Skip to main contentNick Fish
Tattoo he'd get: Dora the Explorer, "in solidarity" with his 4-year-old son.
This is Fish's third bid for City Council. The labor lawyer who comes from an East Coast political family with roots back to the Revolutionary War got stomped by Randy Leonard in 2002. In 2004, Fish managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by blowing a big lead to some ex-mayoral aide named Sam Adams. That left Fish to lick some of the more serious rug burns we've seen in local politics.
We're not quite sure if Fish's third run amounts to a desperate grasp for redemption or an admirable demonstration of one man's persistence. But we're endorsing the fella (in 2002 we endorsed Leonard; in 2004, Fish) as the one to replace Commissioner Erik Sten, who created this vacancy when he left the job in April.
We've watched Fish for six years now (he has augmented his legal business with a public-affairs TV show) and have little doubt of his commitment to civic affairs, his smarts and his willingness to do his homework. He is one of those candidates whom we like "in spite of."
In spite of the fact he disagrees with WW on publicly financed election campaigns (he opposes them and we don't—yes it's a mess, but a mess worth fixing rather than shit-canning). In spite of his opposition to the proposed public takeover of PGE, which we supported. And in spite of the sneaking suspicion that his candidacy is riddled with some Freudian impulse dealing with his family's DNA for public service. His father, Hamilton, was a longtime Republican congressman whose ancestors included a U.S. senator and secretary of state, congressmen, and Revolutionary War notables. Hell, maybe we should be flattered Nick would even consider our City Council.
In spite of all this, we believe Fish deserves his shot. He's got a good degree of common sense; his "big idea" is to consolidate the region's many housing agencies, an idea that ain't sexy but is smart. He's honest, has a great work ethic and will be his own man.
He's preferable to Jim Middaugh, the only candidate in this field who's publicly financed. Middaugh was Sten's chief of staff. He is a member of the Columbia River Gorge Commission and a bona fide enviro wonk. We like Middaugh's green focus. But he doesn't offer much else. And we're not confident he'd stand up to a Mayor Adams in any serious way. The two worked together in U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio's office back in the '80s. And compared with Adams' hyper and domineering ways, Middaugh comes off as brash, but less than steely.
We like Fred Stewart, too. He's a bomb-thrower with the background that's missing on the Council—Marine Corps vet, business owner and, yes, black on a Council that's been all-white since 1992. (It's worth noting that Charles Jordan, the city's first black commissioner, endorses Fish.) But Stewart's bluster-to-substance ratio is out of whack. Ed Garren, a therapist who recently moved here from California, is right to bring up renters' rights. But his candidacy is mostly noise. Finally, Harold Williams Two doesn't seem to know why he's running. We don't, either.
Video of WW endorsement interview(thanks to Portland Community Media)
WWeek 2015