A stripper running for mayor has come up with a novel way to win over her critics – inviting them to a show.
Viva Las Vegas, real name Liv Osthus, is launching a bold political campaign in the Portland mayoral elections set for November this year. The 48-year-old claims if elected she will pass off most of her mayoral tasks, while convincing on-the-fence voters with a racy dance.
Osthus spoke to Willamette Week about dealing with people who didn’t like the idea of a stripper mayor: “If the stripper thing is so damning, they could watch my TED Talk. Strippers are amazingly strong, graceful human beings inside and out. I would invite them into Mary’s to let me change their minds.”
Osthus also said she’d leave the legislation to the City Council, noting: “I have [no governing experience]. The team I’m pulling together will be the people who guide me on that.”
Portland is currently a city struggling with fentanyl overdoses and crime, with mayor Ted Wheeler noting there were 6,300 homeless people on the city’s streets in 2023 and reportedly 527 overdoses that year. In January, Oregon issued a 90-day emergency in downtown Portland, funnelling resources into fighting the city’s deadly fentanyl crisis.
Osthus said she would help counter the crisis by bringing in more artists into the city. “Artists will bring energy back downtown,” she said. “And as energy comes, there will be more hope. If you put an art studio downtown, very soon you’d have a coffee shop. Very soon you’d have a lunch place.”
Osthus’ three rival candidates are all sitting city commissioners. Local sources have suggested that by running Osthus may take away votes from leading candidate Carmen Rubio. This could play into the hands of the third candidate Mingus Maps, who is also Osthus’ mentor. The stripper has denied that’s why she’s running.
Osthus, originally from South Dakota, moved to Portland in 1997 to pursue a music career and eventually started stripping. She said her skills make her a great listener.
“I have spent 27 years listening to people,” she said. “The mayor [needs to be] somebody who listens and connects with people, and reminds Portland of its best parts.”
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