Ted Wheeler

Ted Wheeler

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Multnomah County Board of Commissioners Chairman

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Oregon Treasurer

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Mayor of Portland

Successor: Keith Wilson

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Report an officeholder change

Education

High school

Lincoln High School

Bachelor's

Stanford University

Graduate

Columbia University

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Ted Wheeler was the Mayor of Portland in Oregon. He assumed office on January 1, 2017. He left office on January 1, 2025.

Wheeler ran for re-election for Mayor of Portland in Oregon. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Biography

Wheeler was born in Portland, Oregon. He received a B.A. in economics from Stanford University, an M.B.A. from Columbia University, and an M.A. in public policy from Harvard University. He worked for Bank of America and Copper Mountain Trust. Wheeler founded Walk for the Wildwood and was a founding member of the Heron Point Wetlands Rehabilitation Project.

Elections

2024

See also: Mayoral election in Portland, Oregon (2024)

Ted Wheeler did not file to run for re-election.

2020

See also: Mayoral election in Portland, Oregon (2020)

General election

General election for Mayor of Portland

Incumbent Ted Wheeler defeated Sarah Iannarone and Teressa Raiford in the general election for Mayor of Portland on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ted Wheeler (Nonpartisan)	46.0	166,543
		Sarah Iannarone (Nonpartisan)	40.8	147,437
		Teressa Raiford (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Other/Write-in votes	13.2	47,703

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 361,683
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Portland

The following candidates ran in the primary for Mayor of Portland on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ted Wheeler (Nonpartisan)	49.1	109,159
✔		Sarah Iannarone (Nonpartisan)	24.0	53,306
		Teressa Raiford (Nonpartisan)	8.5	18,950
	Submit photo	Ozzie Gonzalez (Nonpartisan)	5.8	12,928
		Bruce Broussard (Nonpartisan)	5.2	11,589
	Submit photo	Randy Rapaport (Nonpartisan)	1.8	3,943
	Submit photo	Piper Crowell (Nonpartisan)	1.5	3,353
	Submit photo	Mark White (Nonpartisan)	1.1	2,346
		Cash Carter (Nonpartisan)	0.7	1,539
	Submit photo	Sharon Joy (Nonpartisan)	0.4	926
	Submit photo	Willie Banks (Nonpartisan)	0.4	807
	Submit photo	Daniel Hoffman (Nonpartisan)	0.3	715
		Michael O'Callaghan (Nonpartisan)	0.3	658
	Submit photo	Michael Burleson (Nonpartisan)	0.2	426
	Submit photo	Lew Humble (Nonpartisan)	0.1	311
	Submit photo	Beryl McNair (Nonpartisan)	0.1	268
	Submit photo	Michael Jenkins (Nonpartisan)	0.1	267
	Submit photo	Jarred Bepristis (Nonpartisan)	0.0	107
	Submit photo	Floyd La Bar (Nonpartisan)	0.0	100
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	680

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 222,378
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Municipal elections in Portland, Oregon (2016)

The city of Portland, Oregon, held elections for mayor and two of its four city commission seats on May 17, 2016. Despite a large number of candidates in all three races, the mayoral and City Commission Position No. 1 races were both determined in the primary with Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler (D) and incumbent Commissioner Amanda Fritz winning more than half the votes in their respective races.

The City Commission Position No. 4 race, however, required a runoff election on November 8, 2016. Incumbent Steve Novick was the top vote recipient in the primary, but did not secure a majority of the votes cast. He was defeated by Chloe Eudaly in the general election.

The May election was called a primary, but it was functionally a general election. A runoff election—called in this case a general election—was only held on November 8, 2016, for races where no single candidate received a majority (50 percent plus one) of the votes cast on the May ballot.

The following candidates ran in the mayoral primary election.

Mayor of Portland, Primary Election, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ted Wheeler	54.93%	104,731
Jules Kopel Bailey	16.43%	31,323
Sarah Iannarone	11.76%	22,417
Bruce Broussard	3.88%	7,399
Sean Davis	2.69%	5,122
David Schor	2.61%	4,981
Jessie Sponberg	1.65%	3,146
Bim Ditson	1.27%	2,414
Patty Burkett	1.21%	2,310
David Ackerman	1.16%	2,207
Deborah Harris	0.85%	1,617
Lew Humble	0.39%	741
Trevor Manning	0.25%	478
Steven Entwisle Sr.	0.21%	396
Eric Calhoun	0.18%	345
Write-in votes	0.55%	1,044
Total Votes (>95.0% counted)		190,671
Source: The Oregonian, "2016 Primary Election: Oregon results," accessed May 20, 2016

2012

See also: Oregon down ballot state executive elections, 2012

Wheeler won re-election as Oregon state treasurer in 2012. He was unopposed in the May 15 primary and defeated four challengers in the general election on November 6, 2012: Tom Cox (Republican), John Mahler (Libertarian), Cameron Whitten (Progressive), and Michael Paul Marsh (Constitution).

