City Commissioner and mayoral hopeful Mingus Mapps today publicly accused fellow council member and mayoral rival Rene Gonzalez of lying, raising the temperature of the mayoral race just weeks before Portland’s general election. In a social media post, Mapps alleged that Gonzalez fabricated details about an incident in which Gonzalez claimed he was “attacked by a Black woman” on a TriMet train.
Mapps’s accusation seems fueled by frustration over The Oregonian’s decision not to include him in their endorsement process for Portland mayor.
“I’ve served Portland with honor for nearly four years on the City Council. I’m the fourth African American to do so in our city’s history and hold a PhD in Government from Cornell. Despite that, The Oregonian won’t even consider my candidacy,” Mapps tweeted, noting that his opponents Carmen Rubio and Rene Gonzalez were still being considered despite recent revelations Rubio’s troubled traffic record and an ongoing campaign finance investigation into Gonzalez’ use of city funds to edit his Wikipedia page during an election year.
“And character clearly isn’t the issue—my opponent Carmen Rubio, who has racked up over 150 parking tickets, is being considered. Rene Gonzalez also has traffic violations, questionable use of public funds, AND lied about a Black woman attacking him. Yet these are your ‘chosen’ candidates,” Mapps charged.
The incident Mapps referenced involves a 2024 claim made by Gonzalez, where he stated that a woman attacked him on a TriMet train. In a subsequent tweet, Mapps said Gonzalez’s campaign had contacted him to dispute his claim. Mapps responded:
“The traffic violations and questionable use of public funds? Those are just facts.”
Mapps included video footage from the train, showing the woman grazing past Gonzalez. “Was Commissioner Gonzalez really ‘accosted by a woman on the train’?” Mapps asked, urging voters to view the footage and decide for themselves.
Gonzalez has not yet responded publicly to Mapps’s tweet. The exchange marks a clear shift in the tone of the mayoral race, which has so far remained largely civil between candidates.
