Supporters largely close ranks around Portland mayor hopeful Carmen Rubio after she damages parked car, walks away

A day after The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that leading mayoral candidate Carmen Rubio damaged a parked Tesla and then left without leaving a note for the car's owner, Rubio's most public supporters appeared to be closing ranks around her candidacy.

The news organization contacted a dozen of Rubio's most prominent endorsers, including representatives of large labor unions that are likely to fuel her get-out-the-vote efforts and individuals who have donated to her campaign or been publicly listed as among her most prominent supporters.

A few voiced full-throated support. Others said they preferred to stay mute and excuse themselves from the complicated narrative swirling around Rubio but that they planned no change to their endorsement. At least one announced supporter said he was rethinking his choice, calling her behavior "inexplicable," but refused to allow his name to be used because he is still considering his options. Another said she wouldn't be "surprised" to see more people distance themselves from the Rubio campaign in the coming days.

Rubio was already under scrutiny after The Oregonian/OregonLive published a story last week revealing that she had racked up 150 parking and traffic citations over 20 years, had dodged court appearances and had her license suspended six times. Courts also referred Rubio's unpaid parking tickets to a collection agency on at least 100 occasions, records show.

Then, on Wednesday, the news organization reported that she had scraped the bumper and wheel rim of a parked 2022 Tesla when she pulled up next to it, surveyed the damage and then walked away, according to video footage captured by the Tesla's security system.

Rubio began damage control almost immediately after the publication of that story. In interviews with other news organizations, Rubio said she deeply regretted her parking ticket record, and added that the area near the headquarters of the Latino Network, her employer at the time, was known to be "heavily patrolled."

She said in her statements that she hadn't realized she'd damaged the Tesla, which she glanced at as she walked past after she sensed her car had hit something when pulling into the parking spot. Photos of the Tesla and her car show the damage was clearly visible. And Rubio said she felt "exploited" by the Tesla's owners, who knew about her mayoral candidacy and the unpaid tickets and implied they would notify the media she'd damaged their car and walked away without leaving a note.

Gov. Tina Kotek, arguably Rubio's most prominent supporter, said through a campaign spokesperson that she stuck by her endorsement.

"Carmen Rubio has a track record of getting results," Kotek said. I know we can count on her to deliver the kind of change Portland urgently needs."

State Rep. Rob Nosse, a Democrat from Southeast Portland, said he too planned to stay in Rubio's corner.

"I am standing by her because I support her direction, goals and platform for the city," Nosse said. "When you have been in politics for a while, you care about people's accomplishments as much as I care about their values. I think the whole thing with the car bumper on the Tesla is unfortunate. But at the end of the day, she is offering to help that woman get her car fixed. I don't know what else you can do."

Representatives for a handful of major labor unions, including the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Workers, the Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers did not indicate that they planned any changes to their endorsement of Rubio.

Previously, LiUNA Local 737, a union that represents 3,000 construction workers and laborers in the Portland area yanked its endorsement of Rubio after the revelations about her driving record .