Jo Ann Hardesty


Jo Ann A. Hardesty is an American Democratic politician in the U.S. state of Oregon who is currently a Portland City Commissioner, having taken office on the Portland City Council in January 2019. She previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1995 until 2001. Hardesty is the first African American woman to serve on Portland's city council.

Early life

Hardesty was raised in Baltimore, Maryland.

Career

Hardesty served in the United States Navy, and was elected to the Oregon House in 1994, holding office until 2001. She later served as executive director of Oregon Action, and became president of the Portland chapter of the NAACP in January 2015.
In 2007 Hardesty began hosting "Voices from the Edge," a progressive talk radio program on KBOO, a community radio station in Portland. The call-in show addresses racial disparity, government accountability, environmental justice and politics on local, state and national levels.
Hardesty ran for Portland City Council in 2018, for the open seat being vacated by the retiring Dan Saltzman. She won the race, against Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith; early returns showed her receiving approximately 62 percent of the votes cast. She was sworn in as a city commissioner on January 2, 2019.