This is an opinion piece. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the Multnomah County Democrats.

Two years ago I wrote an opinion piece for the Multnomah County Democrats, making the case that Rene Gonzalez, then a candidate for Portland’s City Commissioner, did not reflect the values of our party.

As we move into a new era of city government, I remain even more steadfast in this opinion. Why? Because Rene Gonzalez has given us even more reasons to doubt his ability to move Portland forward. In fact, his record and behavior reveal a candidate more focused on stoking fear and amplifying his own grievances than providing real solutions for this great city. 

LACKING IN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, RENE PLAYS THE PERPETUAL VICTIM
Rene has been full of bravado since he entered the Portland political scene. But after two years as Commissioner he has very little to show for in terms of substantive policy or meaningful change. What has he done? If anything, he has seemed more focused on complaining about the city and progressive activists than using his power to advance meaningful policymaking. As recently noted by Willamette Week, Rene has “antagonized his colleagues with slapdash legislation” and “at times, his back-the-blue act turns into self-pity.” A profile from OPB agreed, saying Gonzalez had “made himself scarce in City Hall” and that he was “more talk than accomplishment.” 

THE BIG LIE
Rene Gonzalez, the supposed law-and-order candidate, reported a fake crime committed by a Black woman. On January 26th of this year, Rene Gonzalez called 9-1-1 to report that he had been “accosted” by a woman of color on a MAX train. In February, he released a statement, saying he was getting private security and will no longer be riding MAX due to the incident. But when curious reporters pulled the videotape and synced it with the audio of the call, we learned Rene’s story wasn’t true. You can watch it for yourself here. In summary: Rene lied. And it’s abhorrent that Rene would make this claim when Black women like Breonna Taylor and Sandra Bland have been killed for less. 

A PATTERN OF CAMPAIGN VIOLATIONS AND MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS
Throughout his career, Gonzalez has shown a willingness to disregard ethics and campaign laws. During his first campaign for commissioner, the Gonzalez campaign received a gift of drastically discounted downtown office space, violating the spirit of Portland’s Small Donors Election program. On October 21st, Rene Gonzalez was found by the City Auditor to have violated campaign finance law by using taxpayer money to make changes to his Wikipedia page. What’s more, auditors say Gonzalez campaign staffers misled investigators and released a disturbing statement: “This is the first time in almost two decades of enforcement that the Auditor’s Office has seen an attempt to apply this magnitude of pressure on its staff by a person under investigation.”

RIGHT WING FAN BOY
What would Gonzalez want scrubbed from his Wikipedia page? It’s likely he wanted to bury mentions of his behavior as a right-wing groupie. In November of 2022, after being elected as a City Commissioner, Gonzalez showed love on Twitter for Patriot Prayer member Quency Franklin. Three months ago, Rene uplifted right wing provocateur and milkshake aficionado  Andy Ngo on the same hellsite. It’s also worth noting that prior to elected office, Gonzalez founded ED300, a political action committee that endorsed anti-LGBTQ+ school board candidates. It’s no surprise that Gonzalez has been endorsed by the Multnomah County Republican Party, but Rene’s coziness with the alt-right is concerning. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe famously said: “Tell me who you spend time with, and I will tell you who you are.”

SABOTAGING PORTLAND STREET RESPONSE & HOMELESS SERVICES
Electeds and city managers from all over the country have come to Portland to study Portland Street Response as an innovative program that has been vital to improving the health and public safety of Portland. However, Rene Gonzalez has worked tirelessly for the past two years to undermine PSR by cutting funding and forcing out management. Earlier this month, he also voted to dissolve the city’s homeless services agreement with Multnomah County, without offering any concrete plans to improve or replace it. 

DON’T RANK RENE
Our new ranked-choice voting system gives us the power to strategically rank candidates for mayor. Under this new system, it’s important not to rank candidates at all if you don’t approve of them. Gonzalez’s ineffective and divisive record shows he’s not the right choice to lead this city. If we’re going to address this city’s real issues we need a Mayor who is both compassionate and solutions-oriented. Rene Gonzalez is neither. If you’re serious about Portland’s future and you believe in Democratic values, DO NOT RANK him on your ballot. 

Britton Taylor is a Precinct Committee Person in House District 45, Communications Chair for the Multnomah County Democrats and the co-founder of the affinity group Creatives for Harris.