Edward Tevis Wheeler (born August 31, 1962) is an American politician who has served as the mayor of Portland, Oregon since 2017. He was Oregon State Treasurer from 2010 to 2016.
Wheeler was elected in the 2016 Portland mayoral election and reelected in 2020. Formerly a registered Republican, he has been described as a moderate Democrat.
Early life and education
A sixth-generation Oregonian, Wheeler was born in Portland to a family with roots and wealth in the Oregon timber industry. His father, Sam Wheeler, was executive vice president at Willamette Industries, a Fortune 500 lumber company formed in 1967 by mergers and acquisitions of timber companies (Sam Wheeler sold Wheeler Lumber Company, incorporated in 1900 by Wheeler's great-grandfather, Coleman Wheeler, in Wheeler, Tillamook County, Oregon.) Sam Wheeler divorced Ted's mother, Leslie, in 1972; Wheeler was 10 years old at the time. He later discussed his father's alcoholism.
Ted Wheeler attended Portland Public Schools, graduating from Lincoln High School. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from Stanford University in 1985. He also earned an MBA from Columbia University in 1989 and a master's in public policy from Harvard University. Wheeler worked for several financial services companies, including the Bank of America and Copper Mountain Trust.
Political career
Wheeler's political career began with a campaign for the Boston City Council. He finished 11th in a field of 12 candidates in the 1993 Boston City Council election. Wheeler was registered as a Republican until 2001 and described as "the wealthy heir to a timber fortune controlled by social and fiscal conservatives". In 2006, he defeated incumbent Multnomah County chair Diane Linn to become chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, taking office in January 2007.
Multnomah County Commissioner
Shortly after his election as chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, Wheeler worked with his colleagues to balance a county budget that had called for $22.3 million in cuts in 2009. Wheeler also fought to preserve social safety net programs and to eliminate hidden fees from state-issued debit cards.
Following the loss of nearly $16 million in Oregon Common School Fund and Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund investments, Wheeler co-filed a class-action lawsuit with Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to recover the money after firms misled investors.
Building, preserving and updating public space and infrastructure was a focus during Wheeler's time as County Commissioner. He led efforts to construct new libraries in Kenton and Troutdale and to construct the new East County Courthouse in Multnomah County. Wheeler also fought to fund repairs for the crumbling Sellwood Bridge.
Under Wheeler Portland became Oregon's first municipality to "Ban the Box", which reduces employment discrimination against residents with a criminal record by removing the criminal history check box on forms.
State treasurer
On March 7, 2010, incumbent Oregon State Treasurer Ben Westlund died of lung cancer. Two days later Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Wheeler to the office. Wheeler defeated fellow Democrat Rick Metsger in the Democratic primary election on May 18, 2010, and defeated Republican Chris Telfer, Progressive Walt Brown and Michael Marsh of the Constitution Party in the November special election for the rest of Westlund's term, which ended in 2013. He was elected to a second full term in the Oregon state elections, 2012.
Wheeler practiced aggressive financial management, achieving more than $172 million in cash flow savings since 2013. He promoted environmental stewardship, committing to double Oregon's investments in renewable energy resources by January 2020, and double them again by 2030. Wheeler also pledged not to pursue new investments in coal. He promoted the use of ESG (Environmental Social Governance) for all state investments to improve long-term performance, and urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to institute tougher reviews of carbon asset risk disclosures from 45 major corporations.
Wheeler was chair of the Oregon Retirement Savings Task Force, which developed what became the OregonSaves program to assist state residents in saving for retirement. It grew Oregon's pension fund to more than $72 billion, one of the country's five strongest state pension funds.
Portland mayoral campaign
Wheeler launched a run for mayor on October 14, 2015. He campaigned on addressing income inequality and ensuring government accountability. During his speech, Wheeler promised to build a government that worked "for every person."