Comments

1
Well, I voted for everyone once, so the technology has a hole in it.

No, the Mercury blog readers aren't representative of the community as a whole (your ad department has the demographics).

So I think in this short race the group is about evenly unknown, untested, unremarkable. Thanks to Matt, we know something about them. He might be the only person who has met them all.

All have been invited, but three of the eight have outlined their interest in mental health issues, a biggish subject at the County at

http://www.mentalhealthportland.org/?tag=e…
2
Gary Hansen was the only person interviewed who seemed to have been thinking about this for awhile. He mentioned several, specific ideas and he seemed to be the only person who understands that cigarette taxes place the burden of raising funds on our poorest and least mobile citizens.

It seems to me that only in America is having a wealth of experience seen as a bad thing. He has to deal with people saying he's "entrenched". But don't we want someone who knows the ins and outs of the bureaucracy? Trust me, when I got hired on at the VA (huge, HUGE bureaucracy) it took me nearly a year to get acclimated. What form does what, who can you ask that will actually do something and who will just sit on the request for 6 months. If you can vote someone in who already knows the answers to those questions, why wouldn't you?
3
Good question.
4
Wow, playing the sex AND race cards simultaneously this early in the campaign?! Incredible!

My "cool her jets" comment had absolutely nothing to do with her being black or a woman. I would actually reverse the remark to apply to Gary Hansen, who I think should find new ways to serve and allow others to run for a seat he had 8 years in.

Karol, to me, seems to be very ambitious (not a bad thing), but she seems to have very little perspective on WHY she actually wants to be in elected office. It's not enough for it to be a "logical next step." She should truly believe her experience, perspective and knowledge are the best-suited for THAT job in THAT time in THAT government agency.

By jumping at every opportunity to get appointed or elected, she's losing my support time and again for not addressing why she is the best candidate for THAT job in THAT time at THAT level of government.

Fmr. city commissioner Charlie Hales left his seat in mid-term because he felt he was no longer being as effective as a city commissioner should be, and he thought he could make a bigger difference with a job as a planning exec at an engineering firm. He had helped bring streetcar to Portland, and he saw the opportunity to go make a living designing streetcar systems for other cities around the world.

That's the sort of thing I mean when I mention "cooling your jets." Charlie Hales knew exactly why he wanted that particular office (transportation commissioner), what he could bring to it and how he wanted to utilize it while in office. As soon as he no longer felt he was doing everything he could to serve Portland, he stepped aside to pursue another opportunity. Karol should continue the seemingly exemplary work she has been doing and wait for the office she can serve best, most effectively and that she is the best candidate for.

Until then, it's all ego.
5
I predict this election to be far more interesting than anyone would have expected and Multnomah county will be the better for it.

Please wait...

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