Rank this

Wow, one of the exotic dancers at Mary's Club is running for mayor of Portland. Her stage name is Viva Las Vegas, but officially she's Liv Osthus (pronounced LEEV AHS-tis). Sophie, Child of the Weed, sums up the 49-year-old's career so far, as follows:

She’s well known in the Portland arts world as an outspoken sex workers’ advocate as well as a published author, writer and musician. After graduating from Williams College in 1997, she moved to Portland to pursue her music career, and soon after began stripping. She’s been dancing ever since, often on the stage at Mary’s Club.

Osthus has written a memoir, starred in a documentary, and was the subject of a locally staged opera. Before any of that, she graced the cover of of WW in 1997, when she and an anti-smut crusader came into the newspaper’s office to debate sex work—a novel argument at the time.

With "rank choice" voting, I get to rate Osthus somewhere on the spectrum of candidates. So far she's coming in second. For me, it's Gonzalez or bust, so to speak.