The city’s Parks Advisory Board voted this morning against City Commissioner Randy Leonard’s plan to arm water bureau security guards. Leonard, however, says he’s unfazed, because the parks bureau is nothing to do with him.
“It’s the parks board, and I run the water bureau,” said Leonard. “We’re arming water bureau security staff for water bureau facilities. I’m not even sure why the parks board weighed in on it.”
“If it was a parks issue, it would probably be pretty impactful,” says Leonard. “But we’re not proposing that water bureau security patrol Portland parks.”
I raised the issue with Leonard that the parks bureau also has a contract with rent-a-cop firm Portland Patrol, Inc to patrol its parks using armed security with no public oversight. City Commissioner Dan Saltzman struck this contract with PPI, and resisted efforts to get more public oversight over the last couple of years.
Leonard had not heard about this, he said. “People may have a beef with what I do, but it strikes me that I’m always consistent,” says Leonard. “That strikes me as the opposite of being consistent.”
“I think you should be over at Dan’s office asking how can you have armed people in the parks, when you can’t support armed security protecting the water bureau,” he said.
Commissioner Saltzman was out for bagels when I stopped by. But a staffer is going to pass on my card and hopefully we’ll have a response, shortly.
Water bureau boss David Schaff went to the Parks Board meeting this morning, after Saltzman presented at the meeting in November. Saltzman is against Leonard’s plan, while Parks Commissioner Nick Fish, who took over from Saltzman as parks commissioner in January 2009, tried to dissuade Saltzman from getting involved. Fish had no comment this morning either.
Leonard says he is “mystified” by Saltzman’s position. “Especially given that when I was assigned the water bureau, he was the one who I took over from, and he had armed security guards at all the reservoirs who I fired, because they had inadequate training and were being paid minimum wage.”
“It’s mysterious to me that Dan would have hired minimum wage people to carry guns around the reservoir, but would oppose my effort to provide training to people who have to meet minimum standards,” he says.
@Matt Davis – Didn’t you publish some thoughts on ‘the uncertain future of investigative journalism’ a while back? Sounds like there are a lot of good questions for Saltzman to answer, here – so you made me laugh when you ended it “…but he was out for bagels.”
Dang! Bagels! Now we may never know!
@Reymont; Yes, I did. I published something about ethics and investigative work, especially as it relates to city government:
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/Blogto…
I am now working on an “accountability journalism” piece about where, exactly, Commissioner Saltzman went for those bagels. The public has a RIGHT TO KNOW!
Obviously, the water bureau needs it’s own parks department.
They’re going to have a police force, and they’re building a demonstration house in NE Portland.
The water bureau should also probably have a transportation department, a fire brigade, and operate some soup kitchens.
@Blabby: After that, they should probably invest in a department to handle all of their water-related matters.
Even before all that, can I suggest an intern capable of making bagel runs? Apparently that still falls under the Commissioner, right now.
Graham, let’s not over-extend them now.
I think the Parks Advisory Board was opposed to armed men in the parks, (since, you know, a lot of the reservoirs are in the parks.) And while they don’t have a direct control over the water bureau, people/organizations make statements all the time about things that they don’t have a direct control over, in the hopes of in influencing other people/organizations. Like this one:
http://www.rdrop.com/~pjw/finalportlandres…
“Portland City Council Resolution as proposed by Commissioner Leonard: Urges Cessation of Combat Operations in Iraq and the Return of US Troops”
Maybe that Randy Leonard guy could talk to that other Randy Leonard guy about how those things work.