Julia DeGraw

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Julia DeGraw
Image of Julia DeGraw
Elections and appointments
Last election

May 19, 2020

Julia DeGraw ran in a special election to the Portland City Commission to represent District 2 in Oregon. DeGraw lost in the special general election on May 19, 2020.

Elections

2020

See also: City elections in Portland, Oregon (2020)

General runoff election

Special general runoff election for Portland City Commission Position 2

Dan Ryan defeated Loretta Smith in the special general runoff election for Portland City Commission Position 2 on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Dan Ryan (Nonpartisan)
 
51.1
 
88,809
Image of Loretta Smith
Loretta Smith (Nonpartisan)
 
48.1
 
83,556
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.8
 
1,336

Total votes: 173,701
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

Special general election for Portland City Commission Position 2

The following candidates ran in the special general election for Portland City Commission Position 2 on May 19, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Loretta Smith
Loretta Smith (Nonpartisan)
 
18.8
 
39,304
Dan Ryan (Nonpartisan)
 
16.6
 
34,693
Tera Hurst (Nonpartisan)
 
14.8
 
30,982
Image of Julia DeGraw
Julia DeGraw (Nonpartisan)
 
12.6
 
26,441
Sam Chase (Nonpartisan)
 
11.2
 
23,466
Margot Black (Nonpartisan)
 
6.7
 
14,091
Cynthia Castro (Nonpartisan)
 
3.7
 
7,762
Jack Kerfoot (Nonpartisan)
 
3.4
 
7,195
Terry Parker (Nonpartisan)
 
2.4
 
5,095
Jeff Lang (Nonpartisan)
 
1.8
 
3,837
Ronault Catalani (Nonpartisan)
 
1.7
 
3,512
Ryan Farmer (Nonpartisan)
 
1.2
 
2,407
Aquiles Montas (Nonpartisan)
 
1.0
 
2,175
Jas Davis (Nonpartisan)
 
0.9
 
1,842
Alicea Maurseth (Nonpartisan)
 
0.8
 
1,632
Diana Gutman (Nonpartisan)
 
0.8
 
1,597
Walter Wesley (Nonpartisan)
 
0.7
 
1,405
Rachelle Dixon (Nonpartisan)
 
0.5
 
1,097
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
498

Total votes: 209,031
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Portland, Oregon (2018)

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Portland City Commission Position 2

Incumbent Nick Fish won election outright against Julia DeGraw, Philip Wolfe, and Nicholas Sutton in the primary for Portland City Commission Position 2 on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Nick Fish
Nick Fish (Nonpartisan)
 
62.1
 
73,936
Image of Julia DeGraw
Julia DeGraw (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
32.6
 
38,870
Philip Wolfe (Nonpartisan)
 
3.0
 
3,514
Nicholas Sutton (Nonpartisan)
 
2.3
 
2,754

Total votes: 119,074
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Julia DeGraw did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Candidate Connection

Julia DeGraw participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on May 8, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Julia DeGraw's responses follow below.[1]

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

1) We must create electoral districts for City Council so Portlanders from all over the city will have real representation in City Hall. Portland's Jim Crow-era, at-large elections favor wealthy incumbents and corporate interests. Right now, all but one City Commissioner lives in a single quadrant of the city, Southwest Portland.

2) We need to dismantle Portland’s outdated and insular Commission system, where city officials are more beholden to their mayor-assigned bureaus than to voters. City officials should fight for the people, not bureaus.

3) Housing. City Hall should focus on providing affordable housing for every Portlander who needs it, instead of guaranteeing profits for developers. The city should invest in community land trusts and launch a public option for affordable home construction to create permanently affordable housing. The city could also obtain currently affordable housing units and place them into community or public ownership models to keep them permanently affordable.[2][3]

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?

- Affordable housing (see part 3 above).

- It is time to shift the focus away from incentives and tax breaks for multinational corporations, developers, and the wealthy. By changing priorities around, we can invest in affordable housing, creating a public bank, universal pre-k, renewable energy jobs, affordable and accessible municipal broadband internet, and social services.

- Campaign finance reform is another important issue. I don’t accept corporate or developer contributions to my campaign. There will never be any question about whose interests I represent. I stand with the people.

- I also want to embrace participatory budgeting and eject the corporate lobbyists who dominate the Budget Advisory Committee. We need more participatory democracy across the board to ensure that communities are centered in city decision-making.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[3]

Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Julia DeGraw answered the following:

What qualities do you possess that would make you a successful officeholder?

I’ve spent my career as an environmental and social justice organizer and advocate, bringing diverse coalitions together to create change. I’ve taken on powerful special interests – including some of the largest corporations in the world – whose practices threaten people and the environment. As the NW Organizer for Food & Water Watch, I led the nine-year fight to prevent Nestlé from bottling our public water in the Columbia River Gorge – and we won. I’m dedicated and tenacious, and I always put people and the planet first.

I’m a fast learner, but I know that I don’t have all the answers. I will seek out community and expert advice, and surround myself with a stellar team, to ensure I do my absolute best to improve Portland for everyone who lives here. I have the experience, values, and track record to bring bold change and a community-focused vision to City Hall. Together, we can create a better future for all Portlanders.[3]

What legacy would you like to leave?
I’m proud to be part of the wave of grassroots candidates who are running viable campaigns for public office in the post-2016 election political era. I will work tirelessly to shift Portland’s at-large elections to City Council districts to create a City Hall that actually represents our city.

Portland is in the midst of a serious affordable housing crisis. Right now, the city’s efforts to create affordable housing largely entail giving tax breaks to developers to build temporarily affordable housing. This method isn’t working to alleviate the crisis. I’d like the city to launch a public option for affordable home construction and invest in community land trusts and other public or community ownership models to create permanently affordable housing for the people in our city who need it. I’d also like to put Portland on the map for creating municipal broadband internet and funding universal pre-K.[3]

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at that time?
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a formative event for me. I was in first grade when it happened. I assumed this extremely destructive human-made disaster would lead to the end of Exxon Mobil. Instead, the company continues to exist and was never harshly punished for the irreparable damage they caused. It was a hard lesson to learn about how the world works at a very young age, but it also inspired my lifelong dedication to fighting for environmental and social justice.[3]
What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?
He’s not a ‘thing,’ he’s a living creature, but my housemate’s cat, Hot Dog, is by far the best aspect of our home. I can’t think of anything in my house I love or enjoy more than Hot Dog.[3]

See also


External links


Footnotes

  1. Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
  2. Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Julia DeGraw's responses," May 8, 2018
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.