Promise King is the Founder and President of the League of Minority Voters. Prior to this role, he served as Deputy Public Affairs Director and Senior Policy Advisor for the State Treasurer. He then transitioned to the City of Portland, where he worked as Senior Policy Advisor and Director to the City Council, overseeing franchise agreements, systems review, crisis communication, and community and economic development.
Mr. King, a Nigerian immigrant, has a distinguished career as a strategist for presidential, gubernatorial, and municipal political campaigns. He is also an award-winning political columnist for the Portland Tribune. An accomplished journalist and veteran campaign strategist, he has served as a senior advisor to elected officials, a system thinker, and a C-suite non-profit executive. Mr. King has written extensively on race, politics, and the impact of public policies on minorities, earning numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalists as one of Oregon’s best columnists. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Salem Business Journal, where he writes a column on business and politics.
Mr. King began his journalism career as a City Hall reporter for the Portland Observer, the oldest black press in the Northwest. He then covered the Oregon State House of Assembly for the Skanner News Group. Leaving journalism, he became the first black Chief of Staff in the State House, working for several elected officials. Mr. King currently serves on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board for Washington State University, Vancouver, and the DEI Advisory Board for the Oregon Institute of Technology. He is also a member of the budget advisory board for DEI at the Portland Fire Bureau.
A graduate of University College, London, with degrees in Journalism and Public Policy, Mr. King resides in Oregon but travels nationwide, advocating for bipartisanship and racial inclusion. He is an avid soccer and polo player and enjoys exploring ethnic cuisines.