Portland Mayoral Candidates Compete to be Most Film Friendly

Candidates Agree: Media Production in Portland is a Pillar of our Economy
See video of all the candidate statements at www.ompa.org/government-affairs

Portland – On Thursday, April 5^th, the three major candidates for Mayor of Portland faced off in a forum focusing on media production issues at KGW studios. Sponsored by the Oregon Media Production Association and Portland Monthly Magazine, and other media organizations, the forum covered a range of issues concerning Portland’s quickly growing industry of creative media professionals. Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales, and Jefferson Smith all got their chance to comment on this thriving industry and talk about how they would encourage its growth.

“Portland should be known for being a film, video, and technology center worldwide” said Eileen Brady when asked how she would encourage job growth.

The media production industry has witnessed huge growth in the last several years, even during a time of economic hardship.  In 2011 alone, out-of-state media productions brought over 110 million dollars of investment to Oregon, employing thousands of people in Portland with living wage jobs. Jefferson Smith clearly thinks this industry is pivotal to growing living wage jobs, “We need a smarter, harder working, and fair workforce to be a better place to live; a strong middle class, working not just to attract business but to attract talent. The film industry does all of those things.”

For decades, Portland has been known across the country as a city of the arts, and Charlie Hales had no problem expressing it: “I do want us to be a city of the arts—all the creative arts—and for our school system and business community to be great partners in building both this as an industry, part of our culture, and the very fabric of what we love about Portland.”

For more information about the Oregon Media Production Association, media production in Portland, or this creative economy forum, please contact Tom McFadden: 503-228-8822 or [email protected]