The Portland Mercury is putting on what should be a fun and informative Portland mayoral candidate debate next week. It’s their “Mayoral Inquisition!” — an even that, according to Mercury reporter Sarah Mirk, will look to, “get away from the stiff, soundbite-inducing structure of a formal debate and instead have a public forum that’s more conversational.”
Mirk and Mercury News Editor Denis Theriault will be the chief inquisitors and they’ll be joined by three members of the public: Public Defender Chris O’Connor, Social Services Advocate (and former City Council candidate) Karol Collymore, and yours truly.
This campaign has been tough to follow recently as personal ethics — not the big issues our city faces — have dominated the headlines. The Oregonian columnist Steve Duin had a good recap of the recent troubles of both Jefferson Smith and Charlie Hales in his piece yesterday, Can either candidate for Portland mayor be trusted?.
Given recent missteps and other factors, I have a hunch many Portlanders are still undecided about this race. Hopefully this Mayoral Inquisition will help clear the waters. (For more background on Hales and Smith, browse our past coverage.)
Join us at Rontoms (600 E Burnside) at 8:00 pm next Tuesday the 18th. More info here and check the full poster below…
