News Back in November, WW wrote Commissioner Randy Leonard's personal life had "come to echo a sad country-western song." Make that a happy country-western song! Leonard, 57, got married last week, about a month after finalizing his divorce from his second wife of 12 years. Congratulations, from WW. We dedicate this Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers duet to you and your new wife. Photo of ...   More

News After more than a week spent standing back while City Commissioner Dan Saltzman and, more recently, City Commissioner Randy Leonard addressed last month's fatal Portland police shooting of Aaron Campbell, Mayor Sam Adams stepped forcefully into the debate this morning. Hours before Rev. Jesse Jackson brings the national spotlight to Portland tonight by speaking at a rally, Adams made an unannounced ...   More

News Only Mayor Sam Adams knows why he made the unusual decision to assign the Police Bureau to Commissioner Dan Saltzman rather than over-seeing it himself as nearly every mayor in modern Portland history has done. There's at least one logical reason why Adams might not have wanted the bureau after he won election in 2008. As proven by the furor over the fatal Jan. 29 shooting of Aaron Campbell, ...   More

News Commissioner Randy Leonard has asked for a $5.2 million loan from the City of Portland's general fund for his Bureau of Development Services, whose reserve fund is dwindling, to help maintain staffing levels and buy a new computer system. As of July, the bureau's reserves stood at $8 million. Leonard's ask comes at an difficult time amid the current recession. Last summer, BDS announced the need ...   More

News Without consulting Commissioner Dan Saltzman or the Bureau of Environmental Services, Mayor Sam Adams this afternoon proposed using $20 million of BES money to help build Portland's Bicycle Plan for 2030. The last-minute move appears to have been a calculated case of retribution directed at Saltzman for his surprise funding amendment last week. And the tapping of BES certainly caught BES head ...   More

News The City Council this afternoon heard testimony from dozens of fired-up Portlanders urging immediate action on a proposed ordinance to boost oversight of the Portland Police Bureau. "Please, listen to the people," said Ursula Anderson of Northeast Portland. "You have the power to make a decision today. You have the authority— we voted for you. Make a decision today." Coming on the heels ...   More

News Quick. Which City of Portland elected official charged $18.90 to his city-issued credit card at Spartacus Leathers on Oct. 29, 2009? A: Commissioner Dan Saltzman B: Commissioner Nick Fish C: Commissioner Randy Leonard D: Mayor Sam Adams Read their recent expense reports* [PDF] plus Commissioner Amanda Fritz's to find the answer. Then head to Berbati's Pan at 9 pm to see Pep Assembly, Bombs ...   More

News This afternoon, the Portland City Council will begin debating a highly publicized plan to boost oversight of the police. The plan by Commissioner Randy Leonard and Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade is billed as an "emergency" ordinance that would take effect immediately. But the city's human-resources boss tells WW that parts of the plan are subject to collective bargaining under state law, ...   More

News Commissioner Randy Leonard's push to arm and certify Portland Water Bureau security guards as Oregon police officers has taken a turn. Five months after WW first disclosed Leonard's proposal, the commissioner is now exploring a plan to arm Water Bureau security personnel under a state law that lets water authorities in Oregon create their own special police officers. Those officers would have ...   More

News When Commissioner Randy Leonard and the rest of the City Council declared March 10 as Tibet Awareness Day, Leonard says a delegation from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco suggested there could be economic consequences for Portland. But Leonard and Mayor Sam Adams refused to yield to Chinese pressure and renounce their city proclamation declaring Tibet is independent. Now, a Beijing ...   More