Dan Ryan (Oregon politician)
American politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dan Ryan (born June 21, 1962) is an American non-profit executive and politician who is a member of the Portland City Council from District 2. Ryan was elected in a 2020 special election to succeed Nick Fish, who died of stomach cancer on January 2, 2020. Ryan was re-elected in 2022.[3][4]
Dan Ryan | |
|---|---|
Ryan in 2021 | |
| Member of the Portland City Council from District 2 | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Portland City Commissioner | |
| In office September 9, 2020 – December 31, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Nick Fish |
| Succeeded by | office abolished |
| Member of the Portland Public Schools Board of Education, Zone 4 | |
| In office 2005–2008 | |
| Preceded by | Derry Jackson |
| Succeeded by | Martin Gonzalez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 21, 1962[1] |
| Party | Democratic[2] |
| Education | University of Oregon (BA) |
Ryan is the third LGBTQ person elected as a commissioner of Portland, and the first to have been diagnosed with HIV.[3][5]
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.[6]
Career
Portland City Council
In early 2020, Commissioner Nick Fish died of stomach cancer. Ryan announced his campaign to run for the upcoming special election. He faced 17 other candidates.[7] As the top two candidates, Ryan and former County Commissioner Loretta Smith advanced to a runoff as neither received over 50 percent of the vote.[8][9] In the November runoff, Ryan prevailed with 51.2 percent of the vote.[3][4] Upon his election, Ryan called for an end to the 2020 Portland protests and committed to establishing a "peace summit" between local politicians and activists.[10] Ryan assumed office on September 9, 2020.[11][12] Ryan became notable for his "safe rest village" program that involved large sites for sanctioned homeless camping.[13][14][15] As Commissioner, Ryan oversaw Portland Parks & Recreation, the Children's Levy, and the Portland Office of Arts & Culture, among other bureaus. He formalized the Portland Park Rangers as first responders, and established Portland's first World AIDS Day Proclamation.[16]
After Portland voted to restructure it's government from a city commission form of government to a mayor-council system in 2022, Ryan was the only incumbent Commissioner to seek re-election to the new City Council in the 2024 election.[17]
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.[18][19] Ryan is openly gay.[20]
