PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty formally announced on Monday that she will run for re-election next year.
Hardesty took office in January 2019 after defeating Loretta Smith, becoming the first Black woman elected to the Portland City Council.
“These next two years are going to be extremely challenging," Hardesty said in a statement. "I have a vision for Portland to rebuild stronger and more equitable. We can’t allow our progress to be rolled back. I believe I am the right woman for the job, and that Portland City Council needs my voice as we take on serious challenges in the coming budgets and policy agendas.”
Her campaign announcement touted endorsements from fellow Councilor Carmen Rubio, State Reps. Khanh Pham and Tawna Sanchez and several community leaders and advocates, and referenced her work on Portland Street Response and the Portland Clean Energy Fund.
If re-elected, Hardesty said her second term would focus on "public safety, housing and homelessness, economic resilience, and bold action on climate change."
The campaign news comes a few weeks after Commissioner Dan Ryan launched his own re-election bid. Ryan won a special election in 2020 to serve out the remainder of the late Commissioner Nick Fish's term.
Hardesty's and Ryan's terms are both set to end in 2022. The other two commissioners, Carmen Rubio and Mingus Mapps, were both elected last year to terms that run through 2024.
A handful of challengers have begun to emerge in the past two months.
Brandon Farley, Avraham Cox and Jamila Dozier have all filed with the city to run for Ryan's seat, and Dozier has also filed a Political Action Committee with the Oregon Secretary of State.
Peggy Owens has filed with the city to run for Hardesty's seat, and Vadim Mozyrsky and Rene Gonzalez have both filed Political Action Committees but have not yet filed with the city.
