PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Voters in Portland, Ore., have elected political outsider Keith Wilson as their new mayor, following a campaign in which he capitalized on years of growing frustration over homeless encampments, open drug use and quality-of-life concerns to overcome three City Council members — including one ensnared in a driving record scandal — who , had also sought to rule the city.

Wilson, the CEO of a trucking company and founder of a nonprofit working to increase shelter capacity for the homeless, made an ambitious pledge to end homelessness within a year of taking over mandate. The Portland native says he will accomplish this, in part, by increasing the number of nighttime emergency shelters in existing facilities such as churches and community centers.

His message appears to have resonated in a city where polls in recent years have shown residents see homelessness as a top issue.

“It’s time to end homelessness and open drug use, and it’s time to restore public safety in Portland,” he said in his acceptance speech Thursday, speaking at a North Portland community center that served and as an emergency overnight shelter during extreme times. cold and heat waves. “Voters are not interested in pointing fingers. They just want us to get things done.”

The mayoral race, which included 19 candidates, was thrown open when Mayor Ted Wheeler decided not to seek re-election after serving as the city’s premier since 2017. Wheeler rose to national prominence in 2020 when overnight protests erupted in the streets of Portland and across the country in response to the the killing of George Floyd by the police.

Wilson won in the election in which Portland voters used the ballot for the first time. Under ranked choice votingvoters rank their choices in order of preference on the ballot. If a candidate is the first choice of more than 50% of voters in the first round of counting, that candidate wins.

Otherwise, the count continues to the second round. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who chose that candidate as their top choice have their votes redistributed at their next election. The process continues, with the candidate with the fewest votes being eliminated until someone emerges with the majority of votes.

About 35 percent of voters ranked Wilson as their first choice, according to the first and second rounds of preliminary results released Tuesday and Wednesday. That compares to City Council members Carmen Rubio and Rene Gonzalez, who were ranked first by about 19 percent of voters, and Mingus Mapps, ranked first by about 13 percent of voters.

Rubio and Gonzalez said they called Wilson to congratulate him on his new role.

For much of the year, the two City Council members were seen as frontrunners. But recent revelations about Rubio’s record — and Gonzalez’s, to a much lesser extent — have shaken up the race.

Rubio has received about 150 parking and traffic violations over the past two decades. She failed to pay many of them for months or even years and had her license suspended six times. She lost some endorsements in the wake of the news, which was first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Gonzalez also had his license suspended twice more than 20 years ago and racked up seven speeding tickets between 1998 and 2013, including one that was dismissed, as first reported by Willamette Week.

In previous statements, Rubio apologized for her actions, and Gonzalez said she has become more responsible with age.

Wilson will supervise completely the new government system. Portland expands its City Council from five to 12 members, elected by voters in individual districts rather than citywide, and adds a city manager position.