Jim Francesconi for City Council 1996

The 2014 Oregon Primary saw the return of a Portland politico Jim Francesconi to the ballot for the first time in a decade. In 2004 he lost a hotly contested race for Portland Mayor to Tom Potter. After shakeups on the Multnomah County Commission Francesconi came back to announce his campaign for Multnomah County Chair.

While he ended up losing to Deborah Kafoury in May, I thought it would be interesting if we could track down some items from his time on the Portland City Council. He was first elected in 1996. Beating both Gail Shibley and Erik Sten in the May primary. Sten would still get elected in 1996 thanks to a special election later in September for Commissioner position 2.



Francesconi faced Shibley in the November general election. It was a close race. Shibley, then a Oregon State Representative had served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives first elected in 1992. She was the first openly gay member of the Oregon legislature. Not sure which campaign this pin is from, but it could have been her first campaign.

Francesconi was able to pull off a 9,000 vote win over Shibley and serve until running for Mayor in 2004. He was replaced on the city council by future Portland Mayor Sam Adams.

Both the bumper sticker above and this button are thought to be from his 1996 race because they lack the 're-elect' slogan.

There is also a t-shirt with this design, but it is in storage right now. Aside from these items from 1996, I don't think I have any items from his other campaigns, including the 2004 race and 2014 race.  Some speculate that Francesconi is done with electoral politics for good after his 2014 defeat. He will most likely continue working and contributing to the public sphere, just as he did after his 2004.