We've narrowed the field to 27 candidates for 2017 Person of the Year for your consideration. As you'll see, they aren't all heroes. Some of them are controversial figures; some were involved in tragic stories; some are longtime leaders and some you may never have heard of.



And one is not a person at all.



The finalists all have local or regional ties, and at one point or another captivated readers or encapsulated issues that proved to be defining moments for Oregon in 2017.



Read about the candidates below (listed in alphabetical order) to refresh your memory, then make your pick. You may vote once per day until the poll closes at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 13.

We will take the Top 10 vote-getters and have a second round of voting to pick a winner.

Note: We have limited voting to one a day per IP address for the entirety of the voting timeline.

Editor's note: We've gotten lots of feedback on 'person of the year'; here's our response

Oregon Newsmaker of the Year Top 10 candidates: Vote for a winner

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Rick Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche

Rick Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche were hailed nationally as heroes after they stood up to racism and died in a horrific attack on a Portland MAX train that shook the city and challenged its progressive image.

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Sam Blackman

He was arguably Oregon's most successful tech entrepreneur in a generation, building a video software company, Elemental Technologies, that sold in 2015 to Amazon for $296 million. Blackman had become an increasingly important voice on issues of education, transportation, housing and the environment before he died suddenly in August at 41.

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Niko Boskovic

Niko Boskovic, then 15, finished first in an essay contest sponsored by North Portland's Peninsula Odd Fellows Lodge. As the winner, he was given the opportunity to join 300 other winners from around the world for a trip to New York and the District of Columbia. He and his mom fought back against the national Odd Fellows after he was told he could not go on the trip because of his autism. Photo by Stephanie Yao Long

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Julia Brim-Edwards

Julia Brim-Edwards won a seat on the Portland school board in May, returning to district leadership after 12 years as both critic and supporter. She immediately began to leave her mark by demanding more transparency and more accountability from district leaders on crises such as lead in schools. Photo by Stephanie Yao Long

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Kate Brown

Kate Brown, a year into her first term as elected governor, has turned over many state agency leaders as she faces a challenge in the coming election year. Photo by Anna Marum

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Esther Choo

Esther Choo, a Portland emergency room doctor, set off a national conversation about race after she tweeted about her own experience with Portland patients refusing to be treated by her because of her race. Photo via OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff

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Chloe Eudaly

Chloe Eudaly, newest commissioner for City of Portland, rode into office on a wave of populist fervor for tenants' rights but quickly hit the shoals in the limelight of city politics, exacerbated by her sometimes brittle response to critics. Photo by Beth Nakamura

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Micah Fletcher

Micah Fletcher, who survived the MAX attack after he intervened to help two girls, became a symbol of the fight against racist violence as he carried gruesome scars along his neck. Photo by Dave Killen

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Sara Gelser

Sara Gelser, Oregon state senator, spoke up about sexual harassment in the Capitol, setting off a firestorm of criticism around Sen. Jeff Kruse, whom she says more than a dozen women have complained about, and around what some complain was an insufficient response to the women's concerns. Photo by Denis C. Theriault

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Joey Gibson

Joey Gibson's Patriot Prayer protest group clashed with the left in high profile faceoffs in liberal enclaves on the West Coast, provoking controversy for his group and himself. Photo by Jim Ryan

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Guadalupe Guerrero

San Francisco transplant Guadalupe Guerrero succeeds Carole Smith as superintendent of Portland Public Schools and cleans house, hiring an entirely new leadership team in his attempt to clean up persistent academic and personnel problems. Photo by Stephanie Yao Long

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Jay

After Oregon health officials passed one of the nation's most progressive transgender healthcare policies, The Oregonian/OregonLive began looking for someone willing to tell the story of their quest for gender reassignment surgery. Jay, then 15, let a reporter and photographer follow his journey, educating Oregonians about the inner-most struggles and triumphs of trans teens. Photo by Beth Nakamura

