Sho Dozono

Dozono has a long history of participating in community and business activities in Portland and serving on organizational boards.[6] In 1996, he organized a 30,000-person march in support of funding for the Portland Public Schools.[4] He also established the Portland Schools Foundation, a private fundraising organization.[5] Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Dozono organized the "Flight for Freedom", a group of Oregonians who flew to New York City to support the city's tourist economy, in response to a plea by Mayor Rudy Giuliani.[3] The trip was led by Vera Katz, who was then Portland's mayor. Initially Dozono had only expected 200 people to participate, but estimates of the number of participants ranged from 800 to more than 1000.[3][7] Similar "Flight of Friendship" trips were organized to Thailand following the 2004 tsunami and to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.[8][9] In 2002, Dozono was instrumental in bringing the Olympic Torch to Portland.[6]

Following a lawsuit, a judge reversed the Portland City Auditor's decision to award Dozono public financing, and found Dozono in violation of the city's campaign finance law. At issue was a poll testing Dozono's electability, which a lobbyist had conducted on Dozono's behalf in December 2007, the month before he officially announced his candidacy.[20] Dozono was subsequently denied $161,171 in public funds as a result of the judge's ruling.[21] Dozono continued in the race despite the lack of public financing, and stated that he would cap individual contributions to his campaign at $500, similar to a limit set by Adams.[20]

Although fiscal responsibility was a central theme of Dozono's campaign, a March 2008 story by The Oregonian noted issues that had been raised about Dozono's business dealings during his 20-year career.[6] The report stated that Dozono had occasionally mixed friendship with business, by accepting loans from personal connections for his travel agency, and raised ethical questions about Dozono's involvement in several business dealings, one of which resulted in a lawsuit and an $800,000 settlement.[6] These questions had previously been raised in an investigative report by Nigel Jaquiss in the Willamette Week six years earlier, which also alleged that Dozono had borrowed $1.25 million against the trust fund of a child to companies he controlled, an amount that was subsequently repaid with interest.[4]

In April, it became public that Dozono owed the City of Portland more than $18,000 in back rent on a downtown restaurant which he owns.[22] Several sources cited the incident as a contradiction to his claim to fiscal responsibility.[23] In a press conference on the first of May, Dozono displayed checks intended to pay the amount owed[22] and stated that the withheld rent was an intentional act meant to be used as leverage in negotiations with the city over nearby construction and lack of parking.[23] The amount was later paid in full.[24]