Portland, Ore., has seen months of nightly protests against police brutality and racism. (John Rudoff / Sipa USA via AP Images)
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After months of nightly protests against police brutality and racism in Portland, Ore., voters here overwhelmingly approved the creation of a new police oversight board with the power to discipline and fire officers. But they decided not to fire Mayor Ted Wheeler, who serves as police commissioner and has been criticized for lax oversight of the Portland Police Bureau. Portland police officers were repeatedly filmed assaulting protesters during demonstrations this summer, and their use of tear gas has been the subject of multiple lawsuits. Wheeler beat opponent Sarah Iannarone, an activist and urban policy wonk who ran an aggressive campaign largely defined by her embrace of the protests, 46 to 40 percent. Thirteen percent of voters selected write-in candidates, including Teressa Raiford, a longtime advocate for police reform.
In the months leading up to the election, almost everyone in the city seemed sick of Wheeler. Two-thirds of residents disapproved of his performance, according to a poll taken in late August. Protesters dubbed him “Tear Gas Ted”; civil rights leaders called on him to resign; business groups complained that he wasn’t doing enough to squash protest activity downtown. Iannarone hitched her campaign to the protest movement, describing herself as an “everyday anti-fascist” and leaning into her status as a political outsider. In contrast to Wheeler, a technocrat with a résumé packed with Ivy League degrees and government experience, Iannarone has never held elected office, worked inside government, or led an organization. She had a slew of policy ideas and raised a significant amount of money through a new public campaign finance program, but she struggled to get support from progressive allies, some of whom said they doubted her ability to effectively manage the city. Meanwhile, Wheeler snapped up endorsements from environmental groups and unions as well business and real estate interests. Iannarone’s ability to capture the...
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