Iconic Portland stripper Liv Osasus (better known by her stage name “Viva Las Vegas”) is running to be Portland's next mayor.
She is well known in the Portland art world as an outspoken sex worker advocate and as a published author, writer, and musician. After graduating from Williams College in 1997, she moved to Portland to pursue her music career, and she soon began stripping. She has been dancing ever since, and she often dances on stage at Mary's Club.
Ostos wrote a memoir, starred in a documentary, and was the subject of a locally performed opera.Before that, she graced the cover of WW When she and anti-corruption activists came to a newspaper office in 1997 to discuss sex work, it was a novel discussion at the time.
Now, Mr. Ossus, 49, is promoting a new form of government that features a professional city administrator to run all city departments and a city council made up of 12 locally elected members who set city policy and pass legislation. I would like to supervise.
Osas is in a race that already includes three of the five current city commissioners, including one of her political mentors, Mingus Mapps. Osas, who has no legislative or policy-making experience, makes a different case than Portlanders. The next mayor needs to be a symbol of the city's optimism.
she sat with WW This week, we discuss why she's running, who convinced her to run, and how an amazing campaign platform: Hope is just what Portland needs.
Her answers have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
WW:Why are you running for mayor?
Liv Ostas: I feel a strong call to support change in our city and to remember how great it is to not forget our roots in small business, art, and music. And I think we've lost that story. We have very important problems, but we also have a lot of great things to do. And we need a mayor who will remind the city of its soul.
What I want to emphasize above all in this campaign is that [for artists and small businesses]. Because that to me is the soul of this city. That's how we come back as a city.
Your message is a little vague. How are you going to sway voters?
We have a lot of data and a lot of metrics, but that money is still not going to the people who really need the services.
When downtown returns, all boats will be raised. When downtown starts to bloom again, you can put an art studio downtown and have a coffee shop in no time. There will be a place for lunch soon. You'll soon be creating concentric circles outward from there. Artists bring energy to downtown. And as the energy builds up, even more hope emerges.
Some older Portlanders may think twice about electing a stripper mayor. What would you say to them?
If strippers are that bad, they could watch my TED talk, read my book, or watch a movie. Strippers are incredibly strong and graceful people, both inside and out. I would like to invite them to Mary's house and change their minds.
You are playing against three prominent politicians. What do you bring that they don't have?
I bring creativity and community that I don't think they have. And frankly, I have this huge web that spreads all over Portland. I've been listening to people's stories for 27 years.Mayor [needs to be] Someone who listens to people's stories, connects with people, and reminds them of the best parts of Portland. I think enacting the bill can be left to the city council. I look forward to meeting a mayor who is excellent both in name and reality.
The mayor is responsible for hiring and firing the police chief and city administrator. What is your experience as a manager?
I don't have anything, and the team I have together will be the ones to guide me in that regard.
Interested in running for one of the 12 City Council seats?
I don't want to do that job. I don't want to legislate. To me, the mayor's office is like a stage, a pulpit. I don't just want to talk about practical things. Let's have a little more hope. Let's give you a little more inspiration. And remember the charm of Portland.
Some may argue that the mayor should be the most pragmatic person in power.
We keep hearing these real conversations, and they're not going anywhere. I think the people of Portland have really lost faith in their city and perhaps their leaders.
The mayor must be the leader of the team. Let each person on your team have their own area of expertise and level of expertise, with the mayor leading the way and representing what's best about Portland.
Homelessness is top of mind for many people in Portland. How would you respond?
We need to treat homelessness like a national disaster. Portland appears to have gone in the wrong direction with its county vs. city structure. We're putting all this money into addressing the problem, and yet the city and county are pitting us against each other.I would like to cooperate with the government. [and that direction] It comes from the top down. Better monitoring is needed. Otherwise, the money will simply circulate in the same loop between bureaucrats.
City Commissioner Mingus Mapps was a great mentor to you, and he encouraged you to run for mayor. Someone might hear that and say they want Liv to run because she'll take votes away from her biggest rival in the mayoral race, Carmen Rubio. Do you think that might be the case?
I do not think so. Just hearing how honest and consistent he has been about this for over a year. Although he is a political science professor, he finds it inspiring to see people from other professions become public servants. But I get it. A ranked voting system is going to be very interesting in this race. I don't want to ruin Carmen's chances, but maybe that's what I'm doing.
