Breathe, breathe....

That advice has been coming in from more than one source, the past couple of weeks. So in case you're wondering, yes, I'm still breathing, just haven't had a moment to update here. Some highlights in recent days:

* No new candidates entered the race at the filing deadline on March 11.

Public Campaign Financing can claim another victory already. Only one candidate on the ballot for Seat 1 has held elected office before, and is running using traditional fundraising. In "the olden days", most likely a famous person or career politician would have looked at our field of six and thought, "I could take those guys/that woman", and entered the race just prior to the deadline -- without true commitment to serving all the citizens of Portland. But five candidates each with $150,000 offer a brave new day in Portland politics. So, now we know the candidates on the ballot for Position 1.

* We commissioned a poll, which was completed last week.

My statement on Mercury Blogtown:

We paid $12,000 for the poll. Its purpose is to help me perfect my message to voters about my experience and plans for Portland's future. It is not a media poll and will be used internally."

Some have wondered why we spent money on a poll, when I am talking with voters myself every day. The answer is, to find out which of the many things I plan to do when elected is most important to a scientific sample of voters. When knocking on doors, the concerns folks identify tend to be local - speed bumps near Columbia Park, potholes in the Rose City Park neighborhood, sidewalks in South Burlingame. I care about finding solutions to all those problems. One of the reasons I am the best candidate for the job is because of my broad range of experience on multiple city issues over 22 years here in Portland. To win the election, I must pick three or four to emphasize in speeches and media outreach, and that's what the poll results will help me do. But don't worry, I will still work on all the issues when I win election.

* We submitted the Voters Pamphlet statements to Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties. The deadline for that was Monday, March 24. It is more difficult than you might think, to summarize both my life's work and plans for Portland in 325 words. A high percentage of voters make their choice based solely on the Voters Pamphlet statement, so filing the forms was a huge milestone. I am breathing a whole lot easier today. Even yesterday, the stress level took a while to simmer down.

* We delivered yard signs by bicycle!

Thanks to Deputy Campaign Manager extraordaire, Jasun Wurster, for planning this unique, planet-friendly project. Here are some of the photos from the kick-off of the event:

Sadly my husband, who takes many of the photographs for our campaign, had to leave for another commitment, so we don't have images of the unicycle, tall bike, or several other cyclists. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped with this fun event.

There's more to tell you, but this post is already long, and I must return to tasks too numerous to mention. Please come to the Oregon Business Network forum at the Ambridge Center, 300 NE Multnomah across the MAX tracks from the Convention Center, tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. It is always helpful to have friendly smiling faces in the audience, and generous hearts willing me to make positive connections with voters. I am truly thrilled with the good karma swelling up in our campaign. Please check the Volunteer page to see if there is even a little something more you can do to help - there are many options to choose from and each will add to our momentum. Thank you!