this fall, and another city commissioner likely to compete for the position, Carmen Rubio. (Rubio has not said whether she will run for mayor.)
“I will remain focused on the challenges facing our city: livability, homelessness, untreated drug addictions, public safety, and economic development—which includes the arts—in all neighborhoods,” Ryan said in a statement, adding that he believes he’s well suited to the job. “I will keep fighting for the city I love.”
Ryan did not say whether he would run for office in another jurisdiction; a Multnomah County commissioner seat is open, as is Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) has decided not to run for a 15th term.
Voters sent Ryan to the City Council in the fall of 2020 in the midst of the racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd. He’s focused his efforts on setting up tiny house villages across the city for homeless Portlanders while seeking permanent housing.