Read on Twitter
never wanted to make this thread, sorry in advance. This is not about trying to change or shame you but about why I’m choosing to vote for Sarah for Mayor. I know, “but jake last week you were pissed as hell,” I know. However, “new shit has come to light, man” and I want Ted gone
This is probably not a great thread but who knows maybe this is helpful even if it’s just for me organizing a bunch of things in one easy to find place. 
Raiford is supporting Mingus Mapps to unseat Chloe Eudaly, the only candidate on city council who stood with the people protesting against a police union contract and police budget the public has no say in. https://twitter.com/emorymort/status/1318364482838523904
This is upsetting because Mapps has taken 15k from the PPA, the police union that makes any accountability for cops impossible in this town. Teressa is a fierce advocate against police brutality so like the poster says, this revelation is fucking heartbreaking.
However, I’ve largely spent most of the summer pissed that Raiford wasn’t being taken seriously, then it came to light that she herself doesn’t seem to take the write in campaign seriously, responding to a comment on Twitter with: “By the way I’m not running” https://twitter.com/turnupthereverb/status/1317509933408022529
This was confusing as hell, Teressa doesn’t really fuck around. Why would she say she wasn’t running when all these people are trying to support this right in campaign for her to become mayor.
Because she’s not running but if she gets elected she’d happily do the job. I’m sorry, but that’s hardly a winning strategy: people aren’t gonna vote for a candidate who won’t even campaign for themselves. And when questioned about it, the messaging just gets more confusing.
If you want to cruise around in that thread, here it is: https://twitter.com/fancyjenkins/status/1317516805271818240
So that saga from a few days concluded that Teressa appreciates people voting for her but when doesn’t really answer when questioned about her saying she wasn’t running. There are other things that are important to bring up that added to these cracks.
But the biggest thing is this: people vote for people who they think have a chance. I don’t need to throw a protest vote. Maybe that’s just my privilege, but if Teressa is polling at 6 percent, Ted is on Sarah’s heels and mailing attack ads to everyone and the other option
Is a candidate who isn’t running but would accept the job if she happened to win as a result of a campaign that she is in no way involved in mostly sounds like a non-option.
Teressa won’t directly respond to her own comment about how she isn’t running: if a candidate says they aren’t running, why vote for them? This isn’t a death blow to the write in campaign but in an underdog position you can’t throw away votes
Saying you aren’t running is throwing away votes. And while I have major issues with Sarah, most recently calling property damage a violent attack. https://twitter.com/fancyjenkins/status/1315721153604796416
This is problematic for many reasons that are pretty well spelled out in this thread by jonny: https://twitter.com/just__jonny_/status/1315946970591031296
And at this point based on all of the things it almost feels like voting for Teressa would just be a throwaway protest vote: https://twitter.com/1misanthrophile/status/1317509047122210816
But then she voted for Mapps. She can vote however she wants! But protesting police and voting for the person they support seems off. So based on all of it I’m gonna vote for Sarah.
This isn’t a thread to tell Raiford voters how to vote, this is a thread about how I personally feel and about what happened from last week to today to change my mind. Two weeks ago I was unsure. Last week it was Teressa and today it’s Sarah.
Maybe this waffling sounds like a good reason for you to unfollow me. This thread is about accountability to myself and my community. Last week I told people to vote for Raiford and today I’m telling you how I’m voting. Do what you want, but don’t vote for Ted.
Ted Wheeler is someone who says they like to engage with hard questions. He says he cares about reform but it’s been four years and the police are only getting worse.
“You have to get to know Ted.” I do know Ted. I’ve interacted w/ Ted many times. He says really nice things, but his policies aren’t great and his performative political pandering is gross. Maybe if he was just a community member I’d like him. But he’s not, he’s the fuckin mayor.
He’s also the police commissioner. When we need him to step up he doesn’t. And it’s actively harming people literally all the time in this city. Maybe Portland has too high of standards, that’s okay. I don’t think Sarah is the end-all answer, but I do know we need someone else.
Ted’s latest attempts at police reform to help with accountability include having officers who had 1 to 2 digit numbers on their helmets be reassigned a three digit number.
This was supposed to help people hold problematic officers accountable but it only makes it more difficult to remember and undoes months of work of people who have been figuring out who nameless faceless violent riot cops are.
I’m okay with another one-term mayor esp if that new mayor is comfortable saying they oppose fascism. Don’t know who this thread is for but I feel like I owe it to y’all to share it. Party on, be safe, vote for Biden and vote for Chloe.