Oregon Treasurer General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ted Wheeler Incumbent	57.9%	955,213
	Republican	Tom Cox	37%	609,989
	Progressive	Cameron Whitten	2.4%	38,762
	Libertarian	John Mahler	1.8%	30,002
	Constitution	Michael Paul Marsh	0.9%	15,415
Total Votes				1,649,381
Election results via Oregon Secretary of State

Oregon Treasurer Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ted Wheeler	99.5%	265,213
Write-ins	0.5%	1,269
Total Votes		266,482

2010

Wheeler was first appointed treasurer in 2010 to fill the remainder of an unexpired term. In order to retain his position and serve out the rest of his predecessor's term, Wheeler faced a retention election in 2010, which he won. He faced re-election for a full four-year term in 2012.

On November 2, 2010, Ted Wheeler won re-election to the office of Oregon treasurer. He defeated Chris Telfer (R), Walter F. "Walt" Brown (P), and Michael Marsh (C) in the general election.

Oregon treasurer, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ted Wheeler Incumbent	52.9%	721,795
	Republican	Chris Telfer	41.9%	571,105
	Progressive	Walter F. "Walt" Brown	2.8%	38,316
	Constitution	Michael Marsh	2.2%	30,489
	Misc.	Various	0.1%	1,738
Total Votes				1,363,443
Election results via Oregon Secretary of State.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ted Wheeler did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Wheeler’s campaign website stated the following:

“	In my second term, I will be your champion for: Safe and affordable homes, with support services, for our most vulnerable community members living outside Support for small businesses—especially BIPOC-owned—to protect this unique and vital part of Portland’s economy through the extreme challenge of COVID-19 Pandemic recovery centered in climate action and equity to ensure that we build back better and create a more resilient community Public safety system reform that reflects our community’s values and is responsive to calls for transformational change A healthy, sustainable parks and recreation system Continued leadership in the clean-up and re-opening of the Willamette River as a community gathering place Taking responsible steps to manage through the economic impacts of the pandemic and keep the City in good financial health	”
—Ted Wheeler’s campaign website (2020)

2016

Wheeler made the following statement for the Multnomah County primary election voters' pamphlet:

“	Portland Needs Proven, Progressive Policies That Work We need less politics and better policies to keep Portland affordable, create more high-wage jobs, and house the homeless. Keeping Portland Affordable – I was the first candidate for mayor to propose comprehensive plans to: Protect tenants Build more middle-class housing Create housing for teachers, nurses, police, and firefighters Creating High-Wage Jobs and More Opportunity – Raising the minimum wage is just a start. Our plan to support the creation of 25,000 new middle-class jobs in industries like sustainable building and clean tech means: More people working New revenue More opportunity for everyone Housing the Homeless – I launched my career in public service as an overnight shelter host. A comprehensive and compassionate approach to homelessness: Families need housing Addicts need treatment The answer is shelter and permanent housing, not the streets and parks Fixing our Streets and Improving Public Transit – A great city like Portland needs to: Fill the potholes Provide safe crossings and sidewalks Make transit work in every neighborhood I ran for office because I was tired of political promises and backroom deals. As County Chair and Treasurer I have balanced budgets without cutting services, advanced our environmental goals, protected seniors, and helped families and kids afford college. Slogans won’t move Portland forward. My progressive and proven policies will.	”
—Ted Wheeler (2016)

Noteworthy events

Events and activity following the death of George Floyd

See also: Events following the death of George Floyd and responses in select cities from May 29-31, 2020

Wheeler was mayor of Portland during the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, when events and activity took place in cities across the U.S. following the death of George Floyd. Events in Portland, Oregon, began on Friday, May 29, 2020, at Terry Schrunk Plaza. On May 30, Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) instituted a curfew. The national guard was not deployed.

To read more about the death of George Floyd and subsequent events, click [show] to the right.

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers arrested Floyd, a Black man, after receiving a call that he had made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a White officer, arrived at the scene and pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck as Floyd laid face-down on the street in handcuffs. Both the Hennepin County Medical Examiner and an independent autopsy conducted by Floyd's family ruled Floyd's death as a homicide stemming from the incident. The medical examiner's report, prepared by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, said that it was "not a legal determination of culpability or intent, and should not be used to usurp the judicial process." On April 20, 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in relation to Floyd's death. Floyd's death was filmed and shared widely, leading to activity regarding racism, civil rights, and police use of force. The first events took place in Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 26. An event in Chicago organized by Chance the Rapper and Rev. Michael Pfleger took place the same day, making it the first major city outside of Minneapolis to host an event in response to Floyd's death.

Resignation of Gov. John Kitzhaber (2015)

On February 12, 2015, Wheeler, House President Tina Kotek (D), and Senate President Peter Courtney (D) called on Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) to resign over concerns of ethics violations in his administration. Kitzhaber announced his resignation from office on February 13, 2015, effective February 18.

To learn more about this story, click here.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Ted Wheeler campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2012	Oregon Treasurer	Won	$518,252	N/A**
2010	Oregon Treasurer	Won	$787,750	N/A**
Grand total			$1,306,002	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2020 Elections

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Mayor of Portland 2017-2025	Succeeded by Keith Wilson
Preceded by -	Oregon Treasurer 2010-2017	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Multnomah County Board of Commissioners Chairman	Succeeded by -