Portland’s last minute voters seem largely interested in the presidential and occasionally, mayoral elections, judging from the highly scientific straw poll of nine voters I’ve just done outside the elections office at SE 11th and Morrison. Guess what. It’s time to MEET YOUR LAST MINUTE PORTLAND VOTERS…

Melanie Farley, who works in a pizza place and does online college writing tuition says she voted for Dozono for mayor. “I don’t know much about the race, my friends are just voting for him,” she says. “I just wanted to vote in the primary because I wanted to vote for Obama.”

Kevin Lancaster, a household moving contractor, voted for Dozono. “I want to get rid of all the old administration,” he says. “They’re screw ups. Sam Adams and his god-damned green lanes and bicyclists that don’t pay anything to be on the roads. I don’t buy that.” He also voted for Hillary Clinton. “I don’t have anything against Obama,” he said, “I just think he’s a kid and you can’t affect change in Washington unless you know who the enemy is.”

Jasper Kosokoff, a liberal arts student, is, of course, registered green, so he wasn’t voting in the presidential election. “I’ve just come home yesterday from California and I voted for Sam Adams because my mom told me she was for him,” he says. He also voted for Harold Williams Two and Martha Perez, after reading the pamphlet last night. “But I’m mainly involved in anarchist politics most of the time. I edit a magazine called Peace with the middle ‘a’ as an anarchist symbol,” he said. No word on whether voting with mom is an anarchist gesture, but we’ll keep you posted.

Mike Hendrickson is in metal fabrication—he actually sells those metal distribution boxes to the Mercury—and he voted for Obama in the primary. “There’s been too many years of Clinton and Bush in the White House, and Hillary had a chance to fix health care when Bill was in the White House, and she didn’t do anything then, and she won’t do anything now,” he said. Hendrickson also voted for Dozono. “He’s a businessman,” he said. “And he’s had to work for his money unlike Sam Adams, who just spends our tax dollars on his pet projects and then comes back with his hand out, begging for more.”

Matt Devincenzi, a student, voted for Obama “Mainly because he’s been really consistent with his views, and really honest with us,” he said. “He’s laid out a good pull-out plan for Iraq. I’d vote for Hillary in the general election if she got the nomination though.” Devincenzi also voted for Sam Adams. “I like what he’s said about changing the city,” he said. “Expansion, transit, things like that. Sho’s a little more fiscally responsible but I feel we should spend a little money to make the city better.” Devincenzi is also voting for Greg Macpherson for attorney general and Rick Metzger for secretary of state.

Julie Johnson didn’t vote in the mayor’s race. “I don’t know anything about the race, there were so many of them that I didn’t know who to vote for,” she said. For president, she voted for Obama. “I’m definitely for him over Hillary, for sure…”

Greg Enfield, a retired Union Pacific Railroad employee, voted for Dozono. He’s also the only Republican I spoke to, and he wrote in Romney’s name. “A lot of my family and friends are doing it,” he said. “We want McCain to choose him as his running mate in the General Election and by writing his name in, we think we’re sending a message.”

Jennifer Hopkinson, who is finishing her Masters degree, said “I re-registered so I could vote for Obama. I was kind of on the fence until I heard his speech about race, and found out that he wrote it himself. That someone can speak so honestly and intelligently about race in this election is what made me decide to vote for him.” She’s also voting for Adams for mayor. “I like bikes, he’s been a huge advocate for bikes,” she said. She also voted for Nick Fish, Jeff Bissonnette, and Randy Leonard. The only voter who talked about the city races!

Wendy Ann Wright voted for Obama, “because he’s inspirational,” she said. She also voted for Sam Adams. “I interned for him, I’m a single mom and low income, and that’s his background. I love his staff people, they all work so hard,” she said.

Also, I bumped into former Mercury politics wonker, Scott Moore, who was down at the elections offices to keep track of the election for his boss, Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. I told him there aren’t many people voting in the city elections, mainly only for President and the mayor, and he said: “If those numbers are representative of how Multnomah County voters are voting as a whole, it’s really unfortunate because every level of government is dependent on people participating in the process.” Then I said, “can I take a stupid photo of you?” and he said “yes.”

Of course, these were all last-minute pedestrian voters, but I’d be interested to hear if Blogtown readers voted in the races for city commissioner at all, or what your general level of awareness has been to those races other than mayor and president…also, did you ALL vote for Sho Dozono?