Over the dull roar of rush-hour traffic in the I-405 gulch below, a crowd gathered at NW Flanders and 15th to show a little love for a bridge that’s halfway across town—the soon to be scrapped Sauvie Island Bridge. Those gathered—a few dozen cyclists and pedestrians—support Commissioner Sam Adams’ proposal to move the old bridge […]
politics
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Hall Monitor
Decisions, Decisions
Mayoral candidate Sho Dozono landed in hot water during an April 21 KGW-Oregonian televised debate, when opponent Sam Adams pointed out that Dozono “would have the city join the Joint Terrorism Task Force [JTTF].” If you weren’t paying attention when Mayor Tom Potter led the ballsy 2005 effort to yank Portland cops from the anti-terrorism […]
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Hall Monitor
Drama Queens
If Mayor Tom Potter had a thumbtack and a bulletin board, this stage of the city’s budget process would be exactly like the high school drama department’s spring musical auditions—with hopeful city commissioners counting down the hours until Potter’s budget decisions are posted. Some of the commissioners’ proposals will make the cut, while others will […]
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Over the Top
Sam Adams and Sho Dozono Wrestle on the Issues
CITY COMMISSIONER—and mayoral candidate—Sam Adams spent the first warm, sunny day of the year going door to door, asking for votes. “Ballots go out in three weeks and the election is May 20,” says Adams, chatting with a man holding a garage sale on N Rosa Parks Way last Saturday, April 12. “I’d be honored […]
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Setting the Agenda
Oregon’s Democrats Make a Game Plan
THIS PAST WEEKEND, as Chelsea Clinton cavorted through Oregon to campaign on her mom’s behalf, Democrats from across the state gathered in the Eugene Hilton and quietly hammered out a legislative agenda for the next two years. Laboring over ideas and organizational strategy, nearly 300 state delegates attended the biennial platform convention. In small groups […]
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What’s the Dif?
Democratic Senate Candidates Go Head to Head
IT WAS A BIG WEEK in one of the most contested political battles in Oregon. (No, not the Democratic presidential nominee race, which brought Hillary Clinton to town.) Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley and political activist Steve Novick are vying for the chance to take on incumbent Senator Gordon Smith—a vulnerable Republican with a multi-million-dollar […]
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More Notes from the Rope Line
A Glimpse of Hillaryland
IT’S 8 AM on Saturday morning, April 5, and we’re headed toward Hillsboro. That’s right—8 am, Saturday, Hillsboro. I can’t believe it. My mind is overrun with thoughts and apprehensions about how this ill-conceived Hillary Clinton rally might stack up against Barack Obama’s rock-star blow-through at the Memorial Coliseum last month. But as we pull […]
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Hall Monitor
Dishonest Objections
“I’d rather invest that money in sidewalks, in safe ways to school, and in paving streets and reducing traffic congestion and improving traffic safety throughout the city,” Mayor Tom Potter said during last week’s city council meeting, following a heated discussion on whether or not to spend $5.5 million to move the retired Sauvie Island […]
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Selling Obama Door to Door
Obama Supporters Kick Off Oregon Campaign
IN A RAINBOW of rain gear, hundreds of Barack Obama supporters crammed into a vacant Wild Oats grocery store on SE Division Saturday morning, March 29, to get ready to pound the pavement for their favored presidential candidate. US Representative Earl Blumenauer—in a T-shirt instead of his trademark bowtie—riled up the crowd, there for the […]
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In Other Elections
A City Race Roundup
THE DOZENS of candidates vying for spots on Portland’s city council—as commissioners or the mayor—are doing more than sticking lawn signs all over your neighborhood. In Sam Adams and Sho Dozono’s case, both are furiously raising money in the weeks before they appear—along with 11 others—on the mayoral primary ballot. Since Dozono announced on March […]
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Hall Monitor
Erik Sten: 1991-2008
“Tenacious.” “Dedicated.” “A bulldog.” Those were the words floating around city hall last week, as people passed out tissues and remembered their dearly departed colleague, City Commissioner Erik Sten. “I met him when he was first a staffer in [Commissioner] Gretchen [Kafoury]’s office, and his hair was down to his shoulders and he looked like […]
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Hall Monitor
Hindsight
In February, City Commissioner Sam Adams’ ambitious plan to patch up Portland’s streets got him into an arm-wrestling match with a lobbyist and Mayor Tom Potter, temporarily sinking the proposal. But Adams’ aim to fix the roads is making a comeback—and he’s got a two-prong attack. For starters, he’s asking for $7 million in one-time […]