September 21, 2020
Black Leaders Endorse Sarah Iannarone for Portland Mayor
Today, Mayoral Candidate Sarah Iannarone released a slate of endorsements headlined by former Multnomah County Commissioner and Portland City Council Candidate Loretta Smith. Other prominent community leaders endorsing Iannarone include:
Organizations listed solely for identification purposes and does not imply organizational endorsement
- Bruce Broussard, Veteran; Former Candidate, Portland Mayor
- Cameron Whitten, Co-Founder, Black Resilience Fund
- Ciara Pressler, Founder, Pregame
- Darren Golden, Community Leader & Organizer
- Eli Deschera, Founder, Radical Justice Party
- Jackie Yerby, Active Transportation Advocate
- James Posey, Co-Founder, National Association of Minority Contractors Oregon; Former Chair, Black Parent Initiative
- Jerome Brooks, Former Executive Director, Housing Oregon
- Dr. Roberta Hunte, Assistant Professor; Parent
- Roberta Phillip-Robbins, J.D., Founder, Green Conscience Collective
- Samuel Miller, Soul District Business Association
- Shanice Clarke, Member, Portland Clean Energy Fund Grant Committee
- Stephen Green, Entrepreneur & Community Leader
- Taji Chesimet, Executive Director, Raising Justice
In a statement, Loretta Smith said, “The road ahead requires a visionary leader who can bring people together to ensure that we build our city back better than it was before COVID-19. From her plans to aggressively tackle police reform to her commitment to developing housing that is truly affordable, Sarah is the leader Portland needs to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive – regardless of their zip code.”
About Sarah, Stephen Green added, “Her deep roots in Portland's small business community will give city hall a boost in helping the city to support local firms to not only navigate the pandemic but to also become more resilient after it is over.”
These endorsements highlight the intense community energy behind Iannarone’s campaign as she seeks to unseat an embattled Mayor Ted Wheeler, with increasingly high unfavorable approval ratings, little campaign funds, and few key endorsements.
In his endorsement announcement, Cameron Whitten stated that he, “endorsed leaders whose commitment to making a better future for all Portlanders is unquestionable.”
Campaign Director Gregory McKelvey, a Black Lives Matter organizer himself, celebrated these endorsements saying that, “It was unprecedented for a viable candidate for Portland Mayor to select someone known primarily as a Black Lives Matter activist to run such a prominent campaign. Sarah did so long before the current uprising because she is committed to ensuring that Black lives matter in our community and that the common-sense progress Portlanders are demanding becomes a reality.”