PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The November election is about 100 days away. In Portland the race for mayor is one of the high profile races on the ballot.
Earlier this week, Portland mayoral candidate Sarah Iannarone demanded a renewed stay-home order to battle the ongoing rise in COVID-19 cases in the region and the state.
She joined AM Extra to talk about that, her vision for helping small businesses and the ongoing protests roiling the city on a nightly basis.
Iannarone talked about how hard the shutdown was for her ex-husband and her daughter, both of whom who lost their jobs amid the first coronavirus shutdown, and how she had to close her own small business she’s owned since 2006.
“I understand how painful economically this is for Oregonians and for Portlanders; however, I would never trade their lives for the economy and it’s something that we need to be very clear on,” she said. “I’m listening to the experts — not just the business community — and try to make decisions based on the best available science so that we can actually make sure we’re saving the lives of our families and neighbors.”
The mayoral candidate, who attended demonstrations outside of Portland Police Bureau’s Southeast Precinct on Thursday night, also spoke on the federal response to the ongoing protests in Portland, a day after acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf arrived in the city to condemn “violent extremists.”
“I cannot stress this enough that we need to resist the narrative there are two types of protests. What we have is a city unified that Black Lives Matter. We know that this sentiment is popular and understand that police brutality is not the appropriate response to protests about police brutality,” Iannarone said. “Mayor Ted Wheeler has laid the groundwork for [President Donald Trump’s] secret police terrorizing Portlanders on the street.”