Dan Ryan (Oregon politician)

Dan Ryan (born 1962/63) is an American non-profit executive and politician who was elected to the Portland City Council on August 12, 2020. Ryan defeated Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith in a runoff election to succeed Nick Fish, who died of stomach cancer on January 2, 2020. Ryan will serve for the remainder of Fish's term, which ends in 2022.[2][3]

Dan Ryan
Portland City Commissioner
Assumed office
September 9, 2020
Preceded byNick Fish
Personal details
Born1962/1963 (age 57–58)[1]
North Portland, Oregon
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Oregon (BA)

Early life and education

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.[4]

Career

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. Ryan is the third LGBT person elected as a commissioner of Portland, and the first to have been diagnosed with HIV.[5][6] Upon his election in August, Ryan called for an end to the 2020 Portland protests and committed to establishing a "peace summit" between local politicians and activists.[7] Ryan assumed office on September 9, 2020.[8][9]

During his campaign, Ryan was endorsed by City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty and former Governor Barbara Roberts.[10][11]

Personal life

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.[12][13]

References
  1. Bailey, Everton (April 25, 2020). "Meet the candidates seeking to complete the term of late Portland Commissioner Nick Fish". The Oregonian. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  2. "Dan Ryan Is Portland's Newest City Commissioner, Winning Special Election Runoff". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  3. "Loretta Smith, Dan Ryan vie for Portland City Council seat left vacant by Nick Fish's death". opb. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  4. "Dan Ryan wins seat on Portland City Council". BikePortland.org. 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  5. "Dan Ryan Is Portland's Newest City Commissioner, Winning Special Election Runoff". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  6. "Dan Ryan Elected to Portland City Council, Defeating Loretta Smith in Runoff". Portland Monthly. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  7. "Commissioner-elect Dan Ryan calls for a peace summit to end Portland protests and work toward reforms". kgw.com. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  8. "Dan Ryan claims victory over Loretta Smith in race for Portland City Council". opb. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  9. Oregonian/OregonLive, Everton Bailey Jr | The (2020-09-11). "Portland mayor says he'll stop overseeing parks, other city bureaus to focus on police, coronavirus recovery". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  10. Bailey, Everton (May 21, 2020). "Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty endorses Dan Ryan over Loretta Smith in City Council runoff". The Oregonian. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  11. "Proudly Endorsed By". Dan Ryan for Portland. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  12. "He Survived a Plague. Now He's Running for Office During Another". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  13. "Beyond Well with Sheila Hamilton: Ep. 86/ Covid19, HIV, and the Path Out of Fear". beyondwellsheilahamilton.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
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