The Portland mayor’s race is heating up but at this stage it is unknown who will be the next to hold that office. However, it is reasonably clear who the likely choices will be when the final election is held: Eileen Brady or Charlie Hales. The City of Portland and the University have a close relationship, making this race especially important for all students at PSU, not just those who live in Portland. Briefly, each candidate’s connections to the University made clear, since neither Hales nor Brady specifically address higher education in campaign literature.

Charlie Hales has close connections to the University. While he hasn’t volunteered with the University, his wife Nancy Hales leads the Institute for Portland Metropolitan Studies in the Hatfield School of Government here at the University. First Stop Portland organizes study tours of the city for delegates visiting, focusing on livability and sustainable policy. Key elements to sustainable livability include multi-modal transportation, vitality focused urban planning, green building practices and engagement with sustainability elites within the city. First Stop Portland does not focus on teaching visitors about these issues but instead connects visiting delegates with community leaders and businesspersons who work in these areas.

Hales campaign makes no mention of higher education. Predictably, his campaign focuses on political problems between east Portland and the City Council, and in job creation. Job creation is of obvious importance for students about to graduate with a degree. Hales plans, if elected, to reduce by half the fees businesses have to pay to get licensed in the city if they are certified by a national non-profit organization that shows that the business in question takes social, environmental, and legal issues to heart, as well as pursuit of profit. In short, Hales seeks to ease the process that socially and environmentally conscious companies must endure to go into business for themselves. Hales told the Portland think tank “Value of Jobs” that he plans to end the “self-destructive feud” with area manufacturing owners and recruiters in an attempt to bring manufacturing jobs to Portland.

Eileen Brady also has extensive ties to Portland State. Brady is a founding member and current Board Member of the Sustainability Institute, located at Portland State University. According to their website, the Sustainability Institute researches means of achieving “big and game changing ideas that weave together community livability, ecological resiliency, and broad-based prosperity. We believe the results will fuel business and policy innovation, enhance our quality of life, and create cities and neighborhoods that are not just sustainable, but restorative.” The mission of the organization is to develop non-traditional partnerships that promote sustainable development in Portland.

On the issue of jobs and stagnant income for Portlanders, Brady told the Value of Jobs think tank that she sees Portland State as being an essential partner in key economic growth for the Portland. “I will establish economic development liaisons to collaborate with and help to accelerate the growth plans of existing entities that provide family wage jobs and benefits, including OHSU, PSU and the Port of Portland,” Brady stated in the questionarre. “I will strongly support Greater Portland Inc.'s efforts to recruit high quality companies to the region. I will create an Entrepreneurial Help Center that will advocate for small business”.

Jobs are clearly the focus of the mayor’s race in Portland, as they are for every race in the country this year. The next mayor of Portland will have to develop a strategy for bringing jobs to the city while not ignoring valuable resources for attracting high quality jobs to the city. Portland State is a key player in bringing jobs to the city. The University provides key employment infrastructural support to any prospective employer in the form of skilled employees and a young work force. The University and the needs of students – together – cannot be left out of the discussion of who should be the next mayor of Portland. The next mayor will be instrumental in deciding the future of the on-going partnership between PSU and the city for years to come. Portland State continues to invest capital into the South Waterfront project, as well as other projects in and around Portland. The mayor and city council need to fully recognize the importance of Portland State as a key actor in the city’s economic future.