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Portland just tried ranked choice voting. It was an interesting experience. I’m not sure if I’m 100% sold just yet, but it seems to have worked reasonably well. If nothing else – it’s a fascinating dive into the data.
On the plus side: I did like having the ability to pick 2nd and 3rd choice candidates. In one case, my 2nd choice candidate won.
On the down side: it required a LOT more work. There were almost 20 candidates for mayor alone, and a decent number of them didn’t submit any information about themselves, were odd-ball one-issue candidates, or were borderline quacks. This easily took me 2-4x the time I would have normally spent. Doing this for a dozen candidates at state and local levels would be exhausting.

As with all things, the unintended consequences are likely what is most interesting. I suspect it’s going encourage candidates to start overlapping on stances in order to steal/appeal each other’s 2nd and 3rd votes – especially if they are not a front runner. This could make the voter’s work even more tough as it’s more like splitting hairs than decisive differences. I think it’s also going to encourage candidates to be more homogenous. Outliers and more extreme ends – on both the left and right – were very soundly defeated. This is probably a good thing in such a far left state like Oregon that’s had some pretty extreme candidates in previous elections. It’s definitely going to make campaign strategy much more interesting, and likely break up the entrenched homogenous political structure of Portland.

Anyway, if you’re curious how to see how each round of voting went, the Multnomah website has a neat visualization how each of the rounds worked out:

Alternatively, a local forum user put together a Sankey diagram of the way the votes flowed from one candidate to the next as candidates were eliminated:

The district 4 councilor race was even more crazy:

Here was district 2 with Kanal starting out a resounding 3rd and ending up bubbling to the top, while Guiney started first and ended 2nd:

Bonus:

KGW8 did a great mayoral candidate interview. I liked the format a LOT. They had some pre-canned questions, but I loved the fact they asked audience submitted ‘raise your hand’ questions that made the candidates actually state their opinions in a yes/no fashion instead of just waffling around like the career candidates usually do.

Dustin Witherspoon, Portland mayoral candidate

Continued below average recovery in Portland and Oregon and declining population has lead to Portland having the most job losses in the top 50 metro areas of the country. Unemployment rates are still officially low at 3.9% because they are at the same time experiencing a population decline.

Portland’s true unemployment rate last year was 20%, compared with its official rate of nearly 3.9%, according to a study from the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP).

https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2024/05/09/true-unemployment-rate-layoffs-economy

Summary: The cost goods and services in Portland are more expensive when compared to other large cities, but nothing like California and cheaper than Seattle.

Article:

• https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2023/11/14/cost-of-living-portland-oregon-home-transportation-food-prices

True crypto-currency story time. This actually just happened here in Portland end of 2023:

According to an indictment, the four [men from Florida] flew to Portland on Nov. 8, 2023, rented an Airbnb in Vancouver and used ride-share car services to get around.

Over the next two days, they watched their target’s downtown Portland apartment and schemed how to carry out the kidnapping, the indictment alleges.

On Nov. 10, some in the group abducted the man, forced him from one car into another and drove him away from his residence while others entered the man’s apartment to try to access his cryptocurrency.

They drove the man to a field in Banks, tied him to a post with duct tape and repeatedly assaulted him before abandoning him, according to the indictment and police records.

Later that day, they ultimately used the man’s password, or so-called “seed phrase,” to transfer digital currency from his cryptocurrency wallet to another location, the indictment says. Prosecutors have not disclosed how much currency was taken.

Extortion and personal data breaches accounted for the most frequent cryptocurrency frauds reported in 2023, according to the FBI

A reminder that security is only as strong as it’s weakest link. And often, that link is you. It only took some rope and a long bout of ‘persuasion’ for this guy to lose his crypto wallet.

This also holds up for things like biometrics where you can be forced to apply a finger or put your face in front of the device. Even worse, some biometrics still work if you’re conscious or not. They could club you and put your finger on the device to unlock it. They may not even need the rest of you if you turn into too much of a hassle. You could just find yourself tied to a post missing a finger, hand, or even your head (face id).

It worked for this angry girlfriend.

Portland Park’s lists of concerts, movies, and cultural events (for 2024)

Front Page

Portland Theater Events https://www.portland-theater.com/dates

Portland Night Market: https://www.pdxnm.com/

If you have a Multnomah County or other local library subscription, you can use get a New York Times group pass via your online Library card. It allows you to log into NYT’s website or via the mobile app. You’ll need to claim then renew the pass every few days, but a lot cheaper than paying for a subscription.

• Multnomah County link: https://proxy.multcolib.org/login?url=https://ezmyaccount.nytimes.com/group-pass
• Fort Vancouver Library system: https://www.nytimes.com/subscription/redeem?campaignId=8YK88&gift_code=66f640a612130f32

They also have a number of other free publications – so check them out via their website access.

• Multnomah County items: https://multcolib.org/resource/new-york-times-digital-access
• Fort Vancouver Library items: https://www.fvrl.org/resources/newspapers

If you want more unlimited access to all magazine holdings (such as The Economist, Smithsonian, Inc, Fast Company, Wallpaper, etc) by using the PressReader website or app and logging in with your library card information.

In another move that will almost certainly not have unintended consequences in an overly litigious country, starting May 2024 law students will be able to become licensed in Oregon without taking the bar exam.

The Oregon Supreme Court approved an alternative licensing program that allows candidates to spend 675 hours working under the supervision of an experienced attorney and create a portfolio of legal work that bar officials will grade as an alternative to the traditional bar exam.

The program, called the Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination.

Article:

• https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/no-bar-exam-required-practice-law-oregon-starting-next-year-2023-11-07/

Students are being forced to stay in classrooms with other students that have physical assaulted and threatened their lives:

A seventh grader at Beaumont Middle School in Northeast Portland described feeling terrified after a classmate held a boxcutter to her neck and threatened to slit her throat during school hours several weeks ago. Her classmate was suspended for a few weeks, but is now back at school without supervision, she told members of the Portland school board on Tuesday, adding that she’s experiencing regular panic attacks as a result. “My school is not safe, not safe while I know people in positions that can help are not helping me and probably not helping others,” she said.

PPS also had to pay $250,000 to a student seriously beaten after years of bullying – as staff just stood by and watched the beating.