Yes, officially, Willamette Week is staying out of the race for Oregon attorney general this spring—no surprise since one of the two main candidates, Ellen Rosenblum, is married to the paper’s publisher and co-owner, Richard Meeker. But, no, that doesn’t mean editor Mark Zusman hasn’t been whispering to friends in high places about his boss’s wife’s candidacy.
Exhibit A: Yesterday, the Oregonian published a glowing email about Rosenblum that Zusman sent to a top ranking official in the influential Service Employees International Union. It reads like a pitch for an endorsement—a little bit of “arm twisting” as Zusman himself notes in the letter’s signoff. And that pitch, as the O notes, touched on a controversial topic keenly watched by labor unions: whether and how to reform public pensions for government workers—and whether and how to make individual workers’ pension information public.
Zusman says Rosenblum would be way kinder to unions, compared to her main foe, former US Attorney Dwight Holton.
Also: Ellen is in PERS, so she has a vested interest in the matter of greatest importance to [REDACTED] in the previous AG’s race. Dwight is currently practicing white collar criminal defense for Lane Powell—hardly a role that makes him a friend to the state’s workers or to [REDACTED] membership.
Zusman told the O he really did write the letter and acknowledged that some of what he said in his pitch may run counter to the sunshine-seeking demands for transparency his paper might make. The O, however, didn’t note whether he used a personal or professional email account. How he levied the pitch, whether it carried the imprint of his day job, is not a small question. I’ve left a message for Zusman hoping he’ll clarify.
On a related note: Guess who answered the front desk at the WW? Mayoral candidate Max Bauske, who says he’s working there now in a non-editorial role. I jokingly asked Bauske if his bosses will now have to recuse themselves from covering the mayor’s race. And he jokingly replied: “No comment.”
Correction: A previous version of this post said Rosenblum was Zusman’s wife. It’s been edited to reflect that very dumb error.
Denis, do you really think it matters if Zusman (who is the friggin’ editor of an alt-weekly, NOT a senator or something) sent this e-mail from a personal or work account?
Doesn’t he have free speech? Isn’t he allowed to help his boss’s wife’s campaign if he wants to? Can’t his personal aims occasionally conflict with the generalized aims of the paper? In the rare instances when they do, does the ethics of it really rest on which email account he sent something from?
This post reminds of precisely why I don’t read WW – because every issue is centered around taking someone/something down for some completely trumped up reason.
The guy’s campaigning for his boss’s wife, and not doing it in the pages of WW, as promised – what more should we demand?
@CC: Your third paragraph explains why the O first reported this and why we’re calling attention to it.
For an outfit that does its share of harrumphing about other journalists’ perceived ethical lapses—and wouldn’t have kept quiet if things were reversed and the name attached was Wm. Steven Humphrey or Peter Bhatia—it’s fair game to point out.
And it’s also okay to wonder whether Zusman was careful enough, in walking an admittedly awkward line, to do his campaigning from an account that didn’t say “wweek.com.” Sticklers have to be extra cautious, is the point here.
Is it a scandal? No. But it’s interesting and worth a Friday afternoon blog post. (And I can promise you our next issue won’t be “centered around” it.)
So this post is about settling grudges. Good to know.
Sounds like you are only interested in stories that DON’T involve the media. Good to know.
I’ve very much interested in stories that involve the media, but, just as Colin, I don’t really see what the rub is, or at least I didn’t until Denis pointed out that this is “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” backbiting. I’m cool with that; just be up front about it. Or don’t. It’s not all that important.
I, for one, adore this town and its people. But any time the mask slips off the face of one of the plutocracy, it’s a damn good time to pay attention.