Six candidates for Portland City Council District 4 will share a stage Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. at the University Place Hotel on Southwest Third Avenue and Lincoln Street.

The City Club of Portland debate will feature all three incumbents: Council Vice President Olivia Clark, Councilor Mitch Green and Councilor Eric Zimmerman. Three challengers round out the lineup: Eli Arnold, a Portland Police Bureau bike officer; Jamey Evenstar, a former chief of staff to Councilor Candace Avalos; and Jeremy Beausoleil-Smith, a capital projects manager at Portland State University.

The event replaces a smaller forum that fell apart after a late-September dispute. The NW Examiner had planned an Oct. 5 debate at The Armory featuring only the three incumbents and Arnold. Green would not participate unless his Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) allies, Evenstar and Beausoleil-Smith, were included, according to the NW Examiner.

The Pearl District Neighborhood Association then pulled out after determining that inviting only four of the district's 12 candidates violated legal requirements for nonprofits, as the Portland Mercury first reported. The Armory told the NW Examiner it could only host a political event that included all candidates.

The NW Examiner canceled the event entirely.

The dispute highlighted fault lines in a race where three seats are at stake under Portland's ranked-choice voting system on Nov. 3. Both Evenstar and Beausoleil-Smith are DSA members. Green is one of four Democratic Socialists on the current council, which has been split 6-6 between a progressive caucus and other members.

Progressive groups including Sunrise Movement PDX are backing Evenstar and Beausoleil-Smith to try to secure a seventh progressive vote, The Oregonian reported. United for Portland, the political arm of the Portland Metro Chamber, is preparing to spend heavily to oppose Green.

Fundraising numbers show a gap between the top four candidates and the two DSA challengers. Arnold, Clark, Green and Zimmerman each raised between $81,000 and $86,000 through the city's Small Donor Elections program. Beausoleil-Smith collected nearly $24,000 from 929 donors, and Evenstar raised nearly $22,000 from 556 donors, according to Portland Mercury reporting.

Beausoleil-Smith pushed back on the original exclusion. "We should be included because we've received more individual donations than one of the incumbents has," he told the Portland Mercury on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

The debate comes as voter frustration with the council runs high. A survey by the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center found fewer than one-third of Portland voters feel represented by the council, and only 22% view city government as effective, according to The Oregonian.

District 4 covers most of Northwest and Southwest Portland and a portion of Southeast Portland. A candidate needs roughly 25% of the vote to win a seat. Registration is open through the City Club of Portland website.