The number of candidates preparing to run for the Portland City Council seat left open by the late Commissioner Nick Fish continues to grow.

On Tuesday, Tera Hurst, the executive director of the clean energy coalition Renew Oregon, created a campaign finance committee to run for Fish's seat. Hurst had previously served as chief of staff for Portland Mayor Charlie Hales.

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Dan Ryan, the former CEO of education nonprofit All Hands Raised and former board member of Portland Public Schools, and Nova Newcomer, the head of local nonprofit Friends of Baseball, have also formed committees in the last week to run for Fish’s seat.

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Deborah Scroggin, the city elections officer, said the office has been inundated with filings lately. The most recent ones for Fish’s seat include Ronault L.S. “Polo” Catalini, a former coordinator for the city’s New Portlanders Programs, which helps immigrants and refugees integrate into the city, and Jack Kerfoot.

Kerfoot, a Vietnam veteran and former renewable energy consultant, had previously been running for the seat on the council occupied by Commissioner Chloe Eudaly. But, he said last week's surprise entrance into that contest by former Mayor Sam Adams changed his calculation.

“I think Sam Adams has demonstrated the ability to be a capable commissioner,” he said. “And, so, that's why I thought I would decide to fill the vacancy of the untimely death of Commissioner Fish.”

That brings the number of people who have filed either with the city’s elections office or created a campaign finance committee to run for Fish’s seat to 13.

And there will likely be more to come. Candidates have until March 10 to file to be on the ballot for the May 2020 primary.