Mayor of Oregon town denies knowing ex-NYT columnist running for governor who claims it as home

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In media news today, Peter Doocy says Biden called his cellphone to ‘clear the air,’ Whoopi Goldberg goes off on Bill Maher for his pandemic comments, and Sarah Palin tests positive for COVID delaying her defamation case against the New York Times.

Former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is facing another roadblock in his campaign to be Oregon's next governor. 

According to a piece published Monday by Politico, Kristof, who earlier this month was declared ineligible to run for governor after failing to meet the state's residency standards, is now being shunned by some residents of Yamhill, Oregon, the town he claims to be his home. 

"No one talks about him," Yamhill mayor Yvette Potter said of Kristof, whose candidacy is at the mercy of Oregon's Supreme Court and its decision whether to allow him on the ballot. "He’s far from a hot topic of conversation."

Cate Blanchett, Goodwill Ambassador, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Nicholas D. Kristof, Columnist at New York Times, speak during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 23, 2018  REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)

EX-NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST NICHOLAS KRISTOF DECLARED INELIGIBLE TO RUN FOR GOVERNOR OF OREGON

Kristof has used Yamhill, where he moved to when he was 12, in his campaign narrative to explain his transition into politics. While working at the New York Times, the Democrat placed the town front-and-center in a book called "Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope," in which he wrote about the early deaths of some former schoolmates from substance abuse, obesity and suicide. 

"Kristof says his heartbreak over 'deaths of despair' that claimed his Yamhill friends led him to leave his beloved Times and, having never run for public office before, reach for Oregon’s governorship," the Politico piece read. "But people in Yamhill remain frosted over the harsh light that Tightrope and its accompanying CNN documentary aimed at town Yamhill."

"We’re not the poor town that his book depicted," Potter told Politico, noting that she had only ever seen Kristof in photographs, but not at community meetings or town events. 

Former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof walked away from the liberal newspaper after a 37-year career to run for Oregon governor only to be ruled ineligible.(REUTERS/Elizabeth Shafiroff) (REUTERS/Elizabeth Shafiroff)

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When asked about Potter's comments, Kristof admitted that he didn't recognize Potter's name or know that she was mayor of Yamhill. He also claimed that his family's farm was not within Yamhill city limits. 

"I mean, she represents the town of Yamhill," he told Politico. "So I don’t vote for her. She’s not somebody that we interact with."

"The Kristof farm, which has a Yamhill address, is four miles from the town’s center, a photo of which appears on Tightrope’s cover," Politico wrote.

Potter went on to tell Politico that Kristof was trying to be "Oregon's savior," and felt he was using the people of Yamhill to achieve a personal goal of becoming governor. 

A decision by the Oregon Supreme Court on Kristof's candidacy could come this week.