Republican Party Endorses Dozono, Every Major Newspaper Endorses Adams

As the race for Portland mayor and other local races heats up, a string of endosements have been handed out. Here's a summary of some recent ones for mayoral candidates Sho Dozono and Sam Adams:

Endorsement for Dozono: Multnomah County Republicans. "A man of proven leadership in increasing society's wealth," they say in a run-on sentence (must be the education cuts). The local Republican party has also endorsed Amanda Fritz for City Council. They cite her commitment to suspending streetcar expansion in favor of more buses. If only she were willing to eat her young.

Meanwhile, here are some endorsements for Sam Adams: The Oregonian. The Portland Tribune. The Portland Mercury. Willamette Week. "Adams is by far the most qualified to lead and most in tune with what Portlanders want," WW wrote. "If elected to replace retiring Mayor Tom Potter, Adams would restore assertive executive leadership to a city government that for three and half years has been wandering in a multitude of directions," said the Tribune.

As I said in a previous post, I'm not sure I feel entirely comfortable telling people how they should vote. But the Adams-Dozono choice seems painfully obvious to me. I mean, let's see: a longtime City Hall veteran who got his start working for a successful three-term mayor, or a travel agency owner who flubbed his public campaign funds, initially refused to pay the city for his Bush Garden rent even after it was reduced by half, and who has zero experience in government.

I haven't made up my mind about the City Council races yet. The only candidate I've met personally is Chris Smith, who is an exceptionally knowledgable guy about transportation and more. He woulnd't be nuts enough to get rid of the streetcar. In the close race for State Representative in the Southeast Portland district I belong to, I think some of the values and endorsements of candidates like Jules Koppel-Bailey and Teddy Keizer best match my own feelings, but long before the flood of political mailers began arriving in my box from those two, their opponent, Regan Gray, knocked on my door last summer to ask what issues were important to me. So I stood there in the doorway and squawked to her about design and architecture for 10 minutes and she asked intelligent questions. That experience means more to me as a voter than if Keizer and Koppel-Bailey mailed me two tons of flyers.

Who do the rest of you believe are the best design-and-architecture candidates, and who are the ones most to avoid?

Comments

[T]

You said it Brian, "a longtime City Hall veteran..."... that's enough reason to not vote for Sam. Its just more of the same career politics concerned far more with self advancement than the future of Portland. I've had enough of the lack of leadership at City Hall that we have endured for the last 4 years. All we will get with Sam and the other encumbants is more pandering to special interests, more class warfare, and complete cluelessness about real economic matters and how to create living wage jobs in Portland. Throw out the encumbants and get some new ideas and real world experience in City Hall! Vote Sho!

[Brian Libby]

T, it's easy to appreciate the frustrations you have about city politics, or politics in general. We should all have a healthy degree of skepticism about any candidate.

But it sounds to me like you're using a generalization about politics, the old "throw the bums out" cliche, as logic for Dozono. There may be times when someone with no experience in elected office is a better choice than someone with a long track record in politics. But I think that's the exception to the rule, and that this race isn't one of those exceptions.

Experience matters and is a good thing if the performance in office has been good. In Adams we know he's been an active and generally popular, successful city councilor, as well as having been a chief of staff for mayor Vera Katz, whom I liked a lot.

As someone with a passion for and making a living from architecture, arts and media, I also know that Adams has a track record of, particularly with the arts, being supportive and undertanding.

It seems to me that if one is voting for Sho Dozono, it's largely a kind of blunt referendum-like vote against the Portland city council and politics in general. It's also a sentimental choice because the city has a history of populist outsider mayors such as Bud Clark. Even Tom Potter is still very popular outside of the political-media bubble.

Having said all this, I still welcome your comment and invite others to join in.

[Brian Libby]

I also hope no card carrying GOP members are going to take too seriously my using Darth Vader as the Republican symbol. Especially you, mom, dad, and grandma. But you've got to admit Vader would approve of big military spending.

