slow race to nowhere
How has the City Council contest become such a snooze?On a November ballot featuring O’Biden vs. McPalin and a U.S. Senate election so nasty it should be moderated by Andrew “Dice” Clay, the race for a City Council seat is commanding as much interest as a Mothers Against Drunk Driving booth at a dive bar.
“If you put a gun to the head of the average general-election voter in Portland and ask them one thing they knew about Charles Lewis or Amanda Fritz—someone’s going to die,” says Mark Wiener, a local political consultant who’s sitting out this Council race.
There’s a lot at stake. The winner between Lewis and Fritz becomes one of just five City Council members overseeing a $2.4 billion budget that pays for everything from sewer pipes to stables for police horses.
The politerati have largely lined up behind Fritz, the front-runner after finishing firstin the six-candidate May primary with 43 percent. But as a newcomer Lewis showed enough flair in the primary for publicity and willingness to be an attack dog that he inched past better-known candidates last spring to place second with 13 percent. Yet so far in the November race, Lewis has seemed content to remain a tame underdog.
Since both candidates got $200,000 to spend on the general election from Portland’s public campaign financing system, they must figure out other ways besides an ad barrage to get noticed. And in the “other ways” department, Fritz looks set to maintain her lead.
Fritz has averaged nine public appearances a week since August, according to her campaign calendar. Lewis has averaged just three public appearances a week over the same period, according to his calendar.
“If it’s an election about who’s got the most time on their hands, it’s definitely not me. But we are campaigning hard across the city,” says Lewis, whose wife, Sarah, had the couple’s first child in June, and who still heads his nonprofit, Ethos Music Center. (Fritz began an unpaid leave of absence from her job as a psychiatric nurse in the psych ward at OHSU on Sept. 1.)
It’s not just Lewis’ visibility that’s declined.
The tone of the race has changed, too. What was a tense tit-for-tat—Fritz and Lewis squabbled in the primary over an anonymous IRS complaint against Lewis—is now a polite whisper. At a Sept. 19 City Club debate, the candidates lobbed each other softballs.
“Charles, please talk about how wonderful public campaign financing is,” Fritz asked Lewis. He obliged.
Even to the extent that they express clear positions on issues, Fritz and Lewis are pretty much on the same page. One of their only disagreements at the debate turned on a renewal of a five-year city levy for children’s programs. Both candidates support renewing the $70 million levy, but Lewis has supported it more enthusiastically.
“Who cares?” you ask. Exactly.
“If you’re looking for an upset, you have to differentiate yourself,” says lobbyist and sometime consultant Len Bergstein.
The levy is also an awkward cause for Lewis to stress because, as Fritz subtly pointed out at the debate, he benefits directly from it. Ethos got $106,000 from the fund last year.
The candidates have made the race even duller by sounding the same themes. It’s about experience versus experience (Lewis brags about turning a nonprofit he started with his credit card into a 78-employee operation, Fritz talks constantly about her experience on the planning commission and long list of “name” endorsers) and change versus change.
With less than six weeks left to campaign, can Lewis mount an upset? He cites an internal poll that shows “it’s a horse race to the end,” though he won’t share numbers.
“I would not characterize our poll that way,” Fritz says with a smile.
She also has more friends on Facebook—57 to Lewis’ 21.
Trail Mix
Hardball: As we went to press, the
Oregon Education Association’s 42-member staff entered its eighth day on
strike. The timing is critical because the strike, primarily over benefits and work rules, comes during the
election homestretch. In addition to bankrolling Democratic candidates and causes (witness a recent $2 million check to Defend Oregon, battling several conservative ballot measures) OEA staff coordinates the 48,000 union members in phone banking, literature drops and canvassing. Some campaigns are already feeling the OEA’s absence. Strikers’ spokesman Tom Husted says phone-banking operations in Portland, Beaverton and Tigard are silent. “Teachers are honoring our picket line,” Husted says. “We hear some retirees may be scabbing from home, and that’s unfortunate.”
Democratic congressional candidate Kurt Schrader has a small complication in his tough race against Republican Mike Erickson in the 5th District. Schrader, a state senator from Canby, got a routine $2,000 campaign donation in June from Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Since then, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation earlier this month into questions about Rangel’s financial dealings. Given both Schrader’s Boy Scout reputation and his fellow Dems winning a House majority in 2006 partly based on a promise to clean up Congress, Trail Mix wondered if Schrader—who’s raised $512,000—might return the donation and irk the influential Rangel. Um, nope. Says Schrader’s campaign manager, Paul Gage, “We haven’t given any thought to giving back the money.”
