It’s official. An overwhelming number of Portland residents in a new opinion poll believe their mayor is a dud.
A poll done on behalf of a group calling for yet another Portland Police Bureau oversight board, which would be the city’s third, found that only 26% of those questioned have a favorable view of the mayor with nearly two-thirds of the 435 people questioned having an unfavorable view of him. FM3 Research, a public affairs (read: political) concern, conducted a phone survey of “likely participants in the November election” between August 25 – 30.
Wheeler comes in dead last in the list people are asked to rank. What this means to his November re-election efforts — since he’s running against an antifa supporter — is anyone’s guess, but his coming in dead last while the rioters of Black Lives Matter, Inc™ come in first doesn’t bode well for him.
- The Black Lives Matter movement
- Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty
- The Portland Police Bureau
- *The Portland Police Association
- *The Portland police union
- Mayor Ted Wheeler
But the poll is more remarkable for what it doesn’t ask.
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The words “antifa” and “riot” do not appear in the poll. Black Lives Matter is side-by-side with antifa in the destructive riots but 76% of Portlanders questioned in the survey hold a favorable view of the Marxist group.
Sixty percent of the people questioned believe the city is on the “wrong track.” The respondents weren’t asked why they believe the city’s on the wrong track or why Mayor Ted Wheeler sucks. We don’t know why they think that. Respondents aren’t given a preset list of concerns as in other parts of the survey.
In a preset list of possible concerns fed to the 435 survey-takers, the city’s horrendous response the homelessness comes in first. Before the antifa riots, the homeless issue was a front-burner issue. Portland allows pretty much anyone to camp out. The tent cities are a blight on the public landscape. Wheeler and Commissioner JoAnn Hardesty even created a new tent city where known antifa rioters are given tents, sleeping bags, and other freebies. The location is also within easy walking distance of the riots.
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Portland Poll Doesn’t Ask About Riots or Antifa
The economic hardship from coronavirus comes in second among the preset concerns. But riots don’t come up. It could be that the answers would work against the very rationale behind the poll. One might imagine that respondents would have something to say about the more than 100 days of rioting, terror, fires, and looting as well as the lack of leadership in city hall, but that’s not an option. No. Respondents weren’t offered that answer.
- Homelessness
- The economic impacts of the coronavirus outbreak
- The cost of healthcare
- Police use of force against people of color
- Racial discrimination and prejudice
- The cost of housing
- The health impacts of the coronavirus outbreak
- Police use of force against Black people
- Police use of force against people with mental health challenges
- Police use of force against protestors
Portlanders were asked to rank police use of force question four times. Three of them came in last.
The poll stays largely within its real aim: to show support for a new police oversight board and the Portland city commissioner who backs the amorphous, unstructured plan, Jo Ann Hardesty. The Oregonian reports that in July the commission quickly rushed the “framework” for the third police review board to the November election. Hardesty and company plan to fill in the details of the commission plan after the election. You have to pass the bill before you can find out what’s in it.
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Hardesty is motivated to wrest control of the police bureau from the mayor, arrogating all the power to herself. He’s consistently rebuffed her efforts.
Who Are the Portland Protesters?
And here’s another uniquely Portland tell from the Yes for Real Community Oversight of Police-commissioned poll.
Those who have protested are disproportionately progressives, men under 50, independent men, live East of 205.
Or, put another way, men of fighting age.
On the issue of protests, between 21% to 23% of the people questioned say they have been involved in “protests” to one degree or another. That sure seems like a high number.
On the issue of protests, people were asked about “non violent protests” and “these protests.” Ninety-two percent favored “non violent” protests and 67% approved of “these protests.” At the time of the survey, riots had to be top of mind, since the nightly unrest had just reached 100 days. It’s unclear, however, if “these protests” means riots because that terminology wasn’t used.
Portland Mayor Grovels Again to Rioters
Lefties in the survey hate Ted Wheeler and the cops even though they’re doing the minimum to reign in the nightly rioters. Wheeler put out another groveling tweet about the rioters, promising that officers wouldn’t use CS gas on them.
I call on everyone to step up and tamp down the violence. I’m acting. It’s time for others to join me.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) September 10, 2020
He said “I call on everyone to step up and tamp down the violence. I’m acting [by ceasing use of CS gas on rioters]. It’s time for others to join me.”
Translation: please like me.
Sure, those men of fighting age in outer Southeast Portland, who can’t stand the mayor will get right on that. And they’ll see him in November.
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