[Dave]

Vader is definitely a Republican. What do you think of the Death Star's architecture?

And I wish there was some way to automatically suspend all those political mailings when you've submitted your ballot.

[Aneeda]

I think Rem Koolhaas is creating a Death Star in Dubai.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/arts/design/03kool.html

[aq]

I guess you could call Rem Koolhaas a star(wars)architect.

[drew]

Adams/Smith/Middaugh/Leonard all the way.

Fritz is a classic SW hills NIMBY. She has kept her anti-streetcar feelings pretty quiet -- probably because she realizes that most Portlanders support a diversity of mass transit options. I don't think she will bring any sort of good contemporary design sensibility to Council, unlike Adams and Smith. Having said that, having 5 white guys on the Council is embarrassing. But I'm still voting purely on merit.

[inquisitive]

"...they say in a run-on sentence (must be the education cuts)."

"...initially refused to pay the city rent for his Bush Garden rent even after it was reduced by half, and who has zero experience in government."

you're right, it MUST be the education cuts.

[Brian Libby]

Touche, 'inquisitive'. I'm a hypocrite for making fun of their grammar and then having a typo of my own. Hopefully my larger point about the mayoral race still comes through.

[MarkDaMan]

it does...and I pretty much agree with you.

I wish one of the other heavyweights in town would have stepped up to create a more appropriate race for Portland. A Hales-Adams race would have been interesting.

Dozono has lost a lot of respect in the community during this race. He appeared to be a smart, charitable, progressive business man before this race. With all the dirty laundry behind the scenes that has trickled out every other week...what was he thinking?

[k]

i guess i am still seeing where Sam is good for design mantra people keep mentioning. forget not that he is for the Burnside Couplet, which i have a real difficult time seeing past the academic exercise. imagine (i.e. use creative force) to imagine the transitions, the established BBlock area - now completely severed by two lanes of traffic. maybe frustration will push motorists elsewhere and that is the design. as well, what about the entire Sauvie Island charade. He rose against Potter, but apparently did not understand his own arm of government to know there was no money. hmmmm. good fight. i have a hard time backing someone that is nothing but a politician. With that said, think about the other past mayors - the good ones. Katz, Bud, and even Frank Ivancie - all entrepreneurs, and some even "businessmen". we have enough politicians running things, and politicians did not make portland unique - they just made it stand still, reflect and know they are different. Sam is a politician.

[Mike]

Katz was hardly an entrepenuer. I would consider calling her a career politician. Here history, shamelessly borrowed from Wikipedia.

"In 1972, Vera Katz was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives as a Democrat representing Portland and Multnomah County for the 1973 session. She won re-election to additional two-year terms through 1990. In 1985, she became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House, replacing Grattan Kerans. While in the Oregon House, she sponsored the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century, a landmark school reform bill. She also helped pass measures on gun control as well as legislation prohibiting discrimination based on gender in places of public accommodation and credit. Katz was the first person in Oregon history to hold the position of Speaker for three straight sessions."

[Aneeda]

Compared to rapid service buses, the street car is a slow and expensive. The street car is to gothic architecture as the bus is to modernism...free, open, and infinitely flexible. I wonder why they don't at least split those streetcars in half and have them come twice as often. When has anyone seen a streetcar full of people? I think Amanda Fritz is on the right track. Streetcar is a beautiful addition to the scenery of Portland - great for postcards and image - but hardly a realistic transportation option. I would be willing to guess that for the cost of each street car and associated infrastructure, you could put 10 hybrid buses on that same line. Imagine a 3 minute wait for a bus!

[Brian Libby]

Why is it that in politics, experience supposedly counts against people? I can understand if people dislike a certain elected official. But "career politician" is tossed around like a dirty word that applies to anyone who has the audacity to be a survivor and keep going with public service. How about "longtime leader"?

