PORTLAND, Ore. — Liv Østhus, best known as exotic dancer Viva Las Vegas, has emerged as an influential Portland mayoral candidate. She's a single mom, longtime Portlander, author, musician and sex worker advocate.
"Portland is suffering," Østhus said. "It’s going through a dark patch right now and I care passionately about Portland, and I am a creature who shines light in dark spaces. That's what I do on stage at Mary's (Club) and that's what I want to do for the city.
I want to guide us forward with hope, inspiration and using an artist's skills to think creatively about our problems and bring solutions." Østhus has not served in an elected office before. In this episode of Straight Talk with Laural Porter, Østhus talks how "it's time to think outside the box" in Portland.
"A lot of the other candidates are coming from this old model," she said. "It's time for leaders to look new across the county, across the world." This mayoral election is a historic one in Portland, as it is the first time voters will pick elected leaders under the new city government structure.
In it the mayor will have a slightly different role. READ MORE: Portland City Council triples in size next year, taking on an entirely new role in local government In the new city government, Østhus said she sees the mayor more as a figure-head, with the city administrator handling the majority of the day-to-day operations. This allows the mayor more free time to interact with Portlanders and "reflect the.