Page 6
October 31, 2018
Momentum to Vote
C ontinueD from f ront
ty finished first with 46 percent of the vote,
and Smith a distant second at 21 percent of
the total.
The battle between Smith’s campaign and
Hardesty’s has been brutal for its attacks.
Smith has accused Hardesty of financial
management of the volunteer-run NAACP,
for victimizing her at a campaign event
by dancing with a supporter she accused
of sexually suggestive misconduct a few
years back, and for accepting large cam-
paign contributions from groups and orga-
nizations, despite Hardesty’s support for
campaign limits and portraying herself as
a small donor candidate.
Smith, meanwhile, must attain voter
trust in spite of accusations of bullying
by co-workers and complaints of inappro-
priate spending while serving as a county
commissioner. Smith has denied the alle-
gations and called the investigations biased
against her.
Also contrasting are each candi-
date’s campaign donations: Smith raised
$210,000 more than Hardesty, but Hardes-
ty boasts a higher number of small donors.
The candidates have similar viewpoints
on how they would help run the city, such
as advocating for transparency and inclu-
siveness on city policies, advocating for
better tenant protections and more afford-
able housing, and de-criminalizing house-
lessness.
But they differ greatly in their respec-
tive approaches to issues like opening the
unused, and now privately-owned, Wapato
jail to be used as a shelter for the houseless.
Hardesty once called the idea “idiotic” (she
later apologized for that).
Hardesty, a Navy veteran, supports
self-managed villages for the houseless,
like Dignity Village and Right 2 Dream
Too. She’s also mentioned advocating for
allowing the city to hire houseless people
at minimum wage to help clean up the
streets and bestowing mental health emer-
gency services to Portland Fire and Rescue
personnel, instead of police officers.
Hardesty has called for more police ac-
countability in general, more training, and
less homeless sweeps, while Smith said
she’d like to see implicit bias training done
for police. Unlike Hardesty, Smith said she
would support an increased officer pres-
ence on school campuses to ensure stu-
dents are safe from gun violence.
The Portland Observer emailed both
candidates questions to get some of their
final comments on the campaign. Below
are highlights from their responses.
Portland Observer: How do you feel
about your campaign now that the elec-
tion is just around the corner, as opposed
to when it first started?
Hardesty: I am humbled by my cam-
paign team, by my supporters and volun-
teers, and most importantly, by voters…
Early on, political pundits told us that we
were behind in the polls, that our message
would not resonate unless it were on TV,
and more… I am excited for the momen-
tum that my campaign has harnessed and I
cannot wait to take that all of that energy to
City Hall in January.
Smith: I am even more energized and
deeply touched by all the support from so
many people across this community. Port-
landers love this city, but they also see that
it’s changing, concerned that many are be-
ing priced out and left behind. This election
is about what kind of Portland we want.
PO: Is there anything you would have
done differently in the campaign?
Hardesty: I have gotten to learn much
more about policies, ideas and beliefs from
having eyeball to eyeball conversations
with people who are all eager to help. I don’t
think there’s anything I would change.
Smith: My campaign has grown stron-
ger every day. I see Portland through five
generations of families living here, and as
a life-long public servant, I will continue to
advocate to keep Portland a great place to
live and be a city that works for everyone.
PO: What final reflection or message
do you want voters to hear?
Hardesty: It’s inexcusable that in a
city with so much wealth, we have so
many people living under every bridge
and every underpass… The good news is
that most people I’ve met know we have
a problem with housing and they want
to help… I ask for your vote so that we
can work to solve Portland’s biggest chal-
lenges together and create a Portland that
works for us all.
Smith: I’m effective and have a suc-
cessful track record of bringing people to-
gether to improve our community. I have a
plan to address our homeless crisis, build
more affordable housing, create more
jobs and extend economic opportunity to
all Portlanders… I also want to thank the
community for their support and I hope I
earn your vote.
The cutoff for submitting ballots is
Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. In Oregon, they
must be received at a county elections of-
fice or official ballot drop off box by the 8
p.m. deadline. Postmarks do not count.