Transportation reformer Sarah Iannarone announces bid for Portland mayor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=oEykgGxe_tY

Sarah Iannarone made it official today: She wants to be mayor of Portland.

In a campaign video posted to Sarah2020.com that directly calls out current Mayor Ted Wheeler for his inability to make good on his “rhetoric of progressivism”, the 46-year-old Iannarone listed “climate change”, “housing affordability”, and “staggering inequality” as her top priorities.

Many BikePortlanders are familiar with Iannarone. She and her e-bike (her primary vehicle) have been a fixture at community events as both an activist and volunteer and she’s an outspoken advocate for safe streets. Among the many advocacy roles she fills, Iannarone is a member of the Portland Bureau of Transportation Bicycle Advisory Committee and the PBOT Bureau Budget Advisory Committee. She was formerly associate director of First Stop Portland, a Portland State University-based program that offered study tours to elected officials and other leaders.

In 2017 Iannarone wrote a guest article on BikePortland that remembered the leadership lessons of the late Portland Mayor Vera Katz. Her three takeaways from Katz’s career were: “Urbanism is a practice not a vision; Leadership requires chutzpah; Lead like a mother.”

In our in-depth interview during her 2016 mayoral campaign (where she finished third with 12% of the vote) we asked what she thought of city subsidies for parking garages. Iannarone said Portland needs to be more direct in, “… stating the intention that we’re going to stop subsidizing the automobile. Because it doesn’t meet any of our goals. It doesn’t meet our equity goals, it doesn’t meet our economic goals, it doesn’t mean our environmental goals.”

Here’s a blurb from her campaign website:

“Portland is changing and we need a city that works for the majority of us, yes, but more importantly, we need a city that can adapt quickly while ensuring safety for those most at risk. A city rigged to work for the most privileged is not resilient, sustainable, or prosperous.

I believe Portlanders have everything we need to make radical progress TODAY on emergencies like climate chaos, housing affordability, and staggering inequality. We can harness our resources, empower our people, and organize our communities into a formidable force for change, but we need leadership that believes in us.”

Despite her clear political intentions over the past four years, Iannarone hasn’t dialed back her rhetoric. She’s taken bold positions on social media on everything from the I-5 freeway (she vehemently opposes expansion of it and wants to remove from the central eastside completely) to the controversial downtown protests between right and left-wing agitators.

Iannarone is running under the auspices of Portland’s Open and Accountable Elections program. That means campaign contributions will be limited to $250 and in exchange she’ll receive a 6-to-1 match for the first $50 of each contribution. To qualify for the program Iannarone will have to raise at least $5,000 from 500 Portland residents.

Iannarone’s campaign also filed their Notice of Intent to participate in the City of Portland’s newly established Open and Accountable Elections program. “I want to be accountable to every community member from Portsmouth to Powellhurst-Gilbert, Montavilla to Multnomah Village,” said Iannarone. “Instead of letting our agenda be set by wealthy, entrenched corporate interests, we’ll be participating in the city’s innovative new campaign finance program to ensure we hear from everyday Portlanders across the city, not just those who can buy access to City Hall with big checks.” In exchange for limiting contributions to $250, the campaign will receive a 6-to-1 match for the first $50 of each contribution. To qualify, Iannarone must raise at least $5,000 from 500 Portlanders.

Read more about Iannarone’s big announcement in the Willamette Week.

In related news, well-known City Hall staffer and current director of Latino Network, Carmen Rubio, has announced her intention to run for Portland City Council.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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