Wikipedia

Dan Ryan (Oregon politician)

Dan Ryan (born June 21, 1962) is an American non-profit executive and politician who is a member of the Portland City Council. Ryan was elected in a 2020 special election to succeed Nick Fish, who died of stomach cancer on January 2, 2020. Ryan was re-elected in 2022.[3][4]

Dan Ryan
Portland City Commissioner
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 9, 2020
Preceded byNick Fish
Member of the Portland Public Schools Board of Education, Zone 4
In office
2005–2008
Preceded byDerry Jackson
Succeeded byMartin Gonzalez
Personal details
Born (1962-06-21) June 21, 1962 (age 62)[1]
North Portland, Oregon
Political partyDemocratic[2]
EducationUniversity of Oregon (BA)

Ryan is the third LGBT person elected as a commissioner of Portland, and the first to have been diagnosed with HIV.[3][5]

Early life and education

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Ryan was born in North Portland, Oregon, the youngest of eight children. Ryan was the first in his family to graduate from college. Ryan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oregon and took graduate courses at The New School.[6]

Career

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Prior to announcing his candidacy for Portland City Council, Ryan worked as an administrator at Portland State University, where he managed the school's first capital campaign. Ryan served as a member of the Portland School Board from 2005 to 2008, and was the CEO of All Hands Raised, an education non-profit, from 2008 to 2019.[citation needed]

Portland City Council

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In early 2020, Commissioner Nick Fish died of stomach cancer. Ryan announced his campaign to run for the upcoming special election. He faced 17 other candidates.[7] As the top two candidates, Ryan and former County Commissioner Loretta Smith advanced to a runoff as neither received over 50 percent of the vote.[8][9] In the November runoff, Ryan prevailed with 51.2 percent of the vote.[3][4] Upon his election, Ryan called for an end to the 2020 Portland protests and committed to establishing a "peace summit" between local politicians and activists.[10] Ryan assumed office on September 9, 2020.[11][12] Ryan became notable for his "safe rest village" program that involved large sites for sanctioned homeless camping.[13][14][15] As Commissioner, Ryan oversaw Portland Parks & Recreation, the Children's Levy, and the Office of Arts & Culture, among other bureaus. He formalized the Portland Park Rangers as first responders, and established Portland's first World AIDS Day Proclamation.[16]

After Portland voted to restructure it's government from a city commission for of government to a mayor-council system in 2022, Ryan was the only incumbent Commissioner to seek re-election to the new City Council in the 2024 election.[17]

Personal life

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While living in New York City in 1986, Ryan was diagnosed with HIV. In 1996, Ryan was diagnosed with pneumocystis and was given between six months and a year to live. He then returned from Seattle, where he was living at the time, to his hometown of Portland, Oregon, expecting to die soon.[18][19] Ryan is openly gay.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bailey, Everton (April 25, 2020). "Meet the candidates seeking to complete the term of late Portland Commissioner Nick Fish". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  2. ^ "Dan Ryan — ActBlue". Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Dan Ryan Is Portland's Newest City Commissioner, Winning Special Election Runoff". Willamette Week. August 12, 2020. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Loretta Smith, Dan Ryan vie for Portland City Council seat left vacant by Nick Fish's death". opb. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  5. ^ "Dan Ryan Elected to Portland City Council, Defeating Loretta Smith in Runoff". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  6. ^ "Dan Ryan wins seat on Portland City Council". BikePortland.org. August 12, 2020. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  7. ^ "Loretta Smith or Dan Ryan: Who will fill Nick Fish's seat?". KOIN.com. August 10, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Everton Bailey Jr | The (May 20, 2020). "Loretta Smith, Dan Ryan in runoff to succeed late Portland Commissioner Nick Fish". oregonlive. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  9. ^ "Loretta Smith, Dan Ryan vie for Portland City Council seat left vacant by Nick Fish's death". opb. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  10. ^ "Commissioner-elect Dan Ryan calls for a peace summit to end Portland protests and work toward reforms". kgw.com. August 15, 2020. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  11. ^ "Dan Ryan claims victory over Loretta Smith in race for Portland City Council". opb. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  12. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Everton Bailey Jr | The (September 11, 2020). "Portland mayor says he'll stop overseeing parks, other city bureaus to focus on police, coronavirus recovery". oregonlive. Archived from the original on September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  13. ^ "Portland's Safe Rest Village in Southwest neighborhood on track to triple capacity". opb. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  14. ^ "Portland Releases List of Potential Sites for City's "Safe Rest Villages"". Willamette Week. July 17, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Nicole Hayden | The (January 20, 2023). "Portland's 3rd safe rest village slated to open early this year". oregonlive. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  16. ^ "Commissioner Dan Ryan's Accomplishments | Portland.gov". www.portland.gov. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  17. ^ "Portland Commissioner Dan Ryan announces run for new council seat". opb. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  18. ^ "He Survived a Plague. Now He's Running for Office During Another". Willamette Week. March 18, 2020. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  19. ^ "Beyond Well with Sheila Hamilton: Ep. 86/ Covid19, HIV, and the Path Out of Fear". beyondwellsheilahamilton.libsyn.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  20. ^ "Carmen Rubio, Portland's 1st Latinx City Commissioner and proven bridge-builder, takes office". The Oregonian. January 5, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
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