And then there were 10.



We asked readers to choose the Top 10 candidates for the 2015 Oregon Person of the Year. In the vote that closed Sunday, Chris Mintz and Alek Skarlatos were the clear favorites.



One finalist was not a person. The PDX Carpet craze continues, apparently. But will it prevail?

Which of these 10 candidates is your choice for Oregon Person of the Year? Vote in our poll below. You may vote once a day until the poll closes at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 27.

Read more about each of these newsmakers then make the call: Who should be Oregon's Person of the Year.



Lio Alaalatoa is the first line of defense in Portland's battle to end homelessness. As an outreach worker for the nonprofit JOIN, he patrols the streets of Portland, handing out his business card along with clothing, blankets, food and hot drinks. When someone is ready to leave the streets, he's there to help.

Kate Brown, Oregon's former secretary of state who became governor after John Kitzhaber resigned the office in February, appears to have won over lawmakers. "She didn't get to where she is by being cute and friendly. She got there because she's effective," Rep. Val Hoyle was quoted as saying last summer. Whether voters agree remains to be seen in the 2016 election.

Vance Day was a 54-year-old Marion County Circuit Court judge when he was thrust into the national culture wars for refusing to perform same-sex weddings because of his religious beliefs. "Why would you judge me because I have this inner core that disagrees with you?" Day said.

GreenPeace protesters dangled from the St. Johns Bridge and floated in kayaks and canoes below it for two July days in an effort to block a Shell Oil Arctic icebreaker from leaving Portland. Though law enforcement ultimately cleared the way for the icebreaker to exit, the activists were buoyed by public support and claimed a symbolic victory. In September, Shell abandoned its plans to drill for new oil in the Arctic.

Chris Mintz is the Umpqua Community College student credited with charging the shooter who killed eight students and a professor and wounded nine others Oct. 1 in Roseburg. Shot five times, Mintz gives credit to all those who responded on campus and in hospitals. "They are the real heroes, they saved us," he wrote.

Caleb Porter is the Portland Timbers coach whose team missed the playoffs last season and struggled to find wins through much of 2015. But the third-season MLS coach kept his team focused on playing the game ahead, not the loss behind or the playoffs in the distance. That focus brought about a revamped, offense-heavy lineup that scored big road victories late in the season. And it allowed him to lead the team to Portland's first MLS Cup championship, a victory that energized soccer fans throughout the region.

PDX Carpet, we'd miss you so, if only you weren't everywhere. 2015 was the year Oregon's fanatic fondness for our 1980s-vintage airport carpet became all too clear. Mourned before, during and since its removal from Portland International Airport, PDX Carpet now appears everywhere from Hipster Santa's chair to a Damian Lillard signature shoe to an art exhibit at One Grand Gallery in Portland. And don't forget the ultimate honor: grand marshal of the PGE/SOLVE Starlight Parade.

Dr. Louis Picker is a superstar scientist at Oregon Health & Sciences University, who hopes to develop an HIV vaccine. Picker's vaccine can kill the virus in monkeys. Next year, he plans to test it in humans. "He is rewriting the immunology textbooks," says Dr. Mary Marovich, head of vaccine research in the Division of AIDS at the National Institutes of Health.

Alek Skarlatos is a Roseburg resident and Army National Guard specialist who helped stop a terrorist attack on a French train last summer. After the heroic act, Skarlatos was honored with a trip to the White House and a stint on TV's "Dancing With the Stars," making it to the show's finale.

Brenda Tracy is the victim of sexual violence who found her voice and became perhaps the state's leading advocate for reforms. She repeatedly testified before the Legislature and helped persuade lawmakers to extend Oregon's statute of limitations in rape cases from six to 12 years. She has also become a leading voice in pushing officials to test rape kits, including those that have gone untested for years.

Now it's time to vote. (The names are presented in a randomized order in our poll.)

-- Compiled by Kjerstin Gabrielson from staff reports