Mayor Ted Wheeler bids farewell to Portland after eight years in office

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Tuesday marks Mayor Ted Wheeler’s last day serving the City of Portland, eight years after he was elected to represent Oregon’s largest city.

Wheeler took to social media to bid the city farewell after nearly 18 years in elective office.

“Farewell, Portland. I am filled with optimism today as I leave office. The next chapter is just beginning, and the potential for progress is limitless,” he said. “Let’s stay the course, work together, and ensure that the future of Portland is as bright as we know it can be.”

Wednesday, Jan. 1 marks incoming mayor Keith Wilson’s first day on the job after winning Portland’s first attempt at ranked choice voting by setting a foundation to solve the city’s ongoing homeless and drug crisis.

The start of the new year also marks the city’s transition into a new form of government, which will maintain four geographic districts each with elected three council members and effectively expand Portland City Council from five to 12 members.

Throughout preparations, Wheeler said that Wilson has sat in on meetings and been a part of the transition to take up the role seamlessly on “day one.”

“From my perspective, he’s asking all the right questions,” Wheeler said during a press conference in early December. “He’s being thoughtful, his questions were focused, he’s demonstrating intellectual curiosity and how we can work not only collaboratively as a community but how we can work better. And he has demonstrated — in my mind — a significant commitment to our city’s services working better for all Portlanders.”

A sixth-generation Oregonian, Mayor Wheeler’s great-grandfather, a lumber industry executive, founded the town of Wheeler on the northern Oregon coast.

He was the Oregon State Treasurer and chair of the Multnomah County Commission before he was elected as Portland’s mayor, a position he held for eight years before he announced his intent not to run for a third term.

Wheeler recently joined KOIN 6’s Eye on Northwest Politics to reflect on his tenure through a turbulent period in Portland’s history.

The city’s reputation and, by extension, Wheeler’s reputation as mayor, took a big hit in 2020 during the George Floyd demonstrations. President Trump targeted Portland as a place where liberals “destroyed the city.” As a result, federal troops were sent in to “restore order” against the wishes of local officials like Wheeler.

Despite the political climate, Wheeler claimed his decision not to run for a third term is a personal one.

“I am burned out. I need time away. I need to recharge my batteries,” he told KOIN 6. “I’ll still be involved in the community, but I think it’s time for me to turn this over to a next generation of people who have more energy, more ideas, who want to build on the work that we’ve done and take it potentially in new and exciting directions.”