friend, this is big news.

Dear friend,

My work has always been centered on radical love, honesty, and accountability. As part of my process throughout this campaign, I have continued to check in with myself to ensure I am on the right path. As I began the process of hiring staff and building up campaign infrastructure, I came to the realization that for who I am at this moment, now is not the time and place for me to serve on the Portland City Council.

I know we would have won this race, and that’s why it is so important for me to step away now, before the campaign season kicks off in full swing.

I am still committed to ensuring all Portlanders have the resources they need to thrive, and will continue to serve in my capacity as State Senator, small business owner, and economic justice activist.

It is still incredibly critical that we elect a candidate that will run a community-centered campaign and will lead with community-driven solutions once in office. Someone who has done the work of serving our most vulnerable and will bring Portlanders together to get the job done, which is why I have endorsed AJ McCreary’s race for Portland City Council Position 2, and implore you to do the same, contribute to her today . I know that when we come together to meet the challenges facing all of our communities from Albina to Parkrose, Hayhurst to Oldtown that we can start building the Portland we all deserve to live in.

I truly appreciate your continued support in the heart centered work I have committed to, work “that honors the primacy of a love ethic … by choosing to work with individuals [I] admire and respect; by committing to give [my] all to relationships; by embracing a global vision wherein we see our lives and our fate as intimately connected to those of everyone else [in our city, in our state, and] on the planet” bell hooks All About Love: New Visions.

If you’ve already donated to my City Council campaign, we will be returning funds and hope that you will reinvest your contribution in AJ’s campaign.