Skip to main content• As first reported Feb. 13 on WWire, Nate Waas Shull, Mayor Sam Adams' Education Strategies youth coordinator, has become the third Adams staffer to jump ship. The departure comes after Adams' Jan. 19 admission that he had sex with then-teenager Beau Breedlove in 2005. Shull is going to work for the Portland Schools Foundation. Meanwhile, Unzipped magazine has announced that Breedlove, now 21, has posed nude for its May issue.
• Former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury is serious enough about a gubernatorial run next year to have begun raising money—$7,000 so far this year. But another wannabe guv, Steve Novick, told Bradbury's wife, Katy Eymann, in a recent street-corner conversation that he'll be in the Democratic primary no matter what Bradbury decides. Novick hopes to have his act together in time for a 25th reunion of his Harvard Law School class in April, so he can hit up ex-classmates including former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Mad Money's Jim Cramer for donations.
• Auto enthusiasts are gearing up to fight a bill that could ban the sale in Oregon of environmentally unfriendly aftermarket car parts. House Bill 2186, introduced by House Speaker Dave Hunt at Gov. Ted Kulongoski's request, aims to prohibit the sale of parts leading to higher fuel emissions than their alternatives. The California-based Specialty Equipment Market Association Action Network is urging its 7,000 corporate members to contact Oregon lawmakers about the proposed ban on parts "designed to either personalize or optimize specific vehicle performance attributes including handling, towing, suspension, fuel economy, etc." Says David Van't Hof, Kulongoski's sustainability policy adviser: "We're hopeful that when the bill gets amended" the opponents won't be so upset.
• Scott Bailey, an economist and co-founder of the local chapter of Community and Parents for Public Schools, has filed to run for Portland Public Schools' Board of Education in Zone 5. The Northeast Portland seat is now held by Nike executive Sonja Henning, who has made conflicting statements about possibly seeking re-election. Pam Knowles, chief operating officer and general counsel for Portland Business Alliance, has also filed to run for Henning's seat in the May 19 election.
• Multnomah County Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade is the first candidate to announce she'll run in the special election May 19 to replace Portland City Auditor Gary Blackmer. Blackmer announced in January he would step down mid-term. Griffin-Valade's announcement Feb. 17 means Multnomah County officials will hold a special election, also May 19, to fill her vacancy. So far, no word on who may file by the March 10 deadline to replace Griffin-Valade, who isn't seeking public financing.
WWeek 2015