Portland Mayor Keith Wilson is wading into this fall’s City Council races, throwing his support behind three incumbents running for reelection and an outside challenger who could shift the balance of power on the often divided legislative body.
Wilson this week endorsed Kellie Torres, a longtime Parks Bureau official and former City Hall insider, for one of three council seats representing District 3, which covers much of Southeast Portland and a portion of Northeast.
The mayor appeared Wednesday at an event held for Torres in the Central Eastside neighborhood by Mike Thelin, a co-founder of the former Feast Portland food festival. Thelin also currently leads a coalition of business and community groups that’s pushing city officials to back a taxpayer-funded renovation of the Moda Center…