Keith Wilson, projected winner of the race for Portland's new mayor, spoke to a gathering at the Charles Jordan Community Center in North Portland on Friday to accept the will of the voters. Wilson was an unlikely choice when he first jumped into the campaign. A local trucking company CEO, founder of a homelessness nonprofit and green energy advocate, Wilson largely staked his campaign on a plan to end unsheltered homelessness in the city within a year by opening a network of overnight emergency shelters. Though he benefited from Portland's ranked-choice voting system, he has also handily outpaced all of his competitors in first-round tabulations, meaning he was the most common first choice for voters. His message Friday was one of gratitude and optimism, thanking his opponents, other elected leaders and the many candidates for city council — many of them in races yet to be decided. Read more: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/politics/elections/keith-wilson-acceptance-speech/283-a5ab7bf6-8798-4a53-9040-c11fc01248e4 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/KGWNews8 Watch the latest KGW newscast: https://www.kgw.com/watch Get the KGW app: https://kgw.com/appredirect