‘CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS SCHMIDT?’: Political group puts up new Downtown billboard

John Ross Ferrara
·2 min read
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The political group People for Portland has plastered a new four-story billboard attacking Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt across the Governor Building in Downtown Portland.

Prominently featured at the foot of the Morrison Bridge near the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Washington Street, the billboard is the third anti-Schmidt ad the group has placed on the building in the past nine months. The latest billboard uses an altered photo of the district attorney that caps his head with a cartoon crown reading “LYIN’ KING.”

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“CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS SCHMIDT?” the billboard reads.

  • Schmidt billboard
    The new billboard replaces one draped across the building in August of 2023 that took aim at Schmidt and Multnomah County Chief Executive Officer Jessica Vega Pederson.(Photos by KOIN 6)
  • Schmidt billboard
    Schmidt billboard
  • Schmidt billboard
    Schmidt billboard
  • schmidt
    schmidt

The political group announced the replacement of its previous billboard on social media Thursday afternoon.

“Mayor Wheeler wanted us to take our billboard down … so we did,” the group stated on Facebook.

Schmidt’s office has been publicly critical of the previous billboards, calling them “misinformation.”

“This dissemination of misinformation undermines the work of the DA and discredits the dedicated work of all employees in the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office who are serving our county during one of the most challenging periods in recent memory,” the DA’s office told KOIN 6 in April of 2023.

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The latest billboard goes on to critique Schmidt for “record drug deaths,” “increased shootings,” “extreme vandalism” and “rampant car thefts.” While Portland saw a spike in homicides and car theft cases in recent years, data compiled by the Portland Police Bureau shows that Portland has experienced a significant drop in homicides, gun violence and car thefts in 2023.

In a response to KOIN 6 News, Schmidt’s Campaign Manager Andrew Rogers associated the latest billboard with Multnomah County DA candidate Nathan Vasquez.

“It’s disappointing that conservative DA candidate Nathan Vasquez continues to benefit from this right-wing, dark-money group and its unaccountable deep-pocketed donors,” Rogers said. “If the people behind these billboards were interested in real solutions to our community’s challenges, they would be advocating for those instead of launching political attacks.”

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