Seems like she has had a lot of jobs without sticking with any of them for very long. And seems to be a bit entitled regarding her career path. What is her real goal and will she dump the county job and load up her car again when something better comes along?

Also: how does she support herself? I trust the county isn't paying her during her leave of absence. How does she make her house payments and pay her utility bills? Is she independently wealthy? Rich wife or husband? See, the typical Seat #2 resident can't just take 45 days off from their employement (and doesn't have a cushy county job to go back to that will just be held open for them when they decide to take some unpaid leave).

Wow, that's mean, TA Barnhart. You dogged her the whole time she was up for an appointment to the legislature and you're still not letting it go. Do you have a personal vendetta against her for some reason? Karol's not rich and she's not married, as you know, and she's not gay, as you also know. People do take time off for big life events, and if Karol is prudent enough to have saved up a couple of months salary in her savings account, that's a plus not a minus. Why not stick to the issues and back off the personal attacks?

She called people questioning/criticizing Obama's performance four-letter names - very disrepectful for a public leader. I have no rerspect for her.

Karol is a qualified candidate for the Multnomah County District 2 seat. Her experience working for the people of North and Northeast Portland demonstrates her dedication to this community.

Is anyone opposed to Rex Burkholder or Jeff Cogen’s campaigns because they moved to Oregon as adults?

She's the best possible choice -- innovative, talented, and will hit the ground running. She is the future of Portland politics.

And for those people who say they want women in leadership, it would be nice if they, at a minimum, would not trash those trying to get there.

I'm not TA Barnhart and I don't know much about Karol Collymore. I maintain that all of my questions are valid. When hiring someone for a job, employers should enquire why applicants have lots of little, short jobs in their past. When applicants have a history of picking up and moving to a new state for no explained reason one has to wonder about commitment. When they get a job as an aide (building a library? Don't we have a whole county agency for that?) and suddenly want to be the boss, one has to wonder about their ambition so it is perfectly natural to wonder if they'll dump the job the second they get a better offer or opportunity. So times you want that ambition and sometimes you don't but it is a fair question.

(Oh, yeah, and if I say to my boss hey, I need 45 days off but keep my job open, I am going to be busy for a few weeks applying for a new job, my boss says : 'clean out your desk' not 'Good luck! I'll keep the job open for you if the new gig doesn't work out' but then again I don't have a cushy County job)

Unqualified, not dedicated, self-serving.

From this interview alone, we understand that she talks a LOT about being courageous or whatever, then has trouble actually answering a question or taking a position on much.

She's an "outsider" is a misnomer. She's a "carpetbagger." She showed up in town, did a few organizing jobs here and there, made connections with the right people, and suddenly she's Wayne Morse.

Friends in high places do not an effective commissioner make. I'm leaning Hansen/Currie on this one. We'll see.

Karol is an incredible community organizer and everyone who has worked with her knows it. She'll do amazing work as our next District 2 Multnomah County Commissioner.

Her years of work here in Oregon more than qualify her to be our next Commissioner and I look forward to what she'll do.

I'm voting for Karol.

@Bronch O'Humphrey: Would you be so critical if Karol was a middle-aged white man?

Your unnecessarily harsh comments expose a fear of a woman of color with the power of an elected official. What are your real criticisms? That she wears her hair in an afro? That she isn't afraid to speak her mind? That she'd be an ass-kicking Commissioner?

I'd like you to name the "friends in high places" that you describe. Who exactly is she so close with that allowed her (along with you know, 9 other people) to run for this seat? Anyone can run for office, as we saw yesterday. You don't need connections to file. To win, maybe, but she hasn't won yet. She's just in the race.

"I don't know much about Karol..." Well, see, once you do, you'll love her like the rest of us do...give her a chance. Besides, if she didn't take a leave of absence, everyone would be saying that she was using her job to advance her candidacy...And if we limited our candidates to those who were born and raised here, it would be a pretty sad looking legislature, city hall, etc.

Number Six,

How is inquiring about how a candidate's means of support for a period of 44 days even the least bit relevant to anything? I'm afraid your personal agenda is showing.

That's right. Most women of color in the state of Oregon, have long lived with a sense of entitlement, perhaps even rivaling that of the famed Lincoln High School Mafia we all know and love.

Assertively pursuing a career in public service with a focus and goal on serving the citizens of Portland's Northeast district without the background of a monied family is preposterous! Isn't it?!

Don't forget to castigate Ted Wheeler for up and abandoning his post in favor of a more attractive one, before his first term is even up. You know, so you don't look like a hypocrite.

I'm supporting someone else in this race but all these comments about Karol are goofy. She's a whip smart, dedicated public servant that could make a great elected official. Chill out folks!

I think the Portland Mercury is rushing to judgment on this one, crowning Collymore, Currie and Hansen as front runners. Yes, there are 10 good candidates in this race, but many moved to Portland as adults. Some, like Collymore, quite recently. I'm supporting my friend Tom Markgraf, who has lived in NE and N Portland his whole life. Residency doesn't qualify him as a candidate, but it sure gives him experience and history with the area and neighbors and friends (read: voters) that span 50 years.

From March 11 to May 18 is 68 days, not 44.

How quickly some forget..and others fail to know in the first place. Karol seems to dismiss Gary Hansen's 24 years in Portland and Oregon Democratic politics as a compelling voice for Gay and Lesbian rights in favor of something "more progressive?" Nay, Nay, Newcomer! During his two terms as a Multnomah County Commisioner, he received and distributed the first Ryan White federal money for Portland's HIV/AIDS community. We would probably not enjoy the current benefits of Domestic Partnership without his voice in the Oregon Legislature. AND...He was marching in Portland GLBT Pride Parades before Karol decided to leave New Mexico! Now we have a chance to return an experienced real progressive to the Multnomah County Commission. Let's Re-Elect Gary for real progress!

How quickly some forget..and others fail to know in the first place. Karol seems to dismiss Gary Hansen's 24 years in Portland and Oregon Democratic politics as a compelling voice for Gay and Lesbian rights in favor of something "more progressive?" Nay, Nay, Newcomer! During his two terms as a Multnomah County Commisioner, he received and distributed the first Ryan White federal money for Portland's HIV/AIDS community. We would probably not enjoy the current benefits of Domestic Partnership without his voice in the Oregon Legislature. AND...He was marching in Portland GLBT Pride Parades before Karol decided to leave New Mexico! Now we have a chance to return an experienced real progressive to the Multnomah County Commission. Let's Re-Elect Gary for real progress!

As a black man, I take strong offense to her remarks: "That makes me sound aggressive, and as a person of color I don't want to sound aggressive. Especially as a woman" Karol, way to feed into and perpetuate stereotypes. It is statements like this one that are exactly the type of thing we need to get away from in politics. If you are a qualified candidate, your policy stance alone should be enough. She just lost my vote.

What sticks out most from Karol's run for the SD22/HD43 appointments? "It's the logical next step in my career." The very last thing a candidate should pitch is why getting elected would be good for them. Hopefully this isn't indicative of Karol's motives.

As for the outsider/insider thing, it seems Karol is both - a community outsider in that she just moved here, and a political insider in that she was assistant to the person who held the position for which she's now running.

Karol is saying her service/involvement in this community and her being an outsider are reasons to elect her. Several candidates are touting these same trats.

Can a few years doing good things in Portland stack up against, say Chuck Currie's decades of service and advocacy for the less privileged?

Does running for the position you reported to for three years really count as being an outsider?

I'm skeptical.