Here’s some clip art from his mayoral campaign that looks a little unfortunate, now. One question that’s come up in the comments both here and elsewhere is whether Adams should resign. Yes or no? And why?
1bbb/1232433020-adamscampaignclip.jpg
Adams has announced he’ll issue a “public apology” at city hall tomorrow at 1:30 pm. Should he use the opportunity, instead of to apologize, to resign?

We’ll be hitting city hall first thing, with questions for Adams’ chief of staff about Ruiz’s recruitment. Also, for all the city commissioners: Can they work with Sam after this? What do they think he should do now? Feel free to add your questions for Adams, his staff, and the city commissioners, in the comments. I promise to do your bidding!

Matt Davis was news editor of the Mercury from 2009 to May 2010.

38 replies on “Your Questions For Adams…”

  1. “Mayor Adams,

    In 2007 you said that Portland has been largely been ‘blessedly free’ of personal smears in politics and that you were saddened that it was taking place against you.

    Now we know that when you called this a ‘nasty smear’ by a political opponent, you knew it was factually accurate.

    Wasn’t your treatment of Bob Ball the type of ‘ugly politicking’ you were criticizing at that time? What can you say to those who say that you and your team were in fact the ones bringing ugly smear tactics into Portland politics?”

  2. If it’s somehow proven that he slept with the kid before his 18th birthday, won’t Adams be brought up on charges? Or has everyone agreed to take Adams’ word for it?

    If he resigns or gets ousted, what happens next? A special election? My uneducated prediction: Fritz will somehow become Portland’s next mayor.

    The question I would ask the mayor: you’re a shrewd dude. If this relationship was legal, why the political favors? Why the lies?

  3. Is it the “crime”? No, it’s the coverup. The mayor was shtupping his high school intern. Lied bout it. Made Beau lie about it.
    The thing that enrages me is he won’t resign, probably will face no consequences. So why in the hell should I ever honor city codes or pay a parking ticket?
    Portland’s mayor is a liar and when you follow that to the logical end, a pedophile.

  4. Im not really bothered by it. Sam is a good politician. If he humps 18yr old dudes, its no stick in my spokes. I’d lie to my friends about it if I got caught humping an 18 yr old girl.

  8. Listen ‘Zac’ – Do you think he’s telling the truth about when they effed since he’s lied already? Are you a public official who’s lied to the public?
    Is molesting interns a representation of good leadership?
    Do you actually think an 18-year-old chick would have sex with you?

  9. My question for Sam: Why the FUCK are you making a public statement, apology or not, on Obama’s inauguration day? Why don’t you sit the fuck down and wait, and let this day be about THAT, not about YOU.

    You fucked up. Now sit and suffer, unable to make a public statement just yet, because Tuesday is supposed to be able something else.

    Shithead.

  11. Mayor Adams,
    Do you think your covering up the truth gave you an unfair advantage against Mr Ball and Mr Dozono? I suspect the outcome would have been very different.

    This is a blatant mistrust of the public trust, using his power and influence to keep people quiet.

  13. B!x: He’s going to make repeated public statements, each one with a slightly different varnish on the truth, every day until this either blows over or he realizes it won’t go away and he resigns.

    For instance, look again at his “apology” from this afternoon. He lied in 2007 because he was afraid that people would believe the “untrue rumors” because he’s a gay man. He HAD to lie because of all the homophobes out to get him. He was FORCED to smear his opponent, for EQUALITY’s sake.

    This is the sort of nonsense we’ll hear more of tomorrow and the next day too. And his ego will allow him to do successively more damage to future opportunities for gays and lesbians in politics.

  14. Why did you hire Amy Ruiz in a position she is not qualified for?

    Why should anyone believe that you only did the deed only after this guy turned 18?

    And Zac: leaders, judgement, and all of that. Plus, uh… he lied about it. Lying is usually bad in leaders, especially one that is representing Portland and the gay community to the nation. Plus you apparently bought the line about “only after his 18th birthday” without any critical thought.

  15. Hey Portland Mercury! As I understand it, The Willamette Week broke this story. Did you call Mark Zusman at Willamette Week and confess you were going to waddle in with this story? Or were you upstanding enough to say he should call them first?

    Wow. Sad.

    What did you do when you heard the rumors? Ignore them?

  16. I didn’t vote for sam because of his sexual practices, but because of what I hope he will do for the city. This man was not his intern, but an intern in Salem. Sam had no influence over him professionally. Who cares, he should not resign.