Behind the 8 Call: As first reported on WWire, there’s a new website for Oregonians looking to help Californians fight Proposition 8, which would amend Cali’s Constitution to read “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Oregonians Against Proposition 8 (actblue.com/page/oregonian) was created by Thalia Zepatos—former director of organizing and training for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force—and Basic Rights Oregon Executive Director Jeana Frazzini.
Face Off (with Debate Party Map)
Watch Friday's presidential debate at one of these places...or add your own to the map!
This Friday, Sept. 26, John McCain and Barack Obama take the stage at the University of Mississippi for the first of their three presidential debates.
They’ll do so with polls showing their contest tighter than a bank credit manager these days.
But what’s the likelihood of this debate being a game-changer for those few idiot voters who can’t quite decide in this race between Thesis and Antithesis?
FACTS: As of Sept. 19, Lewis had $149,000 left to run his campaign, and Fritz had $159,000.
.nar.jpg)
Hi Candidates For Portland City Council, Charles Lewis and Amanda Fritz:
Once again, after months of withholding relevant, important public data from citizens with a vital interest in this matter and without adequate notice to those directly affected, Dan Saltzman has forced the disposition of the surplus city property known as the John Ball School site onto the city council agenda.
As you both know, there is demonstrable overwhelming neighborhood opposition, NO Due Process and a deliberate refusal from Potter, Adams (inexplicable ?), Saltzman, Leonard (inexplicable ?) and Fish to provide public information on the Portland Hope Meadows corporation board and its funders. Is this the kind of behavior you endorse? If you were on the city council today would you be a part of this disgraceful charade of the democratic process? Is this the kind of "sunshine progressive" government as opposed to "dark, behind the scenes deal making" political gamesmanship that you will support if elected to Portland city government?
Amanda Fritz testified against the Portland Hope Meadows plan almost two years ago. Charles Lewis is on the record as opposing the Portland Hope Meadows corporation plan.
On behalf of our community's deeply held value of Due Process and support for the right of citizens of Portland to be heard in this and all future dispositions of surplus public property in their neighborhoods, we, the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee, ask that both of you immediately put out a press statement restating your positions in opposition to the Portland Hope Meadows corporation plan AND that both of you testify against the proposed lease agreement which is on the city council agenda for 2 PM Thursday October 2nd.
Thank you.
Portsmouth Residents Action Committee:
Helen Aakre
Carmen Allen
Nancy Alwin
Navy An-Keilty
Garald Arthur
Patricia Arthur
Joseph Asmus
Darlene Bailey
Mike Bailey
Lorna Beckley
Tom Beckley
Myra Beetle
Richard Beetle
Kevin Begemann
Norma Beshean
Melissa Brant
Mary Ann Brezo
Thomas Brezo
Gerold Brezo
Nancy Brooks
Rachel Burdon
Mark Burdon
Elia Burke
Gerald Caldwell
Rubie Campbell
Dave Carter
Jon Crane
Steve Curley
Peter Daly
Susan Davis
Shirley Dimick
Richard Ellmyer
Lorri Farley
Brannon Fero
Jason Fisher
Sarra Flipas
Jason Fostes
Elmer Frank
Deb Frasieur
Bob Frasieur
Marian Fuller
Helen Gelston
Donald Gilberston
Mary Gilberston
Virginia Gilbo
Guy Glaeser
Robin Glaeser
Carrie Greve
Connie Gunston
Cloydeen Hammond
Amber Hardy
John Hardy
Mary Hardy
Debra Hata
Eldene Herder
Rose Hill
Nancy Hodge
Ramon Hodges
Inez Hodges
Geraline Holzscheu
RoxannneHouston
Whanda Huff
Elanor Hull
Damon Hymer
Cindy Hymer
Jerrie Johnson
Alton Jones
Tese Jones
Christian Kemp
Ada Keranen
Jon Keskitalo
Mary King
Olive Kistner
Gerald Knox
Gunhild Knox
Henry Knox Jr.
