In 2022, Portlanders passed a ballot measure to change the way local government is structured in a few ways. The upcoming vote is a big one, since we are voting to staff the new government positions of councilors, mayor and auditor. For the first time, we will have geographic representation by district. Each district will have three equal representatives. None of the current commissioners is staying in their jobs. Ted Wheeler is a goner. If you want more info, the City of Portland has a pretty good website.

Nov 5 2024. It will be vote-by-mail just like always. Your ballot will arrive in early October. There will no longer be a primary for City Council seats so it’s just one election in November. Councilors from Districts 1 (East) and 2 (N/NE) wil be seated for four years. Councilors from Districts 3 (SE) and 4 (SW) will be seated for two years to start and four years starting in 2027 so that the entire council doesn’t turn over all at once.

It's pretty simple for voters and slightly more complex for the elections division. The simple part is your ballot. There will be like 20 names down the left (everyone who is running) and six numbered bubbles for each person. Fill in the #1 bubble for me :) and one each of the remaining five bubbles for other candidates. Don't double-vote for one candidate. If you can't find six people you want to vote for, that's fine just fill out however many you want. Hit me up in person some time with any questions you have!

Portland’s Small Donor Election program works to help candidates who want to power their campaigns without wealthy donors. If candidates pledge to only accept individual campaign donations under $350, along with a host of other restrictions, the city will match the first $20 of all individual donations made 9-to-1, effectively turning a $20 donation into $200. There are various tiers of donors candidates have to hit in order to qualify. I am a proud participant in this program!

Most of the City Council candidates are participating. You can see how much money has been raised here: openelectionsportland.org

Yes, it’s easy to get ordained! A few years before starting the business, a couple friends asked me to marry them. So I went online, filled out a quick form from the Universal Life Church and a few days later I was officially ordained. I did the wedding and never used my ministerial powers again until I was developing the idea to start selling cider. I was becoming increasingly passionate and I couldn’t shut up about cider. I talked about cider to anyone who would listen. It was beginning to get a bit annoying, apparently. My wife complained that all I did was go around evangelizing about cider and trying to convert beer drinkers to cider drinkers. I realized that, after all, I was an ordained minister, so it was only logical to call the business Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider.

I've had the privilege of visiting cities around the world and what makes Portland so special is our neighborhoods full of small businesses. The soul of Portland has always been our local businesses made for local residents, despite the fact that we've never gotten any help from City Hall. The current commissioners just seem to care about big businesses. With the introduction of the new government structure, there is, quite literally, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future of Portland. I never would have run in the old commission-based system. But the new structure allows fellow councilors to work together. It makes it much harder for big businesses to buy up officials. And we need to chart a new direction for the City. We need representation in the new Council for people who work and shop at small businesses and I am the only candidate in the race for District 2 with that background and experience.

You betcha! As I was wrapping up Rev Nat’s Cider, I was reminded by my kid of an idle daydream I’ve had for years about being a bus driver. I definitely didn’t plan to run for council before I started with Trimet - that came along much more recently. Anyway, I applied to Trimet, got accepted, and drove a bus all over the city from November through July when I retired to devote my time to campaigning.

And in case you were wondering, that $7500 hiring bonus is paid out over three years! It’s a great job with good pay though.

Through my job at Trimet, I was a proud union member of ATU Local 757.