Mayor Tom Potter has already retired once, and at nearly 67 years old, his colleagues—and the rest of the city—are wondering if it’s time for him to do it again. But as the clock ticks down on his decision to run for reelection, his colleagues on the second floor of city hall are biting at […]
Randy Leonard
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Pig Wrestling
Mud Flies at City Hall Over Sit-Lie Law
City Commissioner Randy Leonard has launched a public attack on the Portland Business Alliance (PBA) and Mayor Tom Potter over their controversial sit-lie ordinance. Last week, Leonard accused the business lobby and the mayor of being “disingenuous” in their efforts to get council to sign off on enforcement of the law by opening a 24-hour […]
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Best Cops Money Can Buy
Downtown Businesses Purchase Their Own Police
City council agreed last Wednesday, August 1, to let the Portland Business Alliance (PBA) continue paying the salaries of three downtown police officers for the next 10 years, to the tune of $200,000 per year. But civil rights and police oversight activists are concerned the contract essentially amounts to buying special treatment for downtown business […]
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The City Hall Limbo
Lobbyists Fly Under City Rules
A year and a half ago, Commissioner Sam Adams made good on a campaign pledge to make city hall more transparent by introducing a series of rules designed to force lobbyists to report their activities—but the latest reports show that Adams’ effort is largely a bust. Well after the rules’ six-month trial run, the second […]
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Butts Out?
Leonard Continues Anti-Smoking Crusade
City Commissioner Randy Leonard isn’t shy about his hatred of cigarettes. He’d ban them outright if he could, but his hands are tied by jurisdictional limits, so he’s only managed to chip away at smoking in areas that the city controls—including the outdoors. His office is currently working on a city ordinance that would ban […]
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Hall Monitor
Booooo!
Next time there’s a federal holiday in the middle of the week, try this line on your boss: “You know, we’re taking off Wednesday anyway, which makes the rest of the week kind of pointless, so let’s just take off the whole week.” Let me know how that turns out, but I imagine your employer […]
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Ka-BOOM!
Does Randy Leonard Want to Blow Up Linnton?
Some may see biodiesel as the answer to America’s dependence on foreign oil, but residents of NW Portland’s tiny Linnton neighborhood see it bringing only death and destruction—and with a side of toxic fumes. Developers are currently in talks to build a biodiesel plant on the defunct Linnton Plywood Mill site, which has been sitting […]
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Freedom of the Press?
Mayor’s Office Wants Media Out of His Committees
Last week, for the second time in recent history, the mayor’s office showed Portland that it “believes in freedom of the press, but…” apparently only if they write what Team Mayor Tom Potter wants to read. “I believe in the freedom of the press, but I’ve seen recently the damage that the media can have […]
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Arrested Development
Planning Commission: For Pros Only?
Around city hall, appointments to commissions are usually routine matters: The mayor or council members nominate someone, and can usually bank on unanimous support from the rest of council. Last week, though, a nomination to the Planning Commission raised red flags, and ended with questions like who, exactly, qualifies as a developer, and are they […]
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Whose Streets?
Randy Leonard Fights for Portland’s Sidewalks
City Commissioner Randy Leonard may have gained much attention last week by calling for a ban on people taping their parade spots on the sidewalk, but he’s also engaged this week in a more important fight for the rights of Portland’s homeless. The mayor’s Street Access for Everyone (SAFE) committee—comprised of homeless advocates and representatives […]
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Hall Monitor
Tale of the Tape
To hear the media (hey there, KATU) and Mayor Tom Potter tell it, last Friday night’s tape removal party—or, as I’ve now dubbed it, the Pre-Parade Route Beautification and Equalization of Viewing Opportunity Hoedown™—was the precursor to some kind of Grand Floral apocalypse. In an interview with KGW outside his third floor city hall office […]
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Sit-Lie Gets Stalled
Toilets Delayed, Enforcement Too?
Mayor Tom Potter’s sit-lie committee has failed to build a single new restroom in downtown Portland, reneging on its promise to make more bathrooms available for the homeless before banning them from sitting or lying on the sidewalk. The sit-lie ordinance is scheduled to go into effect on Saturday, June 9. But as we went […]