Three Incumbents Lead Portland District 4 City Council Race

Incumbents Hold Early Leads in Portland City Council District 4 Race

Three incumbent candidates maintained their leads in the contest to represent District 4 on the Portland City Council as ballot counting continued past midnight following Election Night, Oregon Public Broadcasting (opb.org) reported. Councilors Olivia Clark, Eric Zimmerman, and Mitch Green pulled ahead shortly after 8 p.m. on Election Night, holding those positions through a second round of tallying released just after midnight.

These early returns remain preliminary. The Multnomah County elections office continues to process remaining ballots and is conducting multiple rounds of tallying under Portland’s ranked-choice voting system.

This November marks the second time Portland voters have used ranked-choice voting to elect city councilors. Under the city’s current electoral framework, three candidates ultimately secure seats in each district by collecting just over 25% of the total vote.

Tracking Portland City Council races for District 3 and District 4

When a voter’s first-ranked candidate does not reach that 25% threshold to win outright, their vote transfers to their next preference. Conversely, if a top candidate captures more surplus votes than needed to cross the victory line, those extra votes get distributed downward to the voter’s second choice.

The exact vote threshold required for victory cannot be determined until the county finishes tabulating every ballot. In the 2024 election cycle, winning a seat in District 4 required securing roughly 19,000 votes.

City of portland council district boundaries

Twelve Candidates Compete for Three District Seats

District 4 encompasses all Portland neighborhoods situated west of the Willamette River alongside a small portion of inner Southeast Portland. A total of 12 candidates competed for the district’s three seats this cycle, including the three incumbents.

The challengers on the ballot included Portland police officer Eli Arnold, former City Council staffer Jamey Evenstar, construction manager Jeremy Beausoleil Smith, and nonprofit consultant Jayne Cronlund.

Portland City Council election: All 6 incumbents appear poised to keep their seats

Among the front-running incumbents, Clark brings decades of experience leading government affairs for TriMet. Zimmerman previously worked as a chief of staff for Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards, served as the deputy city manager of Medford, and is a member of the Oregon Army National Guard. Both Clark and Zimmerman are widely viewed as occupying the more moderate half of the council.

Green also served in the military and previously worked as an economist for the Bonneville Power Administration. As a member of the local Democratic Socialists of America, Green campaigns and governs as one of the council’s most progressive members.

Aerial of hawthorne bridge on willamette river in downtown portland on a sunny day

District 4 stands as one of two city council districts featured on the ballot this November, alongside District 3 in Southeast Portland, where another three council seats are up for election.