  17. “Why the FUCK are you making a public statement, apology or not, on Obama’s inauguration day?”

    You really don’t know why?

    How about ‘to bury this story under an avalanche of inauguration coverage’?

  18. Davis, think up your own questions, you douchebag. Act like a reporter for a change.

    NO followup on this story after Amy left? Pathetic. Did she take her notes with her? Did someone spike the story – for Amy’s benefit, or Adams’, or both? Did somebody make a deal? Or did the Mercury’s own Captain Cheesecake simply have his thumb up his ass while Jacquiss was busting this story wide open?

  19. More evidence that Adams is just another back-room Portland politician, in the vein of Goldschmidt and his own mentor, Vera Katz. We need to clean these clowns out of city hall once and for all. I’m bothered that he would turn a mentor relationship- a relationship of power- into a sexual relationship. That is not the behavior we need our leaders to model.

    I also wonder what other debts he owes, what other truths he is actively covering up, and who he’s using/manipulating to do that.

    It’s a tremendous shame for all of us. Like it or not, Sam carries an additional burden of morality as the first gay mayor of a large city in the USA. For him to engage in activity that is parallel to the worst fears of straight, conservative America regarding gays is embarrassing for Portland and could be a major national setback for gay rights. I wish he weren’t under an even greater microscope- that this was just a questionable relationship, regardless of the participants. But Sam knows his position, he knows his responsibilities, and he actively put his own pleasure ahead of the needs of Breedlove, the city, the community, and the gay rights movement.

    He has lost all credibility in a time when we need trustworthy leaders, leaders who can speak openly and honestly with the public. Sam no longer has that ability- he is a liar who is not above using his powers to indulge his personal desires and to manipulate others to cover up for him.

    Good bye, Sam.Call Goldschmidt and see if he has room for you. You’re history here.

    -Mikey G

  20. Oh brother. Get a life, people! All this phony-ass outrage, as if you actually had some stake in this. You’re a good bunch of trained little puppy-dogs, I’ll give you that. Someone points a finger and you bark accordingly. Woof, woof, get the lying fag. You need to realize first of all that most politicians have lied to you. And secondly, that fucking starts to feel good right around age 13 or 14, and that Ye God Himself made it that way. Sam will make a fine mayor and this will in no way diminish that, except perhaps for the unfortunate din of all the little puppy-dogs barking.

    Apply a little tolerance and then go get busy creating something of value.

  22. 1) Amy Ruiz helped cover up the facts she learned about Randy Leonard’s daughter having outstanding warrants for her arrest when that was clearly relevant to his then certain appointment as police comissioner. Randy Leonard vouched for Adams on the sex issue and still as of a statement yesterday claims that Adams was honest with him about the nature of his relationship with Breedlove. Ruiz got a nice job (for which she is not qualified) with Adams at a hefty salary boost. What has Leonard been given or promised for his parts in the cover up? Is this connected to Ruiz’ coverage (or more properly, lack of coverage) of the Leonard family’s criminal problems?

    2)Why should we trust you at all?

    3)Do you agree that regardless of sexual orientation a 40 year old man in a position of political power should not be engaging in sexual relations with a teenager in an intern or mentor position?

    3b) Where the hell were you during the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal?

    4) Did you provide alcohol to Mr. Breedlove or consume it with him?

    5) Should the people of this city feel comfortable sending their high school age students to city hall to volunteer or be mentored?

    6) How much lying should a politician have to commit before he resigns in shame or gets recalled?

  24. Creepy creepy douchebag.

    If you worked with a 42 year old man who started a sexual relationship with an 18 year old girl in his office, what would you think of that man? Would you think he should be elected to “lead” the city?

    He should resign. Lying sleazeball politician.

  25. Questions for sam adams and amy ruiz
    1. What is your favorite sandwich at Bunk?
    2. Best coffee in town: Courier Coffee Roasters or Stumptown?

  27. Questions for Sam:

    1) You have now proven you are willing the play ‘fast and loose’ with the truth when it is the easy road to follow, why should any of Portland think you will tell us the truth in the future?

    2) Why do you think it is better to be an admitted liar than a suspected pedophile?

    3) Do you feel your ability to lie to the public with a straight face and sincerity, will help build trust in the city government in Portland, or just advance your own personal goals?

    4) Why are you such a TOOL?

