Randy Leonard spent a few minutes this morning explaining his endorsement of Jefferson Smith in the May mayoral primary—first reported by WW this morning. The big reason?
Leonard says Smith, an East Side state legislator known for his charismatic speeches, would be better than all the other major candidates in the race (chiefly Eileen Brady and former city commissioner Charlie Hales) at delivering the three votes any given issue needs to pass the council.
“Jefferson has that skill,” Leonard said in his office during a break in this morning’s council meeting. “He’s good at inspiring people with his speeches, but he’s also great at working behind the scenes to pass his initiatives.”
Smith—who, like Leonard, lives east of 82nd Avenue—has apparently been trying for some time to get Leonard on board, and Leonard has dropped private hints that he was leaning Smith’s way. Leonard, who also represented the East Side in Salem, says he let loose with his endorsement after Smith asked him to get together for a meeting. It comes after Charlie Hales secured the O‘s backing over the weekend and released polling data showing he, and not Smith, might be gaining on Brady.
Leonard, because, of course he would, also managed to aim a familiar barb at one of his favorite foils, Tom Potter, who happened to have endorsed Brady. Echoing comments last year when he all but said he would endorse Police Chief Mike Reese for the city’s top job, Leonard said, “Not every mayor here has had that ability” to win council support and actually be, you know, effective.
He also fired a shot at Hales, who left the council in the middle of his term a decade ago—giving up the seat that Leonard will hold until January, when he retires. “The reason I’m here is because Charlie Hales quit,” Leonard says, suggesting that Hales had told him at the time he was too “burned out” in the face of vexing problems like how to fix up the city’s permitting process.
Quoth Leonard: “I question Charlie’s ability to have staying power.”
The recent Willy articles (yes, I admit it, I perused them) about Brady and Smith made me unlikely to support either of them (not that I was ever on the Brady bandwagon). As for Hales, I have to hear more. If he can convince me he’s liberal enough…
don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out, Randy.
How anyone could assume Randy’s endorsement is going to have a positive effect on a campaign is beyond me. The neon rose, the “water house” and the loo are reasons enough to distance yourself from Leonard. Best of luck with that Jefferson.
This morning I sat down to watch a Youtube video about firearms.
An Eileen Brady ad came on.
It should be a Smith ad, but I guess this is why $ wins elections, it’s the advertising.
Fidelity – people win elections. If you want Smith to win, there’s no shortage of volunteer opportunities to help the campaign, from spreading the word to your friends to doorknocking. We can avoid this election being bought if we work hard enough.
Personal contacts are a lot more powerful than television ads.
I certainly know there are people that don’t like Randy, Chuck–but how can you call the Loo a bad thing? They work, they look good, and now apparently we’re going to start making money by selling them to other cities. And what about the massive success that is Timbers MLS? Wouldn’t have happened without Leonard, and didn’t cost the general fund a DIME.
But even if you think Randy is Evil Suckdom on a stick, it’s hard to deny that he zeroes right in on what makes a good mayor in THIS town: being able to put three votes together. And I don’t see any reason to disbelieve Randy when he says Smith is the best candidate for that.
Hey Todd, instead of trying to shoehorn Hales into your desired liberal candidate, why not just pick the established liberal candidate, Smith? Given the way Nigel Jaquiss always seems to find a way to make the positive sound negative, once you read his review of Hales you may find yourself thinking negatively about all three.
@torridjoe: I’ll definitely read the third article before making up my mind, and I may end up voting for Smith after all.
@Torridjoe: how has MLS been a “massive success” for anyone other than Merritt Paulson and the self-entitled douchebags that make up the Timbers Army? It doesn’t bring any money in, it hasn’t spurred economic growth (like Randy and his lackeys said it would). Show me the numbers.
Which you won’t, because you can’t. Silly boy.
I don’t think the Loo is a particularly bad idea (though spending $100,000 to make something that can be handled by a $500 honeybucket is a bit beyond me), but you have to admit it’s a pretty easy punchline. It feeds into a larger notion that the city concerns itself with frivolity over necessity (i noticed you didn’t address the neon rose or the water house, which highlight that concern quite well). And let’s be honest, 95 percent of the people who use the Loo ain’t voting.
As for the Timbers, what did the city get that wasn’t there already?
i didn’t expect to feel so passionate about the middle-aged straight white guy in the race, but once i started looking into the actual accomplishments of the candidates, voting for charlie hales is kind of a no-brainer… max line to the airport, mt. scott community center, springwater corridor, streetcar downtown, legalizing skateboarding in the street… the guy has already done a shit-ton for pdx and has enormous knowledge of how cities work. the other 2? um, they talk a good game, but i got a sneaking suspicion they see the mayor’s office primarily as a springboard for another job. how many times has j-smith accidentally said “governor” when he meant mayor? and don’t even get me started on brady trying to ride new seasons’ coat-tails into city hall…
When politicians retire it is honesty time. Leonard doesn’t have to suck up to anybody, and there’s no reason for him to suck up to anyone now. Whether you always agree with him or not (I certainly don’t), he’s a smart guy who has a lot of inside knowledge about how the city has worked under three different mayors. He has no reason to prevaricate and he knows what he’s talking about.
Yeah, I’m voting for Smith.
I just can’t get out of my mind how Hales sat on the stage of the Armory during the Arts Candidate Forum last winter and talked about more part-time jobs for the arts. How he was proud of himself; how he thought the arts crowd would *love* part-time jobs. He so misread the audience as well as the issues in so many different ways. No way would I want him or the equally clueless Brady, who beats the single mom drum the same year she shows an almost $7mm tax return, being in charge of the PPB or the economic decisions like the CRC. I don’t think either one could get the yoked team that is the City Government to pull the same direction.