An Obama spoke card in Portland, via Los Angeles and New Orleans.(Photos © J. Maus)

Local news outlets are reporting that Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, is headed to Portland.
No specific details about his visit have been announced but he's expected to be in Portland later this week.
Sen. Obama delivered a rousing [...]

Reader David Seifert sent in this photo.

Ballots are out and some Portlanders are already casting their votes in a landmark election that will remake Portland City Hall.
I've been lacking a bit in political coverage but I hope to rectify that in the next few days (hold on to those ballots!).
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Daniel Johnson (pre-trim).(Photos © J. Maus)

Daniel Johnson -- the guy behind the pothole ride -- started Bike Lunch as a way to meet people and encourage community among folks who ride.
The idea is simple: Meet every Friday during the lunch hour and share conversation among friends old and new. The event [...]

Check out this cool and short (1:46) YouTube video from City Council candidate Chris Smith. He gives an overview of his strategy to make Portland into America's sustainability leader:
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"I'm a very pro-bicycle candidate."--Mayoral candidate Sho Dozono during a televised debate

Mayoral hopefuls Sam Adams and Sho Dozono debated on prime-time local network television on Monday. Part of the format included a series of questions that were submitted online by KGW viewers.
Dozono hasn't said much about bikes during his campaign. The only time [...]

The City Club of Portland hosted a mayoral debate on Friday between the two leading candidates -- City Commissioner Sam Adams and Portland business owner Sho Dozono.

Sho Dozono(Photo © J. Maus)

Sam Adams(Photo © J. Maus)

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[Via the Portland Mercury Blog]
Check out City Council candidate Harold C Williams Two. He's announced a run and bike ride he hopes will end with a job at City Hall:

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Bike parking at the Memorial Coliseum this morning.(Photo © J. Maus)

Regrettably I won't be inside the Barack Obama rally this morning. However, I did stop by the Coliseum on my way into the office to check out the bike parking situation.
While there are definitely a lot of bikes parked illegally (a technicality, since there [...]

This just in from Amy Ruiz at the Portland Mercury... Mayoral candidate Sho Dozono has been stripped of public financing. Dozono is the only real challenger to Sam Adams and he has said he would drop out of the race without public funds.
A brief snippet of the ruling is below:
Presiding State Administrative [...]

Election madness is heating up in Portland. Here's my attempt to help keep you updated on the latest happenings...
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Bike Walk Vote, which bills itself as "the political arm of the Portland area's bicycling and walking movement", has announced several more endorsements. This is their second round of choices, back in January they endorsed Chris Smith and Jeff Bissonnette.
For Portland City Council, they have chosen to endorse Jim Middaugh and Randy Leonard. [...]

Local election season is heating up. One welcome trend of the campaigns, that will be fun to keep an eye on, is how/if the candidates try to out bike-friendly one another.

Fritz's press release.

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Mr. Middaugh.(Photo © J. Maus)

We had so much fun last time, we figured we'd do it again: Mark your calendars for a special edition of the BikePortland Social Hour this Friday (3/14) from 6-7:00pm.
This time around, City Council candidate Jim Middaugh will join us for some casual conversation and locally brewed beverages (for more [...]

A still from Sam Adams: Man on the Go.(Watch it below).

If you haven't seen Commissioner Sam Adams' mayoral campaign video, you should.
I'm not one to regurgitate political propaganda, but I think this video/campaign ad is worth a few minutes of your time (you can watch it below). It's a great mix of documentary-style filmmaking [...]

Middaugh hopes to pedal into a Council seat.(Photo © J. Maus)

You can add Jim Middaugh's name to the list of City Council candidates who are now officially certified to receive public financing.
Middaugh -- who I profiled back in January -- is running for Council Seat #2 (currently occupied by Erik Sten) and this morning, City [...]

It's official: Press release below...
OFFICE OF CITY AUDITOR CITY OF PORTLAND
February 25, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JIM MIDDAUGH CERTIFIED
Today, the Auditor certified Jim Middaugh as a Campaign Finance Fund candidate for the May 20, 2008 Primary Election. Mr. Middaugh, candidate for Commissioner No. 2, achieved 1,623 verified qualifying contributions from Portland registered voters during the [...]

Chris Smith.(Photo © J. Maus)

City Auditor Gary Blackmer has just issued the official notice (full text below) that Chris "Citizen" Smith has gathered the requisite signatures and donations in order to qualify for public funding of his campaign to grab a seat on Portland's City Council.
By March 6th, Smith will be awarded $140,150 in public [...]

This just in from the Chris Smith campaign:

Chris Smith Submits 1,180 Signatures for VOE Certification
This afternoon Chris Smith formally requested certification as a publicly financed candidate under the city’s “Voter Owned Elections” system. Smith, who is running for the Position 1 seat of the City Council, turned in 129 additional qualifying signatures and accompanying [...]

Jim Middaugh(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

In a rare move for an aspiring politician, City Council hopeful Jim Middaugh is telling supporters to stop giving him money.
In a statement released late Thursday night, he claimed they are "over the top" with $5 contributions. "In fact," the statement said,
"We're over the top so far that I [...]

Chris Smith pedaling along the South Waterfront.(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

Transportation and neighborhood activist Chris Smith, who began his run for City Council back in September, plans to submit his 1,000th, $5 contribution to the Auditor's office later today.
Smith, who was given the moniker "Citizen Smith" by the Portland Tribune, needs to have at least 1,000 [...]