The primary election is a little over two months away, and we finally have a sense of everyone who will be in the race. Tuesday evening, March 11, was the filing deadline for those wanting to be on the May 20 ballot. Candidates have until Friday afternoon, March 14, to withdraw from the race, and […]
Randy Leonard
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Hall Monitor
“I just believe in fairness, and fair is fair. It is exceedingly unfair to change the rules for an election during the election.” That was City Commissioner Randy Leonard during a January 9 city council meeting, when the council was discussing a special election to replace outgoing Commissioner Erik Sten. At issue? Whether to craft […]
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Hall Monitor
Budget Bust
You know that feeling when you reach for your wallet, go for that $20 you’re sure is in there, and discover that you’ve only got a fiver after—oh, right, you forgot—going out the night before? That’s pretty much how the city council’s feeling lately. The commissioners have split into teams to dig through bureaus’ budget […]
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Here We Poll Again
After two weeks of devoting this space to Sho Dozono’s $27,295 poll problem, I’d hoped to turn my attention to what the current city council has been up to. Not a whole lot, it turns out. Commissioner Sam Adams is bringing a resolution to the council on Wednesday, February 27, buying his staff more time […]
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Reviewing the Review
Leonard Pushes Mayor on Cop Review Report
City Commissioner Randy Leonard is throwing stones at Mayor Tom Potter over the credibility of an independent consultant’s report released last month, which said the community doesn’t trust the city’s Independent Police Review (IPR). The report, by Arizona-based consultant Eileen Luna-Firebaugh, came back to the mayor’s office on January 24 and will be presented to […]
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In Other News
LEONARD IN COURT? City Commissioner Randy Leonard may have to appear in court over comments he made on Blogtown (blogtown.portlandmercury.com) last month about his Project 57 plan, which aims to offer drug treatment to the “worst” downtown offenders instead of putting them in jail. Criminal defense attorney Chris O’Connor served Leonard with a subpoena to […]
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Street Fight
Sam Adams Appeases Mayor Potter, Oil Lobbyists
Last Wednesday, February 6, City Commissioner Sam Adams did an about-face, ditching his plan to enact a new fee that would pay for $464 million in street improvements and announcing that he would—at the mayor’s behest—ask the council to put the package to a public vote. The day before, Mayor Tom Potter sent out a […]
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The Blame Game
Public Doesn’t Trust IPR; Will Blackmer Take the Fall?
The city auditor needs to make changes to stop widespread public mistrust of the Independent Police Review (IPR) process, according to an independent consultant’s report released last week. “There is widespread community dissatisfaction with the Independent Police Review system,” says the 186-page report, written by Arizona-based consultant Eileen Luna-Firebaugh. “There is a lack of trust […]
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In the Shadows
One-Man Safety Net
[In the Shadows is a new biweekly column in which Mercury crime and cop reporter Matt Davis explores Portland’s underbelly.—eds.] Chris O’Connor is a cross between a public defender in community court and Superman. He’s a sharp-eyed, sharp-witted barrel of a guy, whose surprising lightness on his feet extends to his conversation—you don’t converse with […]
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Back to School
Amy J. Ruiz
City council hopefuls, elected officials, and curious constituents crammed in alongside Jefferson High School students on Friday afternoon, January 18. The audience quickly took their seats in the school’s auditorium, ready to hear what Mayor Tom Potter had to say in his last annual State of the City speech. Which wasn’t much, as it turns […]
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In Other News
BIKE JUSTICE On Tuesday, January 22, the Portland Police Bureau announced that Timothy Wiles—the cement truck driver who drove over cyclist Tracey Sparling at the intersection of SW 14th and Burnside on October 11, killing her—was cited for failure to yield to a bicycle, which carries a $242 fine. In another high-profile collision that claimed […]
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Old Town Dumping Ground
Leonard Pushes Second Homeless Center
Commissioner Randy Leonard proposed a controversial deal to locate a second temporary day-access center for the homeless in Old Town/Chinatown on Monday, January 7, in a move likely to further piss off the neighbors. Leonard’s timing could not have been worse: Old Town businesses and neighbors are still reeling over Commissioner Erik Sten’s decision last […]