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Well, that escalated quickly. Shortly after WW’s press deadline Jan. 13, mayoral aide Sam Adams announced he was resigning to deal with health issues. Three days later, after Adams told WW his health was the sole reason for his departure, Mayor Ted Wheeler disputed that account—and said Adams had engaged in a pattern of bullying female city employees. Records showed Adams had a particularly hostile encounter with two deputy city attorneys in December, which probably led to a mayor’s office decision to fire him. Here’s what our readers had to say:
BigMtnFudgeCake, via Reddit: “Epic and hilarious that Ted just threw him under like that. Very hot drama indeed.”
Marjorie J. Simpson, via wweek.com: “The do-nothing status quo in City Hall got him fired. And now the do-nothing status quo that advocates for drug addicts, people with mental illness, and criminals to be allowed to camp anywhere they please is rejoicing.
“In a city that doesn’t work, those that commit the ultimate sin of trying to make it work will be shunned.”
PDXtech, via Reddit: “I’m starting to think Ted Wheeler is a bad mayor and not surrounding himself with the best people.”
PDX Real, via Twitter: “Everyone should have skepticism of reports like this. Our media is grossly negligent in reporting anything close to the truth, and to say orgs like Willamette Week don’t have a vested interest in destroying Adams’ political career is naive to say the least.”
MarySue Healy, via wweek.com: “It’s not that hard to survive and thrive in a city job (or any job really) long term if you just remember the golden rules:
“1. Don’t be a jerk. Just be civil and professional to your co-workers and those around you. You can be tough, you can disagree, you can push back, but when you treat people poorly it will come back to bite you on the ass.
“2. Don’t eff with attorneys. And don’t eff with HR.
“3. Don’t lie to journalists. You’ll get caught. You’d think Sam woulda learned this rule since he’s had problems with it in the past.
“Oh well, Sam, ya blew it.”
scubadoo7478, via Reddit: “So are we still getting the mass sanctioned camp areas? That’s my main concern. “I’m going to hold judgment on Sam. The city thinks it’s racist to say ‘brown bag’ for bringing your lunch from home. I can’t tell if Sam actually did something wrong or if he’s a victim of our politically-correct-gone-wrong culture these days.”
Sarah Iannarone, via Twitter: “Few things you can count on in Portland politics, but a scandal from Sam Adams, well, y’all shoulda seen that one coming.
“No surprise to anyone who’s heard the fable of the scorpion and the fox. But Wheeler, whew, how you gonna bring your boy in to save your ass once, then throw him under the bus to save your ass again.
“So shady, the lot of them.”
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