The news stories you clicked on the most this year. by Mercury Staff Over here at the Mercury, we try to be as analytics-neutral as possible—that is, we try not to base our entire self-worth and all our decisions on getting clicks! However, it can be interesting to see which articles get the most attention on the web. If you agree, keep reading to check out the most popular Mercury news articles of 2024. They demonstrate our readers have a vast array of interests, from potential political corruption to infrastructure plans, and that they want to stay up to date on local politics. Good job, readers. (And thank you!)  County Commissioner Candidate Saw More Than $40K Funneled to Her Husband by a Board She Oversees By Courtney Vaughn  Photo: Suzette Smith  New Plan Seeks to Help Lower Southeast Portland “Rise” By Taylor Griggs Image: City of Portland Muslim Woman Forced to Remove Hijab in Multnomah County Jail By Kevin Foster    Photo: Kevin Foster How Rene Gonzalez Found Common Ground With a Right Wing Provocateur By Courtney Vaughn Photo: Suzette Smith  PBOT Reveals Plan for Major 82nd Avenue Redesign  By Taylor Griggs Image: Portland Bureau of Transportation  Public Backlash Killed the Last I-5 Bridge Replacement Plan. In the New Version, Critics Say Little Has Changed. By Taylor Griggs Photo: Taylor Griggs Man Who Tried to Drive Into Crowd of Protesters Faces No Charges By Kevin Foster Photo: Taylor Griggs Portland Eyes Another Round of Water and Sewer Rate Hikes By Courtney Vaughn Photo: Portland Water Bureau Street View: "The Bike Lanes That Drive Everybody Crazy" By Taylor Griggs Photo: Taylor Griggs The Election Guide  Image: Anthony Keo Many of this year's most popular stories were from our November election guide, or otherwise related to the Portland City Council and mayoral elections. The 2024 general election brought a flurry of City Council and mayoral candidates. We kept track of who was running so you didn't have to! (A lot of people ran.) You can see our 2024 election takeaways here [link to end of year election roundup]. Thanks to everyone who read our election coverage. We worked hard on it, and hope to never again have to cover an election with more than 100 people running.