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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2018)
Page 6 October 24, 2018 Election Countdown C ontinueD froM p age 4 photo by D an D outhit /p ortlanD b ureau of e MergenCy M anageMent Drop, Cover and Hold On! -- Rigler Elementary students practice what to do during an earthquake during the Great Oregon ShakeOut earthquake drill, a coordinated event last Thursday at exactly 10:18 a.m. involving schools and office buildings throughout the metro area. cused largely on what he views as things Brown has failed to “fix.” Buehler’s campaign has paint- ed a picture of the orthopedic sur- geon as having moderate social views. He has occasionally criti- cized President Trump, said he’s pro-choice, and touts improving public schools, health care, and foster care as main priorities. Bue- hler digresses from Brown in his support of Measure 105, howev- er, which would repeal Oregon’s status as a Sanctuary City and his lack of support of then-Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavana- ugh’s accuser of sexual assault, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Brown and Buhler previously butted heads in a run for Secretary of State in 2012, which Brown ul- timately won. He’s since taken up reigns as a state representative for Bend. City Council Race A historic outcome is all but certain to result in the election for Portland City Council which has two candidates in a runoff from the May Primary; Jo Ann Hard- esty, the former NAACP Portland president and state representative, and Loretta Smith, the current Multnomah County Commission- er and former aide to Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden. Hardesty, whose intense activist style contrasts with Smith’s more demure demeanor, is running on a campaign touting green jobs, pub- lic access to government, police ac- countability and addressing home- lessness. Smith is using her track record as a county commissioner promoting jobs creation, affordable housing, and care for the elderly. She has scored endorsements from every incumbent black legislator and former black lawmakers. Attacks against Hardesty from Smith, peppered throughout the campaign, have brought unfa- vorable light to both candidates, however. Most recently, Hardesty danced at a campaign event with a former city employee, Baruti Ar- tharee, who resigned after being accused of sexual harassment for commenting on Smith’s appear- ance. Hardesty later apologized. Another criticism from the Smith campaign about Hardesty was aimed to raise questions about Hardesty’s competency to serve in light of mishandling of NAACP’s finances, while she presided there, for an amount of money that to- taled less than $15,000. Hardesty, for her part, called those attacks “slinging mud,” and emphasized that she resurrected the once defunct local branch of the volunteer-run civil rights or- ganization in 2015. Hardesty also dismissed criticisms that she did not properly file her private con- sulting business with the city when its name changed multiple times. Smith, meanwhile, has received her share of controversies as well, such as a county investigation that concluded she had bullied her staff and that she made inappropriate purchases with county dollars in 2017, though she claimed the in- vestigation was biased against her and filed an intent to sue. None of the bullying claims could be corroborated, as they allegedly oc- curred during one-on-one interac- tions, and she was not found to be in violation of misspending county dollars because she reimbursed the purchases. A separate investigation resulted in Smith being fined for violating campaign finance laws by beginning her City Council race earlier than was allowed as an in- cumbent County Commissioner.
