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Gov. Tina Kotek on Wednesday morning endorsed Portland City Commissioner Carmen Rubio for mayor.
“Carmen Rubio has a track record of getting results. She’s focused on what matters—cleaning up the city, getting people into shelter and affordable housing, and bringing back the city we all love,” Kotek said in a statement. “We can count on her to deliver the kind of change Portland urgently needs.”
While it’s common for Oregon governors to endorse in Portland mayoral races, what’s noteworthy is how early the endorsement came: A governor’s endorsement usually comes in the fall, not in the spring.
One possible explanation for the early nod: On Tuesday, Rubio’s top opponent in the mayoral race, fellow City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, received union endorsements from the Portland Fire Fighters’ Association and the Portland Police Association.
The powerhouse endorsements for the two mayoral candidates—from the public safety unions yesterday in support of Gonzalez and from Kotek today in support of Rubio—suggest that political onlookers are seeing the mayoral race as a two-way matchup, despite the other candidates still in the running, including City Commissioner Mingus Mapps.
“I am humbled, grateful, and energized by the governor’s support. Not just because I admire her commitment to public service, but because Gov. Kotek knows what it will take to bring Portland to its full potential—and how important it is to have leadership alignment, at all levels of government, to achieve results,” Rubio said in a statement. “I am known as a collaborator that doesn’t fear taking responsibility for the way forward and making the hard call, when needed, to deliver results.”
Rubio also recently received endorsements from the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, LiUNA! Local 737 and the Portland Association of Teachers.