PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Voters in Portland, Oregon, have elected political outsider Keith Wilson as their new mayor, following a campaign in which he capitalized on years of growing frustration over homeless encampments, open drug use and quality of life concerns to outperform three City Council members — including one ensnared in a driving record scandal — who had also sought to lead the city.
Wilson, the CEO of a trucking company and founder of a nonprofit working to increase homeless shelter capacity, ran on an ambitious pledge to end unsheltered homelessness within a year of taking office. The Portland native says he will accomplish this in part by increasing the number of nighttime walk-in emergency shelters in existing facilities such as churches and community centers.
His message appears to have resonated in a city where surveys conducted over the past few years have shown that residents view homelessness as a top issue.
“It’s time to end unsheltered homelessness and open drug use, and it’s time to restore public safety in Portland,” he said in his acceptance speech Thursday, speaking at a community center in north Portland that has also served as an emergency overnight shelter during extreme cold and heat waves. "Voters aren’t interested in pointing fingers. They just want us to get things done."
The mayoral race, which featured 19 candidates, was thrown open when Mayor Ted Wheeler decided against seeking reelection after holding the city’s top post since 2017. Wheeler rose to national prominence in 2020 as nightly protests erupted on Portland streets and around the country in response to the the police killing of George Floyd.
Wilson won in an election in which Portland voters used ranked-choice voting for the first time. Under ranked-choice voting, voters rank their picks in order of preference on the ballot. If a candidate is the first choice of more than 50% of voters in the first round of counting, that candidate wins.
Otherwise, the count continues to a second round. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who chose that candidate as their top pick have their votes redistributed to their next choice. The process continues with the candidate with the fewest votes getting eliminated until someone emerges with a majority of votes.
About 35% of voters ranked Wilson as their first choice, according to the first and second rounds of preliminary results released Tuesday and Wednesday. That is compared with City Council members Carmen Rubio and Rene Gonzalez, who were ranked first by roughly 19% of voters, and Mingus Mapps, ranked first by some 13% of voters.
Rubio and Gonzalez said they called Wilson to congratulate him on his new role.
For much of the year, the two City Council members were viewed as frontrunners. But recent revelations about Rubio’s driving record — as well as Gonzalez’s, to a much lesser extent — shook up the race.
Rubio has received roughly 150 parking and traffic violations over the last two decades. She failed to pay many of them for months or even years and had her license suspended six times. She lost some endorsements following the news, which was first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Gonzalez also had his license suspended twice over 20 years ago and racked up seven speeding tickets between 1998 and 2013, including one that was dismissed, as first reported by Willamette Week.
In previous statements, Rubio apologized for her actions, and Gonzalez said he had grown more responsible with age.
Wilson will oversee a completely new system of government. Portland is expanding its City Council from five to 12 members, elected by voters in individual districts rather than citywide, and adding a city manager position.
With Mount Hood in the background, Tara Bellido kisses Seth Herzog, both of Baltimore, as the sun sets on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Portland mayoral candidate Keith Wilson looks at a large screen projecting a live television broadcast about the Portland mayoral race at Old Town Brewing in Northeast Portland, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)
Portland mayoral candidate Keith Wilson with his wife, Katherine, watch local news election returns on a large screen at Old Town Brewing in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)
WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — It surely ranked among the best and most joyous five minutes in Alpine skiing history for the Swiss men's team and fans at the race they prize above all.
Marco Odermatt, the superstar of men’s skiing, raced down the longest and quirkiest World Cup downhill course to edge teammate Franjo von Allmen for victory in the classic Lauberhorn race.
As Odermatt waited at the start gate, Von Allmen delighted a noisy crowd of 40,000 with the latest standout display of his breakout season to set the fastest time, one day after getting his first World Cup win in a super-G.
Odermatt would not be denied on a near-perfect day for downhill racing on fast, hard snow under sunshine and blue skies in temperatures of 2 degrees (36 F) at the finish.
“This is my house!” Odermatt declared in English on seeing he was 0.37 seconds faster than Von Allmen.
Third-placed Miha Hrobat was 0.57 back after setting a fast target as the first starter.
The celebration was a shoutout to Daniel Yule, Odermatt said later of his Swiss teammate with British parents who said the same on winning a slalom at nearby Adelboden in 2020.
Von Allmen hugged Odermatt and shared exuberant smiles as he gave up his seat in the course-side leader’s box to his good friend.
Wengen is fast becoming Odermatt’s house, after winning both downhills on the course one year ago and being runner-up behind Aleksander Aamodt Kilde in the two previous years. Kilde is skipping this season to recover from injuries suffered while crashing at Wengen last year.
“It’s the most important race for me this year,” Odermatt told Swiss broadcaster RTS of the Lauberhorn downhill now in its 95th year. It is a standout event in Switzerland’s sports and social calendar.
“It’s super cool. Today the skiing is perfect, the course, the snow. The feeling on my feet was fantastic,” the three-time defending overall World Cup champion said after extending his lead in the standings.
The snow conditions set up for fast skiing and Italian veteran Dominik Paris was clocked at 154.99 kph (96 mph) on the straight Haneggschuss section two minutes into the run. It was there in 2013 that Johan Clarey of France set the World Cup record speed of 161.9 kph (100.6 mph). Paris finished fourth.
Still, the 4.45-kilometers (2 ¾-mile) course that twists beneath the Eiger, Jungfrau and Mönch mountain peaks is always tiring and two-time Lauberhorn winner Vincent Kriechmayr crashed hard into safety fences before the final turn.
Kriechmayr stood up and later was seen limping with a right leg injury that the Austrian team confirmed was “a severe strain” to a knee ligament.
French racer Blaise Giezendanner was airlifted from the course after crashing midway down his run. The French team later said Giezendanner tore the ACL in his right knee.
Odermatt also leads the downhill standings from Von Allmen, who has been runner-up in three straight downhills.
In a discipline where racers often peak in their 30s, Von Allmen shapes already as an elite racer in just his second year competing at Wengen. He placed 14th last year in both of Odermatt's wins.
Von Allmen was saluted in the finish area by International Ski Federation president Johan Eliasch, who also owns the Head ski brand the Swiss prospect uses.
Swiss men have placed 1-2 in all four World Cup downhills this season. Odermatt has won two, with Justin Murisier and Alexis Monney winning the others.
“It’s incredible, you have to give it to them,” Eliasch said. “The dominance in speed across the board is something for everybody else to aspire to.”
Austria’s classic race is next Saturday for the downhillers, the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel that is a shorter course than Wengen but the most feared.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, center, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen, left, and third-placed Slovenia's Miha Hrobat, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)
Mt. Eiger, 3,967-meter (13,015 ft), overlooks an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)
Slovenia's Miha Hrobat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr skis on a single ski as he comes down the slope after crashing during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)
