Portland City Council Race Results: Hardesty Defeats Smith

PORTLAND, OR – Jo Ann Hardesty has made history. The former president of the Portland NAACP, Hardesty became the first woman of color to be elected to the city council since it was formed in 1851.

There had been only eight women in the more than 160 years and only two people of color – both men – on the council.

To get there, Hardesty, a longtime Portland activist, defeated Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith.

Come back here for election results.

With 50 percent of the vote counted, Hardest had 112,512 votes to Smith's 66,047.

The results still have to be certified.

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Smith spent 20 years working for Oregon's senior senator, Ron Wyden, as an aide before moving on to become an elected official, winning the race for Multnomah County Commissioner. She's now in her second term.

She supports turning Wapato into a homeless shelter, she favored the city raising the numbr of police officers on the force, and was in favor of Portland being a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (she has since wavered, saying that she needs to study it more).

Hrdesty, on the other hand, favors organized homeless camps, opposes Portland participation in the JTTF, and thinks that the money that went to the police could have been better used.

Both have had to face questions about fiscal management.

Hardesty was criticized for spending when she was the president of the local NAACP and Smith was dinged for outspending her colleagues on the county commission on issues like travel and event sponsorship.

There have also been questions about whether Smith can play well with others. While she did put in a relatively drama-free two decades working for Wyden, on the county commission, she has developed a reputation as being a tough person to work for, having gone through eight chiefs of staff in 8-years.

Photos of Hardesty and Smith via their campaigns.