Brendan Finn, chief-of-staff to City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, had been considering a bid for city council since last fall—he had his eye on Sam Adams’ newly open seat at that point. Then Howard Weiner and Maria Rojo de Steffey were both possibly contenders in that race—and they’re both people Finn supports and admires—so he didn’t jump in. (Weiner joined the race and later dropped out, and Rojo de Steffey opted not to run.)

When Erik Sten’s seat suddenly opened up earlier this month, Finn was the first person I checked in with—would he jump at the new open seat? Yep, he said—he’d been up all night, thinking about it.

Fast forward to late last week: Finn still hadn’t filed, and now fellow chief-of-staff Jim Middaugh was cleaning up on public financing contributions, and local attorney Nick Fish is a heavy favorite in the race (seriously, I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t think Fish is a shoo-in… aren’t we going to have a race, people?). Finn was having second thoughts, but said he’d take the weekend to make a careful consideration.

Today, he announces that he’s not running.

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Colleagues,

Thank you for your recent support and guidance while I contemplate running for Portland City Council. It is a decision that has provoked me to reflect on a wide variety of considerations. What has become clear over past month is that I have the desire and support to serve our community as an elected leader. What is not as clear is what is best in terms of timing, and as it has been so rightly said, timing is everything.

Currently, in my capacity as Dan Saltzman’s Chief of Staff, I’m in the midst of a number of projects that will transform the landscape of our city for years to come:

High Performance Green Building Policy- most aggressive in the nation- Portland will again plot the course for cities to address climate change.
Portland’s Parks- Council will consider a proposal this spring that will provide a much-needed sustainable funding mechanism for Park development.
Portland’s Digital Inclusion Policy- an effort that will focus on providing affordable technology services to all Portlanders.

With these initiatives in such essential stages, and the commitment that will be needed to run a winning campaign, I have decided not to run for the seat to be vacated by Erik Sten.

Each of you has played a role in providing me with the counsel needed to come to this challenging decision. I would particularly like to recognize Dan Saltzman and Jeff Cogen for their ongoing support and belief in my enthusiasm for Portland.

I hope to be contacting you again in the near future as the appropriate opportunity presents itself. In the mean time, I look forward to seeing through these ambitious projects under the admirable leadership of Dan.

Sincerely,

Brendan