2008 Portland, Oregon, mayoral election

On May 20, 2008, an election was held in Portland, Oregon, to elect the mayor.. Sam Adams was elected, defeating challenger Sho Dozono. Incumbent mayor Tom Potter did not seek a second term.

2008 Portland, Oregon, mayoral election

← 2004 May 20, 2008 (2008-05-20) 2012 →
Turnout	62.34%[1]
Nominee Sam Adams Sho Dozono Popular vote 108,323 61,540 Percentage 58.6%[2] 33.3%
Mayor before election Tom Potter Elected mayor Sam Adams

Portland uses a nonpartisan system for local elections, in which all voters are eligible to participate. All candidates are listed on the ballot without any political party affiliation.

Candidates competed in a blanket primary election on May 20, 2008. Because Sam Adams received an absolute majority of the vote in the primary election, no run-off election was held.^[3][2]

Candidates

• David "The Ack" Ackerman, dishwasher and photographer^[4]
• Sam Adams, City Commissioner^[4]
• Bruce Broussard, business owner^[4]
• Kyle Burris^[4]
• Vladislav S. "Slav" Davidzon, entrepreneur (withdrawn)^[4]
• Sho Dozono, businessman^[4][5]
• Steven Entwisle, activist^[4]
• Bob Leonard Forthan^[4]
• Craig Gier, engineer^[4]
• Lew Humble, retired mechanic^[4]
• James Bernard Lee, retired researcher^[4]
• Beryl Sylvia McNair
• Nick Popenuk (withdrew)^[4]
• Christopher Rich^[4]
• Patricia Stuart^[4]
• Jeff Taylor, former West Linn Budget Committee member^[4]
• Gerhard Watzig, program manager (withdrew)^[4]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Sam Adams	Sho Dozono	Other	Undecided
KATU News[6]	April 2008	599	±4.1%	39%	38%	14%	10%
FOX News/Portland Tribune[7]	February 2008			41%	20%	2%	36%

^[8]

Results

Portland mayoral primary election, 2008^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Sam Adams	108,323	58.64
	Nonpartisan	Sho Dozono	61,540	33.31
	Nonpartisan	Patricia Stuart	4,821	2.61
	Nonpartisan	Jeff Taylor	3,014	1.63
	Nonpartisan	David Ackerman	1,572	0.85
	Nonpartisan	James Bernard Lee	1,546	0.84
	Nonpartisan	Christopher Rich	941	0.51
	Nonpartisan	Beryl Sylvia McNair	569	0.31
	Nonpartisan	Lew Humble	548	0.30
	Nonpartisan	Kyle Burris	424	0.23
	Nonpartisan	Steven Entwisle	308	0.17
	Nonpartisan	Craig Gier	307	0.17
	Nonpartisan	Bob Leonard Forthan	185	0.10
	Write-in		626	0.34
Total votes			184,279	100

References

1. "May 2008 Election - Voter Turnout". Portland City Auditor. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
2. "Elections - Multnomah County". Retrieved June 18, 2012.
3. "Portland elects its first openly gay mayor". KGW. May 21, 2008. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008.
4. "May 2008 Election - Candidate Filings (Includes Candidates not on Ballot)". Portland City Auditor. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
5. Foden-Vencil, Kristian (January 7, 2008). "Portland Business Leader Announces Run For Mayor". OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting). Retrieved March 26, 2016.
6. KATU News
7. FOX News/Portland Tribune
8. Griffin, Anna (April 10, 2008). "Poll shows Adams and Dozono close in Portland mayor's race". oregonlive.com. The Oregonian. Retrieved April 15, 2008.