SHOULD HE STAY or should he go?
The question—about the viability of embattled Portland Mayor
Sam Adams—has been tearing at the very fabric of the Portland
queer community ever since Beaugate broke in January. The headlines
started blaring mere days after Adams’ admission: “Adams Sex Scandal
Leaves Portland Gay Community Hurt, Divided” (Oregonian), or
“The Great Gay Hope” (New York Times).
Now, more than four months later, as gays across the city gear up
for splashy, rainbow-bedecked “Pride Month” parties, the mayor’s
supporters and detractors alike are arming for a potentially ugly
summer. Adams has just passed his 100th work day in office, and media
“report cards” are coming in. Results of Attorney General John Kroger’s
investigation into Adams’ conduct are looming. And it’s T-minus 26 days
until a campaign to recall Adams from office is officially
launched.
For a month that seeks to celebrate the unified spirit of the LGBT
community, Portland’s queers—on this issue, anyway—seem
anything but.
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s failed in his responsibilities to
make a good example of a gay leader,” says David Beard, an openly gay
real estate agent in Portland who voted for Adams in last year’s
election. Beard, 48, is now a volunteer for the recall campaign, and
says he’ll gladly help gather signatures to get the recall initiative
to a citywide vote. “We shouldn’t just be protecting him because he’s a
member of the gay community,” he adds.
“The divisiveness over Sam was tough,” admits Human Rights Campaign
co-founder and Portland-based philanthropist Terry Bean, who stood with
other Adams boosters at a January 27 press conference in support of
Adams’ return to office. “Has it been repaired? I don’t know.” But Bean
does know this: “I still strongly believe that he’s a great mayor.”
Bean is not alone in wanting to put the nasty divisiveness of the
past few months behind him. Those members of the queer community who do
stand with Sam—like Kalberer Company Chief Financial Officer
Brian R. Wilson—worry the campaign to recall him might devolve
into a mud-slinging gay witch-hunt, or worse.
“If you wanna support a recall effort against Sam—all right,”
Wilson says. “But make sure you’re focusing on something that’s going
to build a better and stronger community. In my opinion, the best
person to build the community is Sam Adams.”
If the recall campaign is looking to win over gay power players like
Wilson, it has an uphill battle, something campaign spokesperson Jasun
Wurster openly acknowledges. But even if Wurster isn’t looking to
convert gay Adams fans to his brand of religion, he’s certainly
hyper-sensitive to his campaign being branded as homophobic.
“I’ve always viewed this as an educational opportunity,” he says,
“where if people make homophobic remarks, to actually educate them.”
Wurster adds that while he doesn’t necessarily need additional support
from queer Portland for the recall campaign to succeed, he does welcome
any help. He also knows that queers who become involved do so at a
risk. “Especially [in] a community that’s divided, you’re gonna
instantly make enemies of half of your community,” for joining the
recall effort, he says. “It takes a lot of courage to step
forward.”
Thirty-eight-year-old Andy Poe, a full-time PSU student, is one of
those who recently stepped out in support of the recall. A
self-described “gay lefty,” Poe says he “felt proud” when Adams won
last year’s mayoral election in the primary, but became disenchanted
after the events of the last few months.
Yet Poe is hesitant to become an active volunteer for the recall,
partly for fear of retaliation from both straight and gay Adams
supporters. Poe says he was “thinking about” canvassing at last
weekend’s Starlight Parade, adding, “but I don’t want anybody to hit
me.”
Amid the many parades and protests to come this month, it seems
Portland’s LGBT population has come to at least one sort of consensus:
On the issue of whether Adams should stay in office or get the boot,
they’ve agreed to disagree.
“The lines of opinion have already been drawn in this community,”
Poe says, noting that most of his gay friends want Adams to stay in
office. “And I don’t think they’ll change.”