For aspiring wonks and politicos, city hall can be a hard nut to crack. Elected leaders are extremely persnickety about who they’ll hire on to be part of their staff—after all, if a staffer does a bad job or pisses off the public, the only person who’ll be held responsible is the politician, who can […]
Scott Moore
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Rewiring Portland?
Free Citywide WiFi May Be Kaput
Last week, representatives from the mayor’s office told the Oregonian that MetroFi, the company that has the contract to bring free WiFi to 95 percent of the city, wasn’t planning to expand beyond its current downtown service area. It seems MetroFi needs Portland city government to be an “anchor tenant”—i.e., spend a lot of money […]
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My, What a Political Week!
Adams’ Announcement Kicks off 2008
When City Commissioner Sam Adams announced he was going to vacate his seat in order to run for mayor, he kicked off the 2008 campaign not just for himself, but for at least five candidates who’ve been chomping at the bit to run for his seat. Indeed, within days of his announcement, three more candidates […]
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Life After DFZs
Will Project 57 Work?
Last week, Mayor Tom Potter announced that he was letting the embattled Drug-Free Zone policy expire in the wake of a report showing that its enforcement was racially biased. Instead, he’s now moving forward on a new plan that is anything but novel—expanding the year-and-a-half-old Project 57, and giving a half million dollars for more […]
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Hall Monitor
Anti-Climax
In what may be the most anti-climactic campaign news ever, City Commissioner Sam Adams was expected to informally kick off his mayoral candidacy Wednesday evening, October 3—inconveniently, just after press time. Anti-climactic? After months of waiting for Mayor Tom Potter to announce his retirement, and then another month waiting for Adams to announce what everybody […]
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The Flophouse Blues
City to Buy Crumbling Rattrap
Occupying nearly a block along W Burnside at SW 4th, the Grove Hotel is a crumbling reminder of a bygone era in Old Town’s history—a building that, despite its size, has flown under the city’s radar for decades as a place where the rooms come cheap and no questions are asked. Currently, it’s home to […]
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Hall Monitor
A (Costly) Walk in the Park
Nearly a year ago, the Portland Parks and Recreation Department sent Southeast neighbors into a seething frenzy when it entered into an agreement to potentially sell off part of Mt. Tabor Park to Warner Pacific College (a Christian school!). When the poop hit the fan, Parks director Zari Santner backpedaled, and Parks Commissioner Dan Saltzman […]
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Mr. Smith Goes to City Hall
From Insider Wonk to Candidate
It’s still not even officially clear if there’s going to be an open race for the city council seat currently occupied by Sam Adams, but yet another candidate has decided he’s not waiting another day—transportation activist Chris Smith has officially kicked off his campaign. In a number of ways, Smith will begin his run as […]
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Trade Secret
Labor Activists Annoy Blumenauer
When Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s Portland office opened at 8 am on Monday, September 24, a couple dozen labor activists were there to greet his staffers with a present—several large bags of rice and frozen corn, which they dropped on the floor and used to barricade the office door. The presents were intended to protest Blumenauer’s […]
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Hall Monitor
Up with People
Recently, I was asked what Tom Potter’s mayoral legacy would be. My answer should have been something like, “Why the hell are you asking me? I don’t have any insight—I just write stupid jokes about him being old!” Frankly, I hadn’t spent much time considering Potter’s legacy but, as luck would have it, I unwittingly […]
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The Scandal That Wasn’t There
Sam Adams, Bob Ball, and the Gay Witch Hunt
By the time the ink dried on the newspaper page, Bob Ball was nowhere to be found, having lobbed a grenade into the political field and then scrammed away from the spotlight. But the damage—at least some damage—was done: City Commissioner Sam Adams was accused, in an implied sort of way, of having an inappropriate […]
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One Year Later
What Has the City Learned Since Chasse?
A year ago this week, James Chasse died in police custody after being beaten, Tasered, and hogtied by officers, and then transported to the county detention center instead of being taken to a hospital. It shocked the city, given that police had targeted Chasse for merely acting suspiciously. After coming back from vacation almost two […]