August 19, 2020

The Real Threat

Dear Portland,

White nationalists are terrorizing Portland with pipe bombs in Laurelhurst Park, live ammunition downtown, and a near-miss of vehicular homicide in North Portland. But Ted Wheeler uses his platform to paint Black Lives Matter as a threat, while ignoring the dumpster fire of white nationalist and anti-Black violence infecting Portland. To be sure, a few people act foolishly under the cover of Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Violence and hate speech is ugly and wrong, no matter who does it. We must do more to keep white nationalists out of Portland, root out unaccountable police, and to prevent misogyny, homophobia and violence from overshadowing community calls for justice.

I fear for Portland if we allow Ted Wheeler to stroll to re-election. Portland is crying out for leadership that isn’t afraid to tell anyone they’re wrong. I believe I am the right woman for the job of leading us through this mess: a progressive, publicly-funded, Portland State-educated expert in urban policy who doesn’t pull punches or play politics as usual. I remain optimistic about Portland’s future, and I bring a mom’s facilitation skills and practical, immediate solutions to this moment. I have plans to right this ship, including rethinking public safety. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We can borrow what global cities demonstrate works, and listen to the local communities already leading on homegrown solutions.

We’ve updated our campaign website to break down what’s at stake in this election. We have lost so much these last four years. It’s time to hold Ted Wheeler accountable for his indifference to police and alt-right violence. Check out the update, and get involved.

Onward,

Sarah Iannarone
Candidate for Portland Mayor