After a three-year period with the U.S. Army, Dozono went on to earn a master's degree in education from Portland State University and taught social studies for five years at Grant High School.

[6] Dozono has a long history of participating in community and business activities in Portland and serving on organizational boards.

[6] I'm not a politician, and I don't intend to become one at my age.Dozono has not previously held public office, and was recruited by Portland business and civic leaders to run for mayor.

[12] Throughout the campaign, Dozono primarily emphasized his experience as a businessman, and ran on a platform of general fiscal responsibility.

[5][16] An automated telephone poll of approximately 600 Portland residents in early April suggested that Dozono was within a percentage point of Adams in supporters.

[21] Dozono continued in the race despite the lack of public financing, and stated that he would cap individual contributions to his campaign at $500, similar to a limit set by Adams.

[6] These questions had previously been raised in an investigative report by Nigel Jaquiss in the Willamette Week six years earlier, which also alleged that Dozono had borrowed $1.25 million against the trust fund of his best friend's son Yuri Ohno, to companies he controlled, an amount that was subsequently repaid with interest.

[4] In April, it became public that Dozono owed the City of Portland more than $18,000 in back rent on a downtown restaurant which he owns.

[23] In a press conference on the first of May, Dozono displayed checks intended to pay the amount owed[22] and stated that the withheld rent was an intentional act meant to be used as leverage in negotiations with the city over nearby construction and lack of parking.