On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, an election was held in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, to elect the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. Charlie Hales was elected, defeating Jefferson Smith.

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

mayor

Sam Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...

did not seek a second term. Portland uses a

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

system for local elections, in which all voters are eligible to participate. All candidates are listed on the ballot without any political party affiliation. All candidates meeting the qualifications competed in a blanket primary election on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. As no candidate received an absolute majority, the top two finishers advanced to a runoff in the November 6 general election. In the general election, former city commissioner Charlie Hales defeated state representative Jefferson Smith with approximately 61% of the vote.

Primary

Candidates on the ballot

* David Ackerman, mailroom operator for ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' *

Tre Arrow Tre Arrow (born Michael Scarpitti in 1974) is a green anarchist who gained prominence in the U.S. state of Oregon in the late 1990s and early 2000s for his environmental activism, bid for Congress as a Pacific Green Party candidate, and then for h ...

, environmental activist * Max Bauske, student at Portland Community College * Sam Belisle, manager at Red Robin *

Eileen Brady Eileen Brady (born 1961) is an American businesswoman who ran unsuccessfully for List of mayors of Portland, Oregon, mayor of Portland, Oregon, in 2012. Early life and career Born in Chicago, Brady was the eldest of five children born to Charle ...

, businesswoman and co-founder of

New Seasons Market New Seasons Market is a chain of privately owned grocery stores operating in the Portland, Oregon metro area, southwestern Washington, and northern California. Some of the products offered are organic and produced locally in the Pacific Northwes ...

* Loren Brown, screenwriter * Max Brumm, college student * Dave Campbell, unemployed * Robert Carron, artist and writer * Bill Dant, real estate broker * Scott Fernandez * Charlie Hales, former

Portland City Commissioner 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 polic ...

* Lew Humble, retired mechanic * Shonda Kelley, homemaker * Michael Langley, businessman * Blake Nieman-Davis, businessman * Josh Nuttall, cashier * Christopher Rich, media producer * Scott Rose, architect for

DLR Group DLR Group is an employee-owned integrated design firm providing architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design. Their brand promise is to elevate the human experience through design. A self-described advocate for sustainable design, the ...

* Howie Rubin, insurance agent * Jefferson Smith,

state Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

* Steve Sung, civil engineer *

Cameron Whitten Cameron Whitten (born April 8, 1991) is an American community activist best known for advocacy on affordable housing, racial justice, and LGBT rights. Early life and education Whitten grew up in Sterling, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. He ...

Occupy Portland Occupy Portland was a collaboration that began on October 6, 2011 in downtown Portland, Oregon as a protest and demonstration against economic inequality worldwide. It is inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on ...

protester

Declined to run

, incumbent mayor * Earl Blumenauer,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

* Jeff Cogen, Chairman of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners * Jim Francesconi, former Portland City Commissioner *

Steve Novick ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve A ...

, political strategist and Democratic candidate for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Mike Reese, Chief of the Portland Police Bureau *

Dan Saltzman Dan Saltzman (born 1953/54) is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon who served as a commissioner (city councilman) on the City Council of Portland in Portland, Oregon, from 1999 through the end of 2018. As of 2017, he had served longer on the ...

, Portland City Commissioner

Polling

Results

General election

The November 6 general election was a race between Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith.

Polling

Results

References

Mayoral election Mayoral may refer to: * Mayoral is an adjectival form of mayor * Mayoral, a Spanish Children's Fashion Company * Borja Mayoral (born 1997), Spanish footballer * César Mayoral (born 1947), Argentine diplomat * David Mayoral (born 1997), Spanish f ...

2012 Oregon elections 2012 United States mayoral elections

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Primary

Candidates on the ballot

Declined to run

Polling

Results

General election

Polling

Results

References

External links