October 28, 2020

Mayor Ted Wheeler Can’t Name a Lents Restaurant

In a Tuesday night conversation with the Lents Neighborhood Association, Mayor Ted Wheeler was asked a question designed to gauge his connection to the oft-neglected Southeast Portland neighborhood. His answer left everyone (digitally) present shaking their heads.

“What is your favorite restaurant in Lents?,” one of the moderators of the discussion asked each candidate.

Wheeler refused to name a Lents restaurant but added “Amazon is great.” To remove any doubt of his stance, Wheeler repeated again, “Amazon is great.”

Sarah Iannarone, Candidate for Portland Mayor, told the meeting that her favorite place to eat in Lents is the Lents International Farmers Market. Lents is on the border of her own neighborhood, Mt Scott-Arleta, where she serves as Land Use and Transportation Chair of her own neighborhood association. If elected, Iannarone will reside further east than any mayor in Portland’s history.

In a statement, Gregory McKelvey, Campaign Director for Sarah Iannarone, responded to Wheeler’s out-of-touch and bizarre comments:

This was a challenging meeting for Ted, as this Zoom call was likely as close as he’ll ever get to Lents. Sarah resides across 82nd Avenue from Lents and intends to open an office in East Portland to ensure the City equitably invests in this part of town. All those in attendance must have been shocked with Wheeler’s repeated promotion of Amazon, an out of town megacorporation that negatively impacts local small businesses.

Sarah Iannarone said in a statement:

Amazon is one of the biggest businesses in the world. Given Ted’s affinity for serving wealthy corporations, I’m not surprised he’d give them a nod. This is the same mayor that refers to the Portland Mercado at SE 72nd as being in “East Portland.” He has no clue who we are or what we're about out here.