Poll shows Jo Ann Hardesty challenger Rene Gonzalez with big lead as pair hold Portland council debate
Portland City Council candidate Rene Gonzalez has opened a wide lead against incumbent Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty as the contest for November’s general election heats up, according to a new poll.
Fifty percent of likely voters said they’d cast their ballot for Gonzalez, a lawyer and technology business owner, compared to 26% for Hardesty, people briefed on the survey results told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Meanwhile, 25% remained undecided weeks before ballots begin arriving at homes in mid-October, those people said.
The question was included in survey commissioned by the Portland Business Alliance and several industry groups this month that focused primarily on a ballot measure to change Portland’s form of government.
The poll, conducted by DHM Research, interviewed 420 people and had a margin of error of +/- 4.8%. It was completed Sept. 20.
Likely voters were also asked about their views on Hardesty, a police reform advocate and first Black woman elected to the Portland City Council. Fifty-seven percent viewed her unfavorably and 33% favorably, those briefed on the results said.
The Oregonian/OregonLive revealed those results, the first to become public in the closely watched council race, as Hardesty and Gonzalez prepared to hold their first major debate of the general election Friday, which predominately focused on crime and homelessness.
Hardesty’s campaign said low voter support for her so far reflect dissatisfaction with city leadership in general, not with her specifically.
“These numbers reflect voters’ extreme frustration with Portland’s problems. It is understandable that Jo Ann, as the only incumbent on the ballot, is a target,” said her campaign manager Joseph Santos-Lyons.
“Commissioner Hardesty is the only candidate with a proven record of effective solutions that are starting to make a real difference,” he continued. “Her opponent fails to offer a concrete plan beyond locking up homeless people.”
Gonzalez’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh