District 4 City Council election results
Round 1 / Final
Olivia Clark 31% / 25%
Mitch Green 24% / 25%
Eric Zimmerman 20% / 25%
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Eli Arnold 10% / 12%
Jamey Evenstar 4% / 5.6%
Jeremy Beausoleil 4% / 5.6%
The easy reelection of the three District 4 City Council members is confounding to even those who warned of the power of incumbency under our particular form of ranked choice voting.
Eli Arnold, who narrowly missed election two years ago, ran again with more campaign experience, higher visibility and more donations, and yet he was not even in contention. He raised more money in direct donations and the public match than any other candidate, but it didn’t matter. He got less than half of necessary votes to win.
In District 3, challenger Kellie Torres also led in fundraising and was endorsed by Mayor Keith Wilson. Yet she got less than half as many votes as the successful incumbents in the first round and stalled at 14%.
If candidates of this caliber fall so far short of the mark despite enormous effort, few people of substance will attempt to climb this wall in the future.
The Doom Loop, brought to you by Julia Meier and Candace Avalos plus the gullibility of Portland voters who created this monster. This is exactly what they wanted. Either repeal multi-district ranked choice voting or move out of Multnomah County: What other option is there for rational, tax-paying citizens who want their vote to count and their government to function?
As thrilled as I am with what happened nationally I certainly am scratching my head at the complete city council incumbency as well as the Multnomah County election results.
If attachments were allowed in comments I’d be including the meme of the guy on the bicycle with a stick. He puts the stick in the front wheel and falls off the bike.
We are now that meme.