I enjoyed reading every comment in Jonathan’s Let’s talk politics after. BikePortland is truly blessed with an informed readership that enjoys following local issues. That is a rarity. Most people don’t pay attention to city government or politics.

Many people are concerned about tomorrow’s election, but one commenter took time to reflect on how our new voting system has changed this election season for her. Paige even took a paragraph to include some appreciation for Jonathan.

This is what she had to say:

It was probably the novelty of ranked choice voting, but I have to admit I enjoyed getting to know all the candidates. I normally avoid talking politics with people I don’t know well, but I enjoyed hearing about everyone’s favorite mayoral and city council candidates. I think there was a mostly good selection in each district. I focused on ranking candidates who regularly cycle in the city. Fingers crossed!

So I’m optimistic at the city level. I hope hope hope that the new county commissioners can overrule JVP or force her to take action. If there’s one thing that annoys me the most, it’s a politician who talks a big game and then falters over and over again, without actually accomplishing anything or even trying. She has made it to kindergarten for all, but it is not being adopted by the largest childcare providers. She left millions in tax revenue unspent on homelessness because she didn’t want recurring expenses for a while… It would be nice if the county could play a more decisive role with the city in the next round. Please spend the money!! Try literally anything other than letting people rot in the streets!

Finally, thanks for your coverage of this election cycle, Jonathan. I was initially skeptical about Keith Wilson, but placed him #1 on my ballot, largely due to your early coverage of his campaign. And I want to create a little chaos by saying that I appreciate your labeling of the candidates’ politics. I found it helpful to categorize them so I knew who to put more effort into researching. It’s fine if people want to dismiss labels/categories, but I still find them useful.

Thanks, Paige! The number of responses to the Politics post is still going north. Dig in if you want a snapshot of what your neighbors are thinking.