He challenged incumbent commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty in the 2022 election,[1] running on a platform that emphasized law and order and livability.
Gonzalez earned 20% of first ranked choices but ultimately finished the election in third place behind winner Keith Wilson and Carmen Rubio.
[7] In 1993, Gonzalez moved to Salem, Oregon, to attend Willamette University, where he was president of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and played varsity soccer.
[7][14] Many parents also objected to ED300 for endorsing predominantly conservative candidates, including anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion groups and those who wished to limit the teaching of Critical Race Theory or LGBTQ+ topics in Oregon public schools.
[1][19] Gonzalez ran a campaign largely focused on combating homelessness and crime and investing in the revitalization of downtown Portland.
[25][26] In 2024, Mayor Ted Wheeler appointed Gonzalez as Portland City Council's representative on the Steering Committee Overseeing the Joint Office of Homeless Services.
[31] In February 2023, Gonzalez ordered Portland Street Response (PSR) and the fire bureau to stop distributing tents to the homeless and instead encouraged them to seek out shelters.
[36] Gonzalez announced in a February 2024 social media video that he would no longer use public transit, claiming that a Black woman accosted him while he rode the MAX light rail on his way to work.
[6][38] During a Portland City Council meeting in July 2024, Gonzalez proposed limiting public testimony on police brutality.
[39] In August 2024, The Oregonian reported that Gonzalez spent $6,400 of city taxpayer dollars to hire a contractor, WhiteHatWiki, to make edit requests for his Wikipedia page in an effort to remove references to his 2022 interaction with Patriot Prayer.
[6][3][40] The requests were submitted to Wikipedia by Gonzalez' policy advisor Harrison Kass, who ran unsuccessfully for Portland City Commissioner for District 3 in 2024.