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Greg McKelvey

Greg McKelvey became the face of PDX Resistance, a near-ubiquitous figure at protests throughout 2017 and on social media. Photo by Jim Ryan

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Jeff Merkley

Jeff Merkley found his voice as a strong and early critic of President Donald Trump, forging a higher national stature and prompting speculation about his ultimate ambitions. Photo by Dave Killen

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Katy Millard

Chef Katy Millard, the former world traveler who put down roots in a cozy outpost on the flanks of Mount Tabor, drew raves at Coquine, the restaurant rated No. 1 in Portland by The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2017. Photo by Stephanie Yao Long

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The New Millennial

Portland's economy may be the hottest it's ever been. The reason? Economists say it's because of smart, young people moving here from elsewhere. Portland is outpacing nearly the entire country in economic growth. Economists call it "astonishing," with household growth soaring and the number of high-wage jobs booming. Not coincidentally, Portland now has one of the most highly educated populations in the nation – a major switch from just 10 years ago. Photo by Michael B. Thomas/AFP/Getty Images

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Nora the Polar Bear

The plucky star at the Oregon Zoo starred in a five-part series and documentary film by The Oregonian/OregonLive, putting a bow on the polar bear cub's popular tenure in Portland before she was shipped off to Salt Lake City. Photo by Dave Killen

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Oregon Firefighters

They took on treacherous terrain and daunting winds to fight the Eagle Creek fire with grit and muscle, battling for weeks to save Oregon's beloved gorge trails and monuments such as the Multnomah Falls Lodge. Photo courtesy of Taylor Sluman

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Danielle Outlaw

An outsider from Oakland, Danielle Outlaw becomes Portland's first African American woman police chief at a time when community and police relations are strained and the force faces a daunting list of federally mandated reforms. Photo by Stephanie Yao Long

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Fatemeh Reshad

Fatemeh Reshad, an Iranian baby once barred from entering the U.S. to receive heart surgery, became for some a symbol of President Donald Trump's sweeping travel ban. Portland surgeons at OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital, successfully operated after politicians and others applied pressure. Fatemah is doing well since undergoing the operation, according to the office of Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore. Photo courtesy of Samad Taghizadeh

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Dennis Richardson

In a reliably blue state, Dennis Richardson became the first Republican to win election to his statewide office in 30 years. He has brought a novel, if controversial, approach to the job. Timothy J. Gonzalez/AP Photo

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Chanpone Sinlapasai

Chanpone Sinlapasai, a former refugee turned lawyer, spent long days and nights greeting refugees at the Portland airport in the days after the announcement of President Donald Trump's executive order limiting immigration. Photo by Beth Nakamura

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Sgt. Matt Swanson

Matt Swanson, a Clackamas County sheriff's sergeant, blew the whistle on a detective's failure to follow up on rape and sexual abuse allegations, bringing at least the possibility of justice for some victims before the statute of limitations runs out. He says in return he suffered retaliation.

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Brenda Tracy

Brenda Tracy, a rape survivor and advocate in Oregon on issues related to campus sexual assaults, rose to national stature on the subject, visiting universities and speaking to teams as well as putting pressure on the NCAA. She gained appointment to the NCAA's first ever Commission on Sexual Violence and helped shape its new policies.

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Judge Xiomara Torres

Xiomara Torres, who was born in El Salvador, represents an effort to change the largely homogenous face of the state's judiciary, rising to the bench from a difficult childhood as a foster child and an immigrant without legal status. She put herself through law school and became a U.S. citizen. Photo by Beth Nakamura

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Ted Wheeler

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler had a busy first year, starting with the city's flawed response to ice and snow. The year of protests, concerns about police tactics and increased attention to Portland's homelessness problem marked 2017. Photo by Jim Ryan

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Ron Wyden

Ron Wyden, Oregon's senior senator, used his influence in Congress to shape policy during the Trump administration and put pressure on White House officials to be accountable to ethics norms. Photo by J. Scott Applewhite

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