Add trash-talk to Commissioner Steve Novick’s famed repertoire of rhetorical talents.
Novick, never shy with a jab or a quip, is seizing on some recent sporting news to fire back at an Oregonian editorial board that’s made hay in recent weeks by aiming some public cheap shots at the Portland City Council. Novick, a member of the council, has naturally taken some umbrage and seems to have decided it’s not worth trying to please an editorial board that any savvy reader can see has taken a hard right turn toward the suburbs.
It’s here, but we’ll post the whole thing for your convenience. Is he speaking for the council? It’s not clear. But no one else’s name appears on this, so probably not.
The Oregonian has spent the past couple of weeks trash-talking the city council. They’ve written things like: “you have to wonder sometimes whether the Portland City Council actively pursues mediocrity…” They’ve had a “live chat” on “Does Portland deserve a better city council?” They’ve repeatedly crossed the line between criticism and contempt.
And so far, the members of the City Council have kept a dignified silence. But after watching Richard Sherman’s post-NFC championship game explosion the other day, I’ve decided, the hell with that. Let’s have some fun. If the Oregonian wants to trash-talk, let’s trash-talk. Let’s give the fans something to talk about. Because we can do it better than they can. We can out-trash-talk the Oregonian on the field, off the field, or in an alley.
You want to talk about mediocre? A paper that only delivers four times a week, now that’s mediocre. You want to question our commitment to jobs? Seriously? The paper that specializes in firing people – good people like Ryan White and Scott Learn – wants to talk about jobs?
We’re the best City Council in the league. And we’re not going to be bullied by some sorry Orange County right-wing publisher. We’ll be here after you’re gone, Mr. N. Christian Anderson III – after the Newhouse family wakes up and realizes that it’s economic idiocy to try to foist a Fox News paper on a progressive readership.
And don’t think for a minute that anything you write will have any influence on us at all. Lions don’t concern themselves with the opinions of sheep.
COB!
(No, I also have no idea what COB means. And based on urbandictionary.com’s findings, I don’t think I want to know.)
Update 3 PM: Novick has written another blog post, this time taking pains to say he doesn’t think editorial page editor Erik Lukens is a terrible human being—and that he’s absolutely not holding up the paper’s reporters for opprobrium.
Lukens, for the record, called me back when I rang him for comment. He didn’t seem outraged. He said he saw the whole thing as “Steve being Steve.”
Novick’s new post mentions Richard Nixon and includes his picture. I laughed at that.
He also asks and answers a compelling question, emphasis mine:
And yes, I guess I could have caveated my post with the same things I’m saying here… but that wouldn’t have made it a very good trash-talk.
This is most baller.
@steve novick, please move to make it illegal for them to litter my yard once a week with multiple copies of some garbage labeled “FOODDAY”.
Pathetic. Sherman’s point was that he actually proved it on the field, which cannot be said of the City Council.
Stop talking and do something. Especially Novick. Talk is cheap, as is your act.
“Council of Boom,” similar to the Seattle Seahawks and their “Legion of Boom.”
econoline-
If call the number on the Foodday litter in your yard, and ask them to let your neighborhood rep know that you do not want them littering on your yard any longer, they will obey after the second try. They will ignore your first request, so be sure to try twice. Remember to use the word “littering,” as a paper losing money that fast doesn’t want to risk paying fines for trashing the city.
Richard Sherman ended his rant by shouting “LOB!” which stands for “Legion of Boom,” which is what the Seahawk defensive backs call themselves. I assume Novick was intending his “COB!” to mean “Commissioner of Boom” or something similar.
Really Mr. Novick? You are part of a great city council? Seriously? Glad you think you are a “lion” I see you as a lap dog for the developers.
He’s right that the Oregon editorial board is terrible. They take positions that are either obvious or they hem and haw and don’t take a firm position on things. If it comes down to which is worse, the Portland City Counsel or the Oregonian, that’s a tough call.
They’ll stop littering the Food Day for maybe a few months and then they just start over again. They don’t bother keeping track of who has “opted out” of receiving unsolicited trash on their lawns. I hope someone has the time and balls to sue them over it because that’s the only way I see it stopping.
guspasho-
When you call that number, they will give you the name of your neighborhood rep, who is responsible for the supplement showing up on your door. With that name, you can single out one person responsible for the trash on your door. It’s very effective, I haven’t seen another grill starter in months.
@worked for me I called each week for 5 straight weeks, I still get 2 food days every GD week. I also contacted an Oregonian reporter via twitter who said he would try to help but nothing changed. The only thing that will fix this is making dumping garbage in someones yard a fineable offense, and then enforcing that fine.
Though I do like Novick very much (and even was rooting for him to be our Senator), many of the “O’s” positions I agree with.
And some of them ain’t cheap shots at all.
What we really need to do is get rid of this terribly ineffective form of local government, once and for all, and elect Novick Mayor.
Except that Novick’s not a classless dickhead, supported by a legion of ignorant, bratty children who can’t see anything bu their own way of things. Oh and he’s actually doing something that impacts people’s lives rather than being an overpaid jockstrap.
He was just being rebellion