Lorene Knulson
Julia Kolkowsky
Debbie Krueger
Maxine Krueger
Barbara Lehman
Linda Lere
Carol Luckeroth
Beverly Maxcy
David Maxcy
Leonard McCormick
T. McThornton
Bonnie Meltzer
William Minard
Linda Minard
Karina More
Sean Morgan
Sharon Nasset
Chris Neault
Beverly Nissinden
Vernon Norris
Lee Nyberg
Tina Paettece
John Parrish
Barbara Parrish
Michael Pereira
Richard Phenp
Ron Picha
Allison Pyrch
Nick Radtke
Juylian Ramirez
Inola Rathburn
Joseph Regory
Bob Rich
Kruly Rlle
Darlene Roach
Leanna Rolle
Roy Rotherham
Gail Rotherham
Justin Rotherham
Mary Rotherham
Jim Schaller
Stephen Schmidi
Virginia Scott
Tonya Scott
Jonathan Scott
John Scott
Sandra Shanon
Travis Sheetz
Katherine Sperry
Donna Stephenson
Howard Stephenson
Dora Sullivan
Ernie Swartz
Mary Swartz
Della Taylor
John Taylor
Janet Telfer
Sam Thompson
Derek Tompolez
Misty Tompolez
May Tony
Karen Trappen
Lani Tribbett
Norma Trimble
Rob Trimble
Cody Van
Scott Watkins
Matthew West
Robert White Sr.
Greg Wilhelm
Jubilee Williams
Ann Wood
Steve Zahn
Marlene Zenker
On Thursday October 2, 2008 mayor-elect Sam Adams will lead his colleagues in a vote which will confirm the future Adams administration policy of UNLIMITED Neighborhood Concentration Of Public Housing. Adams has abandoned his claim that good public decision making requires good public data for back room political deals as his policy making process. Sam Adams has made it clear that he would secretly abandon the bicycle alliance, art advocates, the gay community and his own neighborhood if and when it suits his vote trading needs with other city commissioners.
In early July I asked for a meeting with Sam or his staff to discuss how Sam could work with neighborhood leaders to stop the giveaway of more than a million dollars of surplus city property to a tax-exempt non-profit corporation with no track record and a history of refusing to provide the owners of the property, i.e. city taxpayers, with any contact information about its board and funders. (In October of 2006 Sam made the unassailable argument that the disposition of the surplus city property, the John Ball School site, to the Portland Hope Meadows corporation was illegitimate and wrong because it clearly violated due process. He voted against the resolution. He was joined by Randy Leonard and future council candidate Amanda Fritz.) I should have known when I was told that no staff person in Adams office was assigned nor even available to discuss the issue and that I should to go to Saltzman's office, that the behind the scenes deal had already been cut.
It was dishonest of Sam's office not to tell me in early July that Sam had traded his vote and his credibility for something more important to him. As a result, Sam's hidden agenda wasted enormous amounts of time by citizens, who, under the false impression that Sam Adams believed in the value of due process, continued blindly in their efforts to organize opposition.
Commissioner Sam Adams twice ignored the request of more than 160 members of the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee to provide them with public data, contact information for the Portland Hope Meadows corporation board and its funders.
Commissioner Sam Adams voted to spend a million dollars to bring more citizens into the process of governing our city. He voted to fund the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. ONI is a bureau dedicated to bringing more citizens into the process of governing our city. This public spending and support notwithstanding, commissioner Sam Adams dismissed as irrelevant the request of more than 160 members of the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee (property and business owners) and the request of the Portsmouth Neighborhood Association representing another 15 Portsmouth residents, to heed the overwhelming rejection of Saltzman's selfish proposal to bring more social and economic stress to a neighborhood with the highest total number and the second highest percentage of public housing clients of any neighborhood in Oregon. Obviously, citizen input is most valued, indeed, has its only value, when it supports rather than challenges those decisions already made in Portland city hall's private vote swapping machine.
Commissioner Sam Adams recently voted for three HAP candidates that refused to give him or anyone public housing statistical data. Adams made no effort to acknowledge, much less support, Richard Ellmyer who guaranteed Sam that if appointed he would get the public housing statistical data that commissioner Adams has twice asked for and was twice refused.
Commissioner Adams voted for the deceptively worded PDC 30% Public Housing set aside funds destined to bring more public housing to the already overloaded Portsmouth neighborhood.
Commissioner Adams ignored a request from the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee to the Portland Development Commission to stop funding public housing in Portsmouth and redirect those public dollars to Urban Renewal Areas with 15% or less public housing clients.
Commissioner Adams continues to support the N. Newell street Hacienda CDC project which will add even more public housing to Portsmouth and North Portland.
Commissioner Adams, with no public housing statistical data to defend his position, is advocating for more public housing in the vacant public property on Lombard in St. Johns.
The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable:
Mayor-Elect Adams Votes For The Policy Of UNLIMITED Neighborhood Concentration Of Public Housing.
Mayor-Elect Adams Votes Against The Policy Of Equitable Distribution Of Public Housing.
Mayor-Elect Adams is unconcerned about the long term moral, social, educational, security and economic consequences of creating a low-income housing ghetto in the Portsmouth neighborhood or any neighborhood in Portland. He has no problem publicly branding North Portland as somewhat less than a desirable place to live and do business by making it a dumping ground for all the so-called "do good" projects that people like Dan Saltzman and his neighbors wouldn't tolerate in their backyards.
