Comments

1
To clarify: The objective of testimony this morning was to ask Council to re-think the way BDS is funded, so that the bureau can continue providing services to the citizens of Portland. The issue at hand is not so much about the woes of individual employees losing their jobs; rather, it is about the ability of BDS to provide *essential* public services to the citizens of Portland. Employees are worried that the livability, safety, and economic vitality of Portland will be adversely affected if something isn't done. The concern is foremost for the citizens of Portland, and ensuring that their needs continue to be met.
2
BDS commissioner Randy Leonard was absent from the chamber because of a previously scheduled meeting. Yeah. Right. Typical Portland chicken-shit politician, and squeamish local news media too afraid to call him out on it for fear of loosing the chance to interview him in the future. My guess? He was probably down the street accepting another bribe, I mean donation, from the Portland Business Alliance. Too bad our local news media outlets are also members of the PBA and won't cross it by covering the real dirt surrounding this organization that does NOT have Portland's best interests at heart.
3
"A lot of this could have been avoided if they had been more proactive last year," said the staffer.

Yep, that pretty much sums up leadership in the City as a whole.

So, dear BDS staffers, I hate to break it to you but neither Leonard nor the Mayor gives a rip about you. You've outlived your usefulness to them. You are no longer cash cows in the City's shrinking permitting and development process, and you aren't sexy or "creative class" or "world class" or "sustainable/green/organic/Euro" enough. Portland has, above all an image to maintain and your bureau is too "older workers", too working class, too nuts and bolts, too practical to fit into the Shiny Vision of shared bikes and Sunday Parkways and other fluff. And since PDC no longer really seems to do any actual DEVELOPMENT and instead works on....err...what exactly (hazy economic development strategies? and convoluted Super Urban Renewal Areas?), don't go looking for any city driven developments to permit anytime soon.

Just be thankful many of you are Tier 1 PERS and have guaranteed pensions. I would also suggest some job retraining. I hear that if you get a two-bit liberal arts degree and work for an alternative newspaper for a couple of years you have a pretty good shot at becoming a Planning and Sustainability Policy Adviser in the Mayors office. Or, there's always private security shooing away the homeless from downtown courtesy of the coffers at the Portland Business Alliance.

4
Zing! Zing! Zing!
5
Zing, Zing, Bada Boom

Above posts are spot on! The bungle at BDS is a great example of why we should have a City Manager form of local government instead of elected redneck nimrods running multi-million dollar service bureaus. Every agency Randy runs is led by appointed BFF's. Probably good enough human beings, but definitely not talented and competent executives. A private business would have wallpapered BDS management offices with pink slips months ago and the shareholders (voters) would have ousted the Mr. CEO (Randy) at the next election (keeping fingers crossed).

After the next election, I hope Randy feels lucky to have a job guarding grease traps in a Greek restaurant with a pocket full of baking soda and a Fire Marshall Bill badge.

Please wait...

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