Jim Francesconi (born 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served on the
Portland, Oregon City Council
The Government of Portland, Oregon is based on a city commission government system. Elected officials include the mayor, commissioners, and a city auditor. The mayor and commissioners (members of City Council) are responsible for legislative poli ...
from 1997 until 2004. In 2004 he raised $1.3 million in his bid for
mayor of Portland, more than doubling the previous fund-raising record for the position of $600,000, set by
Earl Blumenauer
Earl Francis Blumenauer ( ; born August 16, 1948) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1996. The district includes most of Portland east of the Willamette River.
A member of the Democratic P ...
in 1992. Francesconi lost the election to
Tom Potter
Thomas Jay Potter (born September 12, 1940) is a former American politician and law enforcement officer in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Mayor of Portland from 2005 to 2009, and had been the chief of the Portland Police Bureau. As mayor ...
, a former police chief who placed strict limits on contributions to his own campaign ($25 in the primary election, $100 in the general election), and who ultimately spent less than a tenth of what Francesconi did on the campaign.
Career
Francesconi was elected city commissioner in 1996. In the primary election, he finished with 27.05% of the vote, advancing to the general election against
Gail Shibley
Gail R. Shibley (born c. 1958) is an American politician who was the first openly gay person to serve in the Oregon State Legislature.
She was appointed to the Oregon House of Representatives in January 1991, to fill a vacancy caused by Phil K ...
. He won in the general with 53% of the vote. Francesconi was re-elected in 2000, unopposed. In
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, he ran for
mayor of Portland, raising an unprecedented $1 million for the primary election.
He finished second in the primary election, and lost to
Tom Potter
Thomas Jay Potter (born September 12, 1940) is a former American politician and law enforcement officer in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Mayor of Portland from 2005 to 2009, and had been the chief of the Portland Police Bureau. As mayor ...
in the general election, receiving 38% of votes to Potter's 61%.
In 2006, after leaving Portland City Council, Francesconi, who had previously served as Portland's commissioner of
Portland Parks & Recreation
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) is a Bureau of the City of Portland, Oregon that manages the city parks, natural areas, recreational facilities, gardens, and trails. The properties, which occupy a total of more than . The bureau employs a total ...
, the city's parks department, joined the law firm Haglund, Kelley, Horngren & Jones. One of his clients in that position was
Warner Pacific College
Warner Pacific University is a private Christian university in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1937, the university is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and affiliated with the Church of God.
History
The school w ...
, which he represented in its bid to purchase a nine-acre parcel of city property adjoining its campus.
The parcel is adjoined to
Mount Tabor Park
Mount Tabor is an extinct volcanic vent with a city park on the volcano, located in Portland, Oregon's neighborhood of the same name. The name refers to Mount Tabor, Israel. It was named by Plympton Kelly, son of Oregon City pioneer residen ...
, and serves as the maintenance facility for the city's parks system. The deal fell through when the local neighborhood association learned about the negotiations.
In 2014, Francesconi ran for Multnomah county chair. He lost to
Deborah Kafoury
Deborah Kafoury (born August 19, 1967) is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Born in Walla Walla, Washington, Kafoury received her bachelor's degree from Whitman College. She is the chair of the Multnomah County Commission, where she suc ...
in the primary election.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesconi, Jim
1953 births
Living people
Portland City Council members (Oregon)
Oregon Democrats
Lawyers from Portland, Oregon