Ted Wheeler served as the Mayor of Portland from 2017-2024. He was born and raised in Portland and comes from a family with deep roots in Oregon. As a sixth generation Oregonian, he is proud to call Portland home and is driven by his values of strengthening communities through inclusive, effective, and responsive government.
Wheeler has been in public service for more than a decade. He was first elected Chair of Multnomah County in 2006 and took office in 2007, where he balanced the county budget during the worst years of the recession and reduced debt while maintaining safety net programs for vulnerable populations. He prioritized funding mental health and drug addiction services as well as creating economic opportunities for marginalized communities. Under his leadership, Multnomah County became the first public entity in Oregon to “ban the box” on employment applications.
Mayor Wheeler was then appointed to the office of Oregon State Treasurer by Governor Ted Kulongoski in 2010 and elected to the position in 2012. Under his leadership, Oregon’s investment portfolio outperformed every one of its nationwide peers, creating new resources for the state and helping state and local governments meet their commitments. These gains were made while establishing new financial stewardship guidelines and establishing Oregon as a leader among public fund managers in corporate governance. By advocating for effective and responsible use of the State’s debt capacity, he led the state to an improved credit rating. He re-launched the Oregon College Savings Plan so that students and families could save and earn more for college, and championed the creation of the Oregon Investment Act, helping the state invest more effectively in the growth of small business. Working with legislators, AARP, and labor partners, Mayor Wheeler launched the Oregon Retirement Savings Plan (OregonSaves), the first state-sponsored retirement plan for private sector employees and individuals in the country. Today, OregonSaves is a national model for state-sponsored retirement security.
Outside of public service, the Mayor’s love of the Pacific Northwest and our wilderness areas runs deep. He grew up hiking, camping and climbing local peaks, and volunteered for almost a decade with Portland Mountain Rescue.
An avid runner and swimmer, Mayor Wheeler regularly competes in triathlons and marathons, including the Portland Marathon, which he helped relaunch. He also completed the Ironman Triathlon seven times, most recently in Tempe, Arizona.
The Mayor graduated from Portland Public Schools’ Lincoln High School, earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Stanford University, and later received an MBA from Columbia University’s business school, as well as a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
He is a father, a proud Lincoln High School Cardinal, and privileged to serve as the Mayor of the great City of Portland.