Tom Potter

Who is Tom Potter?

Thomas Jay "Tom" Potter is a former American politician and law enforcement officer in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Mayor of Portland from 2005 to 2009, and previously was the chief of the Portland Police Bureau. As mayor he continued his advocacy of community policing and expressed interest in other reforms of the Portland police department. He marched against the Iraq War on the first anniversary of American involvement in March 2004 and was dismayed at the black uniforms and the militarized appearance of the Portland police he saw. He made it part of his campaign to rid the police of such a militarized appearance.