Endorsements begin to shape Portland city government races

Now that Portland’s candidate pool for the November election is final, endorsements from major labor unions and industry groups are beginning to shape the race.

Portland’s largest police union — the Portland Police Association — is the latest to reveal its full list of endorsements for city races, putting its muscle behind City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez for mayor and other like-minded council candidates who’ve prioritized public safety issues in their campaigns. Business-friendly political organization United for Portland also shared their wide-reaching endorsements for city councilors today, which span the political spectrum. The group did not endorse a candidate for mayor.

Endorsements have the potential to play an outsized influence this campaign season. That’s because budget cuts to the city’s public campaign matching program have greatly limited the amount of cash candidates can rely on. Endorsements often lead to more campaign mailers and other free coverage for candidates seeking name recognition among undecided voters.

“I think that endorsements are magnified in this particular election over the previous City Council elections,” said Doug Moore, director of United for All. He said candidates’ financial strains are a contributing factor, along with voters’ overall confusion with Portland’s new voting system and the sheer number of candidates on the November ballot.

“I think voters that they are going to look at the groups that they trust and ask ‘Who’s getting their endorsement?’” Moore said. “And that’s how they’ll make their decision.”

Most endorsements have come from three types of organizations: labor unions, business advocacy groups, and progressive grassroots organizations.

In the mayor’s race, Gonzalez has earned endorsements from landlord lobbying group Multifamily Northwest, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and most law enforcement unions, including the Multnomah County Deputy Sheriffs Association and Portland Firefighters Association.

City Commissioner Carmen Rubio, another mayoral candidate, has collected support from other major public sector unions, such as the Service Employees International Union Oregon State Council, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 189, the Northwest Oregon Labor Council and the Portland Association of Teachers. She’s also backed by Portland Neighbors Welcome, a progressive housing advocacy group and Portland for All, a progressive grassroots organization.

The Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 737 withdrew its endorsement of Rubio earlier this week, per Willamette Week.

Mayoral candidate Keith Wilson, the president of a trucking company, has the support of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, along with the climate change advocate group Sunrise Movement PDX.

City Commissioner Mingus Mapps has earned the support of Professional & Technical Employees Local 17, which represents around 900 city staff.

These allegiances among groups are reflected across council races, with more moderate candidates winning support from law enforcement unions and groups like Multifamily NW and business advocacy group Revitalize Portland, which has not made an endorsement in the mayor’s race. Those groups have endorsed candidates like Loretta Smith, Eli Arnold, Daniel DeMelo, Kezia Wanner and Terrance Hayes.

More progressive candidates, meanwhile, have won support from labor unions excluding law enforcement, groups like SEIU, AFSCME, LiUNA and grassroots progressive organizations, including Portland Neighbors Welcome and Portland for All. Those groups have supported people like Candace Avalos, Steph Routh, Tiffany Koyama Lane, Mitch Green and Nat West.

Yet some candidates have earned endorsements from both clusters. For instance, candidates Tony Morse, Eric Zimmerman, Dan Ryan, Tiffani Penson, Steve Novick and Olivia Clark have landed support from Portland’s police union and other public labor unions, like SEIU and LiUNA.

One powerful endorsement will be missing this cycle. The Portland Metro Chamber, the business lobby that has long held sway over city elections, will not be releasing its preferred candidates this year. But several of their leaders sit on the board of another business-friendly group United for Portland, which released their endorsements this week. United for Portland chose to “green-light” candidates that, according to Moore, will make a “functional, pragmatic city council.” That list of 25 candidates includes people who’ve attracted support from both progressive and moderate groups, like Nat West, Dan Ryan and Olivia Clark.

Beyond labor and business endorsements, there are two more factors that could change the course of the election. That will be advertising spending by independent expenditure groups — committees formed to lobby for or against certain candidates that aren’t subject to the same financial restrictions as candidates. Many of those groups have formed, but have yet to begin collecting and spending money. The second factor will be endorsements from media outlets, which could drop anytime before election day.

Find your voting district, download a map and read the final Portland district plan here.