It's clear that Adams is a politician in the sense that he's ambitious and wants to personally get ahead. Maybe that's the part of politics that people find distasteful. But Adams is also a leader who's proven he can get things done. Career politician? Not a dirty word in this case.

[Angie]

"When has anyone seen a streetcar full of people?"

Ummm, every time I've ridden it. Which, granted isn't that often. It may not be full when I get on, but by the time I get off it's usually packed. Still, it seems like adding bus routes would be easier, quicker and cheaper than expanding the street car line.

I agree that the whole 'career politician' label can be tricky. If anyone else chooses a career and is ambitious and seeks to advance their position we don't have a problem with that. We might be critical if they didn't. But when it's a politician, it's suddenly different. It seems we use it only to denote someone who simply upholds the status quo and only seeks personal advancement as opposed to someone who uses his/her position to seek real change.

On that note, I think the idea that Dozono would be a great mayor is a long shot. Maybe he would be - maybe he'd surprise us all, but I think it's stupendously dubious. I don't like everything Adams does. I wish he'd drop that Burnside Couplet thing like a hot potato. It's a job for city planners, not politicians. He needs to temper his aggression with a little more thoughtfulness, but I think he'd do a good job.

[Mike M]

Sorry, I wasn't trying to slight anyone with the term career politician. I was just pointing out that there was a fairly big hole in k's argument. I think that Katz was a great mayor. Not all good, but certainly much more good than bad. I would be happy to have someone in a similar vein as mayor.

Unfortunately I don't feel that I can say the same thing about Tom Potter.

[potestio]

I support Sho, and would like to take a few moments to tell you why.

I was an early supporter of Sam in his run for commissioner. I was originally very excited about him. However, in the time he has held the position, I have come to greatly doubt his judgement and motivations.

I have also worked with Sho in my capacity as President of the Portland-Bologna Sister City Association. I was asked to advise Sho on the topic of cycling in Portland. I have gotten to know Sho better through my work on his campaign. I am convinced he is interested in advancing Portland as a livable, sustainable and economically viable city.

Sho asked me to brief him on cycling, and the so-called bike community. I took Sho to the Handmade Bike Show. Introduced him to many craftsmen, fabricators, marketing heads, riders. He was very attentive, listened for hours to stories, asked direct and insightful questions, and came away from the show with a real idea of how significant cycling is becoming to the city... and realizing the economic potential as well, as the industry is seeing many companies and craftspeople move here.

What I learned about Sho is that he is a great listener. He is also a great questioner. He is able to recognize talent, ideas, and opportunities.

I also was present when Sho was interviewed by Jonathan Maus, of BikePortland blog site, (the other great Portland blog), and was amazed at how well he responded to what could have been considered a 'hostile' interviewer. (Maus is a big Sam supporter).
Sho demonstrated a full understanding of the cycling community in terms of commuting, business, recreation, culture. But, he also advocated for common sense... instead of an expensive bike bridge at Flanders, he advocates more education, and addressing the Police Dept's reluctance to enforce laws that protect cyclists. He also advocates strengthening the protections for cyclists to the level pedestrians enjoy as "vulnerable users" of the streets. He also recognizes the importance of maintaining the streets, bike lanes etc. so they are not pot-holed or filled with gravel and glass.

Sho pointed out however, that Amsterdam , Portland's cycling model, is now reachable by direct flight. He was instrumental in getting international direct flights connecting Portland to Japan, and Europe.

He sees the big picture, and with regard to transportation has worked to get Portland connected to the world. Without international direct flights, it is doubtful Addidas, Waker Siltronics, MercedesBenz-Freightliner, and many other companies would be here. Note the influx of European alternative energy companies, (Vestus and the new pv company) that are choosing Portland for their American operations. Without the air connections they would be in SF, Seattle or elsewhere.

Sho opposes the Burnside Couch Couplet as an inappropriate alteration to the City and an overpriced in appropriate use of transportation funds.