  28. I’m with Number Six. With some added questions.

    8) Will you pay for Breedlove’s therapy for having to bear the burden of you mistakes?

    9) Will you take advantage of this “teachable moment” to understand how you took advantage of a young man, even if it seemed consensual at the time?

    10) Will you donate a ton of money to organizations that help young men and women recover from the victimization of older, more powerful (usually) men? Young men and women who are taken by the idea of being so close to power and who feel mature enough to deal with it, only to realize later that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t as great as they thought it would be, and, the older (usually) men who know that, or should know that, and go ahead and screw with them anyway (literally and figuratively)?

  29. Porn King: Clinton was smart enough not to go on record with lies until the very end. Sam started lying from the moment the story was raised during the election, and wrapped himself in phony self-glorifying talk of being a “mentor”. God what a fucking putz.

    “Oh brother. Get a life, people! All this phony-ass outrage, as if you actually had some stake in this.”

    Assface seems pretty outraged at the outrage, is that phony too? Maybe *you* have some stake in Adams not being perceived as a douche?

    I’d like for the reputation of my city, as well as a new generation of gay leaders, not to be associated with dorking 17-18 year olds and covering it up. That’s my stake, now quit commenting on blogs and create something of value.

    “Woof, woof, get the lying fag. You need to realize first of all that most politicians have lied to you.”

    I don’t care if he’s a fag, bi or celibate. If a politician isn’t able to spin and obfuscate without lying and covering up then he’s not a very good politician now, is he?

  32. The matter was irrelevant from the start. Therefore, it’s irrelevant now.

    People think they have a right to know every last detail about an elected official. Soon, we’ll be asking how often they masturbate and when they lie about it, we’ll be calling for their resignation. How fucking pathetic some of you are.

  33. @D: it doesnt make a difference to me really when they ‘effed’. Sure there is a law saying that if he is one day less than 18 it is illegal, but the next day it would be okay. I don’t really think that matters however. If he was humping 14 year old boys id start to get concerned.

    @newsinquotes: Were you here to witness my train of thought? who are you to make assumptions about what i did and did not critically think about. I would have just as much basis as you do if I were to assume you regularly fuck farm animals. I don’t believe he waited until he was 18. I just don’t care.

    @Jake: While I do ride a fixie, yes, It’s been hanging in the garage since October and will remain there until spring. It also has no spoke cards. in the meantime you can catch me on this: http://twitpic.com/14yy3
    I know it’s not about the sex. The lie doesnt bother me either. Not because I’m a pro Adams fanatic, but because I know that telling the truth would have cost him the election, and that having Sho Dozono as our mayor, would not bode well.

  34. @D: let me be more thorough.

    1)Do you think he’s telling the truth about when they effed since he’s lied already?

    This has been answered above.

    2)Are you a public official who’s lied to the public?

    No. Does that make my opinion somehow less valuable? I think not.

    3)Is molesting interns a representation of good leadership?

    Molest by definition implies that advances were unwanted. I’m sure you are already very knowledgeable when it comes to the ins and outs of the gay community, however I will remind you that larger age differences than are normal amongst straight couples are more common. I believe, based on what I’ve read, that Beau was consenting. A consenting minor? Maybe. That has yet to be seen.

    4)Do you think an 18-year-old chick would have sex with you?

    That I would not sleep with an 18 year old girl makes this irrelevant, but yes. I am both attractive and charming.

  36. How about asking what favors he’s giving to the WW in return for them breaking this news on a day everyone is preoccupied with the inauguration? Please don’t try and tell us the timing is coincidental.

    Having sex with an 18 year old? Couldn’t care less.
    Lying about your sex life? Couldn’t care less.
    Hiring people with city money as a bribe for not releasing a story? If that turns out to be true (and it sure smells suspicious), it’s a resigning issue.

  37. Sex- Cool.
    Lying about sex- hmmm.
    Telling someone else to lie about sex- borderline not cool
    Using a position of power to encourage someone to lie about sex- very uncool
    Using a position of power to hire someone to cover up lying about sex- extremely uncool, corrupt, and probably illegal.

    Sam abused his position as a mentor and did not show sound judgment or leadership skills in this situation. The public trust demands a standard higher than legal/illegal. Adams must resign and apologize to mentors of all kinds around the city for permanently damaging the notion of a mentoring relationship.

    This is very, very similalr to Goldschmidt, save for the obvious illegality of the actions Goldschmidt covered up.

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