Hopefully your Happy Hour plans have now been finalized, but don’t sleep on tonight’s after-dinner edutainment: Mayoral candidates Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales, and Jefferson Smith, along with city council candidates Amanda Fritz, Mary Nolan, Steve Novick—and in an apparent last-minute addition, Teressa Raiford—will be appearing at The Gerding from 7-9 pm this evening for “a lively conversation about the arts in Portland.” With the economy front and center in everyone’s mind (no doubt much of the conversation will revolve around funding for arts programs for both children and adults), this is also a good time to consider the not-so-distant past in which Vera Katz’s plans for Portland as a hub for the “creative class” have played out for good and ill before out eyes (granted it’s highly debatable the degree to which she or her policies influenced those plausibly-inevitable developments), from Milepost 5 to ever-increasing numbers of underpaid and underemployed young people. Portland Monthly‘s Randy Gragg will moderate what’s sure to be a packed house. And, if you think of any questions between now and then, fire ’em off to rsvp@theartscan.org. Afterward, stay tuned for our own Alex Zielinski’s take on the conversation right here on Blogtown.
Marjorie Skinner is the Portland Mercury's Managing Editor, author of the weekly Sold Out column chronicling the area's independent fashion and retail industry, and a frequent contributor to the film and... More by Marjorie Skinner
All three major candidates for mayor are good people with similar values, but go with Charlie Hales.
Brady is like an over-achieving soccer Mom – energetic, eager to please everyone, and good at fundraising. But her naivety shows when she accepts contributions that reflect a conflict of interest or poor judgement. And when she speaks off the cuff, it’s clear she’s not exactly a policy wonk. Being mayor would be a learning experience for her.
Jefferson Smith has some great things to say about East Portland and economic justice. I’m glad he’s in the race. But like Brady, he’s new to city government, and it’s hard not to wonder if his campaign is a more a stepping-stone along a path to a larger career in politics. Negotiating a majority among 5 city councilors is very different than standing out in the state legislature as a progressive voice.
Hales has 10 years on the city council and he’s mostly responsible for bringing the streetcar to Portland. He’s critical of the CRC, and voted for allowing skateboarders to travel on city streets, which shows chutzpah. He has that rare combination of experience and boldness. His campaign for mayor strikes me as the most sincere and most qualified. Vote for him.
Azure, that is astute analysis.