IT WAS OBVIOUS what mayoral can-didate Sho Dozono planned to
tell the assembled gaggle of reporters. His campaign manager, daughter,
wife, and volunteers were all smiles, bustling about Dozono’s downtown
campaign office in the minutes before a scheduled Monday morning, March
24, press conference.
Dozono had taken the weekend to decide whether or not to stay in the
mayor’s race, following an administrative law judge’s March 20 ruling
that a $27,295 poll Dozono accepted in December violated the $12,000
cap on in-kind contributions for publicly financed candidates. In other
words, Dozono lost over $160,000 in public funds for his race, and had
to decide whether to continue with what little money he had, drop out,
or start dialing for dollars.
And—as evidenced by the buzz in the room—Dozono opted to
stay in the race despite an earlier pledge to bow out if he wasn’t
certified as a publicly financed candidate. “I don’t think of quitting
as an option,” Dozono said.
Moreover, he insists he’s not flip-flopping, saying that he still
considers himself certified, despite the judge’s overturning of that
status. “Let me make it clear what happened last week. It was not about
whether I was qualified or not qualified to be a publicly financed
candidate. It was about a judge’s decision to overturn the city
auditor’s decision. I’ve done everything that was asked of me by the
auditor from the moment I stepped into his office to pick up the packet
on January 7. I followed all the rules. But it is a work in progress.”
(Dozono’s attorney has written an appeal of the ruling, but hasn’t
filed it yet, and Dozono’s campaign manager says it’s unlikely he will
file it.)
Additionally, in a move that perfectly sums up Dozono’s candidacy to
date—he’s focused more on how his style and resume differ from
his main opponent, Sam Adams, than on outlining policy
specifics—Dozono declined to specify how he’d finance his
campaign. He said he’d make another announcement the next day as to
whether he’d cap individual or total contributions, or accept any of
the multi-thousand dollar pledges that had already been offered. He
then launched a fundraising drive on his website that afternoon. (A day
later, Dozono’s campaign announced a $500 individual contribution cap
and an overall $200,000 cap, the same as Adams’ self-imposed limits,
“to maintain the spirit of Voter-Owned Elections.”)
Both Adams and Dozono slipped right back into campaign rhetoric
within moments of Dozono’s announcement. Dozono’s Campaign Manager Amie
Abbott released a statement criticizing Adams’ original challenge of
Dozono’s certification, saying Adams’ “legal challenge was never done
to protect the system; it was done for his own self-interest.” She also
called the city’s Office of Transportation, which Adams oversees, “his
own self-promotion machine and campaign slush fund,” citing public
outreach for the commissioner’s $464 million street-fee proposal.
Adams, meanwhile, welcomed Dozono back into the race and said he
looks forward to their debates. He then dismissed Abbott’s assessment,
and had a barb of his own: “That kind of charge is what you do when
you’re a desperate campaign.”