After the Mercury reported late last month that state attorney general candidate Dwight Holton was waiting until after election day (May 15) to officially disclose “in-kind contributions” received from his current employer, white-collar law firm Lane Powell, the campaign has apparently done an about-face. State campaign-finance records now show a $350 contribution from Lane Powell […]
Election 2012
Posted inElection 2012
Nolan Suggested Fritz Influenced Report on City’s 911 System; Nolan Was Wrong
Last month, city council challenger Mary Nolan sent a letter to her opponent, Amanda Fritz, insinuating that Fritz improperly shaped the final draft of a report that wound up grading, somewhat positively, the rollout of Portland’s new 911 dispatch system. Nolan—particularly concerned about a new summary that cast the findings in a “more favorable” light—also […]
Posted inElection 2012
Obama’s Julia Meme
The internet (read: Twitterverse) has been blowing up over the Obama campaign’s recent infographic following the life of imaginary US citizen, Julia. The interactive graphic follows Julia from the age of 3 to 67, comparing how the Obama administration will take better care of her throughout life than the Romney administration. At the least, it’s […]
Posted inElection 2012
Romney’s Gay Spokesman Resigned Because Romney Has No Spine
Andrew Sullivan on how Romney spokesman Richard Grenell was railroaded off the campaign because of Republican homophobia: Their response to the far right fooferaw was simply to go silent, to keep Grenell off-stage and mute, and to wait till the storm passed. But the storm was not likely to pass if no one in the […]
Posted inElection 2012
Have You Voted Yet? Here’s Our Endorsement Cheat Sheet
In case you haven’t waded through this week’s Mercury election endorsement opus yet, here’s the cheat sheet (complete with instructional, scissors-based clip art) that ran with the print version. Our big picks, as you’ll read, are Charlie Hales for mayor, Amanda Fritz and Steve Novick for city council, and Ellen Rosenblum for attorney general. Tell […]
Posted inElection 2012
New Poll Shows Much Tighter Mayor’s Race (Oh, and Sam Adams Coulda Been a Contender!)
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a public poll in the Portland mayor’s race, and KPTV has finally obliged us. Results released last night—from a phone survey of 400 likely voters conducted April 28-30—confirm Charlie Hales’ ascent as the leader, just barely, but also show a big jump for Jefferson Smith, who’d been trailing […]
Posted inElection 2012
Jefferson Smith Responds to My Concerns Over Police Union Endorsement
In the expiring issue of the Mercury, my Hall Monitor column on what the Portland Police Association’s endorsement of Jefferson Smith might mean for the mayor’s race ended with an exhortation that “with ballots dropping in mere days, Smith needs to explain, and fast, why this endorsement won’t keep him from remembering his obligation to […]
Posted inElection 2012
And the Mercury Endorses: Amanda Fritz for City Council
It’s endorsement week at the Mercury. That means, for the next few days, we’ll be releasing endorsements in one or more selected races here on Blogtown. Think of it like a slow buildup to the unveiling of our pick in this year’s mayoral race, which won’t be revealed until the paper hits newsstands later this […]
Posted inElection 2012
Jefferson Smith Campaign Takes a Page From Sho Dozono
“Gets it. Gets it done.” Anything about Jefferson Smith’s campaign motto sound familiar? Put it alongside the slogan that Sho Dozono (Sam Adams’ opponent for mayor) touted in 2008 and it all comes together. Thanks for the tip, Carl!
Posted inElection 2012
Stephen King on Mitt Romney
Just when I think Stephen King is forever on my shit list (the one-two punch of Under the Dome and 11/22/63 was nearly enough to kill me) he has to go and write something awesome about politics: I guess some of this mad right-wing love comes from the idea that in America, anyone can become […]
Posted inElection 2012
Remember When Mitt Romney Saved the Auto Industry Single-Handedly?
You don’t? Because Mitt Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom sure does: At a Saturday forum hosted by the Washington Post, Fehrnstrom said that Obama’s auto industry rescue was successful because it was exactly what Romney himself proposed. “[Romney’s] position on the bailout was exactly what President Obama followed,” Fehrnstrom said. “He said, ‘If you want to […]