The last time fluoride went before the Portland City Council.
Good news! Commissioner Randy Leonard, down to his last city council meeting after 10 years, has reportedly found a way to make what's already been a crammed, scrambling council calendar (all thanks to Mayor Sam Adams' lame-duck thrashing) even more congested.

The Oregonian says Leonard will schedule a vote next week on moving the city's fluoridation referendum up by a year, to May 2013, when voters already will be asked to approve a renewal of Dan Saltzman's children's levy. Without a council vote, the vote would come in May 2014.

Yesterday, the council spent something like seven hours in session—fun sport for reporters and council watchers, but a grueling day for anyone hoping to come in and comment. And next Wednesday's meeting, the last of 2012, is already expected to be just as busy—even without the specter of passionate fluoride advocates flooding council chambers. (Again, great fun for reporters, but maybe not so much for civilians.)

That scene playing out again isn't unlikely, given the contentious atmosphere back when the council unanimously approved fluoridation. The O says anti-fluoridation advocates already are angry about the proposed shift, calling it hasty. The paper previously reported that fluoridation backers were floating the idea of an earlier vote, thinking it might deliver a favorable electorate, what with it being an odd year and already home to a well-liked children's issue.

Of course, Leonard could ask for the vote to be scheduled for next Thursday, less busy, but still exhausting coming after a long few weeks in city hall. Moving the vote from 2014 also means it won't be up when Saltzman and Nick Fish, should they both decide they want to stick around, thrown in for re-election.