On July 22, 2008 I met with Sam to encourage him as mayor-elect to ask HAP for the third time for public housing statistical data. He surprisingly refused and foisted the job onto newly minted so-called "housing" commissioner Nick Fish. You will remember that Fish lied to an Oregonian reporter about supporting the public's right to public housing statistical data when he was a HAP commissioner. Through two campaigns for city council Nick Fish never once asked HAP for public housing statistical data nor mentioned the need for this information as the basis for defensible decision making to the voters. Adams promised me that Fish would bring him the data he had twice before requested by October 1st. So far there is no evidence that Fish has asked HAP for it, got it and gave it to Adams or anyone else.
This is an excellent example of the failure and corruption of Portland's commission form of government. You don't mess with my bureaus and I won't mess with yours. Public policy is made behind closed doors. Five commissioners may vote but only one commissioner makes policy for any bureau - unchallenged by colleagues or citizens. That's wrong. Open, due process, public debate and discussion would never have resulted in Saltzman's scheme to add more government subsidized low-income housing to the Portsmouth neighborhood on the John Ball School site. Any plan for owner occupied market rate housing would easily have crushed Saltzman's pet project. We will never know what vote(s) Saltzman traded to Adams for not only his acquiescence but Sam's support. What we do know is that Sam Adams will carry on business as usual when he takes office.
Adams recently went to China ostensibly to promote economic development. Yet he ignored the growing number of vacant storefronts on the Kenton to St. John's Lombard business corridor. Businesses won't move to North Portland if there isn't sufficient disposable income to buy their products. Every time Sam Adams votes to add more low-income government subsidized housing to North Portland he votes against economic development and the growth of the business community in North Portland.
Where are Charles Lewis and Amanda Fritz our taxpayer funded candidates? Would there be any reason to vote for publicly financed elections and either of them if both of these candidates don't show up to testify for openness, sunshine and due process in the disposition of city property, for citizen and neighborhood involvement and against the illegitimate give away of the publicly owned John Ball School site because it is a pet political project of Dan Saltzman advanced by a corrupted vote swapping culture?
Where is elected Multnomah county circuit court judge Alicia Fuchs whose professional job and commitment is to due process in her courtroom. It appears that judge Alicia Fuchs does not extend her belief in due process outside the Mutlnomah county courthouse. Voters will certainly be interested in an appearance by judge Alicia Fuchs, a member of the Portland Hope Meadows board, on Thursday October 2, 2008 to defend her support for the complete disregard for due process in the matter of the disposition of the public property known as the John Ball School site.
Where are those that work for the Windemere realty company (supporters of the Windermere Foundation - a Portland Hope Meadows corporation funder), especially realtors from the Kenton branch? Why would anyone in North Portland do business with a real estate company that ignores property owners, business owners, the financial consequences on property values and business development in their own neighborhood? It will certainly be noted which Windermere real estate agents from the Kenton branch do not appear and testify in support of Portsmouth and North Portland interests.
I supported city commissioner candidate Sam Adams in the dark days when it looked as though his competition, Nick Fish, was on the road to victory. I wrote that mayoral candidate Sam Adams was going to change our city government for the better. If you put personal politics and council gamesmanship above public policy and the people of Portland then you become part of the problem not the solution. Sam Adams' long experience on the government payroll hasn't made him better at governing only better at playing the same old, same old game. Sorry readers. I was wrong.
Richard Ellmyer
Community activist leading the campaign to stop all potentially new public housing (means test + government subsidy + rental agreement) in the Portsmouth neighborhood, especially the following:
1. Hacienda CDC public housing project on N. Newell Street (PDC ignores ICURAAC request to stop funding.)
2. The former John Ball School site (Portland Hope Meadows Corporation and commissioner Saltzman refuse to make available accurate and complete public data on funders and board members.)
3. The recently closed Clarendon School site (Temporarily defined by PPS as a "swing space.")
Standards for Equitable Distribution of Public Housing Resolution author and project champion
Writer/Publisher - HAP Watchers commentary - Published on the Internet (http://www.goodgrowthnw.org) and distributed to thousands of readers interested in public housing policy in Multnomah County. To Subscribe: HAP-Watchers-on@goodgrowthnw.org
President, MacSolutions Inc. - A Macintosh computer consulting business providing web hosting for artists and very small businesses. Located in Portsmouth, the neighborhood with the second highest concentration of public housing clients, 30% and rising, within HAP's Multnomah county jurisdiction of 117 neighborhoods.