Sho is a business man, and believes in sound planning, therefore would place more power in the B. of Planning. He does not think that PDOT or the PDC should be working independent of Planning.

Sam on the other hand has used his position to advance himself. If nothing else, look at his record regarding maintenance of city streets... the pothole issues. He claims he inherited a 20 year backlog of deferred maintenance. However, he neglects to mention that he was Mayor's chief of Staff for 12 years and Comm. in charge of Transportation for 4. 16 years total. What was he doing?

His Burnside Couch Couplet, will destroy the city. It originates in a PDOT repaving project and has morphed into an urban reconfiguration of epic scale and consequence. B. of Planning, Planning Commission, and numerous businesses, designers, architects, and others wisely point out the fallacies of this project.
However, Sam is in total denial, and will not consider any other options. In fact, he is proceeding as if no opposition exists, will ask for approval at 30% completion of engineering studies.

He has bought off the transit advocates with a proposal to run a street car on Burnside, and the cycling advocates with a proposal to bridge 405 at Flanders.

He recently pulled the plug on the bridge project when he admitted that it did not have financial support or logic. His clobbered together financial package included 1M from the Pearl District in private donations. (no one donated). and 1M in a federal grant intended to preserve "historic and cultural assets", which he claimed the Sauvie Island Bridge represented and qualified as.

He had not done adequate study to even see if the rusted old static structure could withstand removal, transport, and reinstallation in a new location. He had no idea if the slightest twisting would pop the rusted rivets holding it together. And there was no plan for seismic upgrades. (reasons the span is being replaced).

Sam disregarded the facts of use in the so-called "Burnside Corridor" which for him includes Everett and Glisan (but not equal distant streets to the south of Burnside, resulting in a lop sided ameba shaped entity). He claimed this corridor is one of the most dangerous in Portland, citing accidents over a 9 (?) year period at the foot of the Burnside bridge (involving mostly intoxicated pedestrians and motorists?) as justification for a bike/ped bridge 16 or so blocks away. ((I ride Everett/Glisan every day. Seldom is anyone else on the street when I am ... yesterday at 8:20 am I counted myself on Everett, heading east. At Everett/Broadway there were 12 cyclists heading to downtown when I crossed the intersection. On the Steel Bridge, as I crossed, I was passed by 20 cyclists. This is not a scientific survey, but I know that almost no one uses Everett/Glisan, because there are not many cyclist in the district going downtown. Most use Johnson to connect NW to the Pearl and to the East side.

My point is that Sam does not use figures honestly. His statement that without the bridge, a person crossing 405 would have to go a mile to get to where the bridge would take them disregards the presence of two bridges on flanking streets, and measures a loop to Johnson and back. Who buys this funny math?

Sam has demonstrated a complete disregard for process, for planning, for design quality, for sound financial practice in his pursuit of vanity projects that provide ribbon cutting opportunities in front of media cameras. He tried to get his bridge passed on "emergency" resolution, when he thought Potter would not be present. Potter surprised him by canceling the conflicting appointment and showed to vote against the project.

Sam has disregarded sound advice and measured objections. He is in full command of his facts and figures, but manipulates these to support his contentions. He does not appreciate or understand the concepts of design, planning, and the interdependence of economics, community, and built form.

I firmly believe that Sam will not be a wise choice for Mayor. He is not a consensus builder. He does not listen to or synthesize ideas.
He alienates his bureau employees, and city staff.

Portland needs to take stock of where we are as a city and apply some sound planning to prepare for future growth and to retain, protect, enhance the qualities that attract us here.

I think Sho will do this.

[k]

go Sho!

[Lori Lanning-Ralston]

For those of you who did not support Sho, I want to thank you ! I have seen the darkest side of this man as he took all of me son's money and then some.Yes he did pay it back but by the time he had handed the funds over it want from $1,000,000. to about $280,000 seven years later do to the unbelivable mis-managment and use! I could not even begin to think about him in charge of any city funds.
Best Regards