Portland school board races begin to take shape, as each seat gets at least two candidates

Portland school board 2019

The Portland school board in 2019. General Counsel Liz Large and Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero sit to the left. Board members (from left to right) are: Amy Kohnstamm, Mike Rosen, Julia Brim-Edwards, Chair Rita Moore, Vice Chair Julie Esparza-Brown, Paul Anthony and Scott Bailey. Nick Paesler, a Cleveland High School senior, is the board's student representative.

Just hours before the final deadline, additional candidates jumped in to make all the races for Portland school board at least nominally competitive. Four people filed at the last minute, placing at least two candidates in each race for the May elections.

In all, 10 candidates filed for four seats. Two races feature three candidates while the other two feature two.

Only one of those races had been competitive as Thursday, the filing deadline day, dawned.

Of the four board members holding seats to be decided on the May ballot, just one, Zone 3 representative Amy Kohnstamm, is running for a second term. Her district encompasses Northwest Portland north of Broadway and schools feeding into Lincoln High.

She’ll run against education advocate Deb Mayer and perennial candidate-for-office Wes Soderback, both of whom filed to run Wednesday. Kohnstamm and Soderback went to high school in the district, having earned their diplomas from Lincoln and Benson, respectively.

In Zone 1, it’s a two-way contest between Andrew Scott, deputy chief operating officer at Metro, and Jeff Sosne, a psychologist at The Children’s Program in Portland. That district is currently represented by Julie Esparza Brown and covers the Sellwood neighborhood and much of Southwest Portland, including schools that feed into Wilson High.

Esparza Brown, an education professor, decided not to run for a second term, citing the long hours required for the volunteer position.

Three candidates have filed to run for Zone 2: Shanice Clarke, program coordinator for the Pan-African Commons Student Center at Portland State University; Carlos Jermaine Richard, Successful Families program director at the United Way of the Columbia Willamette; and Michelle DePass, the community engagement and policy coordinator for the director of the Portland Housing Bureau.

Paul Anthony currently represents that zone, which includes much of the inner eastside and schools that feed into both Cleveland and Jefferson high schools. He also cited the heavy workload, which he said could consume 80 hours a week, as his reason not to seek a second term.

And in Zone 7, Eilidh Lowery, senior pastor for the Southeast Portland Parish of the Trinity United Methodist Church is up against event coordinator Robert Schultz. The two are vying for the seat held by Mike Rosen, which encompasses much of the Lents, Brentwood-Darlington and Woodstock neighborhoods.

Rosen also said serving on the board was rewarding but too much work for another four years.

--Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344

Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Eder at ecampuzano@oregonian.com or message either of the social accounts above.

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