Author: Rachel Monahan / Source: Willamette Week

He’s the top politician in a deep-blue city in the midst of a blue state. This summer, he refused for weeks to deploy cops to disband a protest at the offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, earning him the ire of the right wing. He’s been pilloried on Fox News and right-wing talk radio.

Over the past six weeks, Wheeler has tried to end the alarmingly violent street protests sparked by out-of-state Trump supporters. And last week, he attempted but failed to pass an ordinance through the City Council that would have given police more tools to restrict on the protests.

Though that effort fizzled, he did finish last week on a high note when, over the weekend, his police force calmly handled another round of dueling protesters.
But his behavior shows odd parallels to the Trump era he is defying. The day after Wheeler failed to pass his ordinance, he made news with a grumble: “I cannot wait for the next 24 months to be up.”

“It’s a very publicly tough week for him,” says Jim Moore, professor of political science at Pacific University. “There are times when the job doesn’t seem worth it.”

Here are five key moments that show the pressures the mayor faces—and how those pressures are affecting his decisions.

On Oct. 9, Fox News ran an eight-minute segment that labeled Wheeler a “cowardly mayor” for his alleged failure to enforce the law. “The mayor’s a nutcase,” Fox News piled on.

The proximate cause was a conflict between protesters and a Lexus, whose driver had pushed through the crowd. The larger context was Wheeler’s refusal to clear out the anti-ICE blockade in June.

Wheeler claimed not to care about his own image but instead defended the police. “I’m willing to take criticism all day long from Fox News, but I am not willing to accept criticism from Fox News of the men and women of the Portland Police Bureau,” he said.

On Oct. 15, after more national news stories on yet another street brawl, he rushed his protest ordinance out the door, giving colleagues only two hours’ notice.

Jim Pasero, director of the conservative group ActionPAC, says Wheeler had seen the TV clips and felt a need to…

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