In January I wrote an article encouraging Portland, Oregon residents to vote for mayoral candidate Ted Wheeler. As I pointed out then, I will also point out now, that I do not live in Portland. So take that article, and this one, for what you will. With that being said, I’m a resident of Oregon, and I know that Oregon politics are largely lead by Portland since Portland is Oregon’s largest city by far. So even if I don’t live in Portland, I have an interest in who becomes the next Mayor of Portland. The Mayor of Portland is arguably the second most powerful position in Oregon politics and government, so it’s important to all Oregonians that the next Mayor of Portland be the right one, especially when it comes to cannabis policy.
The January article I wrote in support of Ted Wheeler yielded some interesting conversations with readers and friends. Some readers and some of my friends have supported Ted Wheeler’s campaign for quite some time, even before Ted led a cannabis social with Oregon cannabis industry members several months ago. Others were upset that I am not supporting Jules Bailey, or a different candidate. I’m sure Jules Bailey is good on a lot of issues, as are some other candidates, but when it comes to cannabis policy, Ted Wheeler is clearly better than Jules Bailey.
The best example of that is an article from OregonLive called ’10 questions: Jules Bailey vs. Ted Wheeler, lightning round’. In that Q and A, both candidates were given a set of the same questions to answer. One of those questions was ‘Did you vote for legal marijuana?’ Ted Wheeler answer quite directly with a simple ‘Yes’. Jules Bailey on the other hand answered with the following:
“No, I felt we should see what happened in Washington and Colorado, but I support the will of the voters.”
To be fair, Jules stated that he will ‘support the will of the voters.’ However, that’s a far cry from saying that he will be favorable towards cannabis if elected, and the fact that he voted no on legalize because he wants to wait to see what happens in Colorado and Washington is lame to say the least. Again, I’m sure Jules Bailey is good on a lot of things, but cannabis policy is not one of them. Portland is home to one of the best cannabis communities on the planet. A very large community too. One that literally grows daily. That community deserves a mayor that is a champion for their issue.
I personally feel that Ted Wheeler is that champion. Almost a year ago Ted Wheeler, as the State Treasurer of Oregon, sent a letter to the United States Treasury asking for banking reform for the cannabis industry. As I stated earlier in this article, he met last year with the cannabis community to gain input and hear concerns from members of Oregon’s cannabis industry. Ted Wheeler of course voted for marijuana legalization as a private citizen, and was proud enough of his vote to state as much in not only the interview with Oregon’s largest media outlet, but in many other settings. Ted Wheeler is supportive of cannabis, and that’s why I think he deserves your vote if you are a Portland voter and you are reading this.
As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section. I’d imagine there are some third candidate supporters out there that would like to speak in support of their candidate, which I encourage. Jessie Sponberg definitely comes to mind. He is great on cannabis too, I just think that Ted Wheeler has the cannabis policy and combination of experience that sets him apart. Like I said, it’s important for Portland, and the entire State of Oregon, who becomes the next Mayor of Portland. Cannabis policy is VERY important to me, and chances are if you are reading this blog post, it’s important to you too. Do your homework, research the facts, and I’m confident that you will see that when it comes to cannabis policy and the overall benefit to Portland, that Ted Wheeler is the best candidate.
If you want to get more involved with Ted Wheeler’s campaign, or to just find out more, check out the campaign’s website. You can also check out Ted Wheeler on Facebook, on Twitter, and you can volunteer to help his campaign at this link here. You can also donate to his campaign at this link here.
