Exotic dancer, 49, throws her hat into the ring for city’s mayor as she sets sights on tackling Portland’s crime, homelessness and drug issues to continue her ‘journey as an artist’

An exotic dancer running for mayor of Portland believes she has what it takes to revitalize the city’s downtown.

Liv Osthus is a famous stripper, but she wants to enter politics to solve the crime, homelessness and drug problems plaguing the area.

She moved to Portland in 1996 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from William’s College and began performing exotic dance under the name Viva Las Vegas.

But Osthus wants to take on the challenge of leading the city, she said KKG8: ‘For me, this is not the time for me to enter politics; this is me continuing my journey as an artist.

According to data, there were 6,300 homeless people on Portland streets last year, as well as 527 overdoses.

Liv Osthus is a famous stripper, but she wants to enter politics to solve the crime, homelessness and drug problems plaguing the area

Osthus understands that people will be skeptical that she wants to govern Portland despite having no political experience.

But she wants to tackle the problems in the city center by turning the unused offices left by departing companies into studios for artists.

“Artists will make that a focal point of the community. They will organize art shows, music shows; people will come down to see those,” she said.

‘Within two weeks there will be a coffee shop and within a month a lunch spot, where we can enjoy a delicious meal again. Then the energy will flow down there again.’

Admitting she has no experience in politics or management, she added: “The mayor doesn’t need to know everything. No one could know everything.’

Osthus hopes to be a leader who can give the city direction by leaning on the twelve municipal council seats.

“What I want from a mayor is someone who listens, someone who connects and someone who inspires,” she said.

“I think this is the moment in Portland. We’ve seen mayors go out of their way to influence what happens downtown, and it hasn’t worked.

“I think it’s time for a message of optimism: Portland is thriving.”

She is running against three current city commissioners for mayor of Portland, including her mentor Mingus Mapps.

She moved to Portland in 1996 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from William’s College and began performing exotic dance under the name Viva Las Vegas.

But Osthus wants to take on the challenge of leading the city, telling KGW8, “For me, I’m not the one going into politics; this is me continuing my journey as an artist

She wants to tackle the problems in the city center by turning the unused offices left by departing companies into studios for artists

Current Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler

Osthus decided to take up exotic dancing because she wanted to see if sex work could be empowering.

“We studied brothels in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and how that was a way for women to get out of the very strict paratracheal structures and have money,” she said.

‘Money is power in capitalism and it all clicked in my head: ‘This was empowerment’.’

DailyMail.com has contacted Osthus for comment.

Oregon leaders declared a 90-day state of emergency in Portland in January to combat the city’s debilitating fentanyl crisis, three years after decriminalizing possession of all drugs.

Governor Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chairwoman Jessica Vega Pederson made the statement, directing their agencies to work with first responders to connect people addicted to the synthetic opioid with resources , including drug treatment programs, and to crack down on drug sales.

Fentanyl addicts who interact with first responders in downtown Portland over the next 90 days will be triggered by this new command center.

Staff can connect people with a variety of resources, from a bed at a drug treatment center to meeting with a behavioral health counselor to help register for food stamps.

“Our country and our state have never seen such a fatally addictive drug, and they are all struggling with how to respond,” Kotek said.