Laugh about it, shout about it when you've got to choose
I don't have as much respect for the City Club as I did when I first moved to Portland 40-some years ago. Back then, they seemed like gods of civic wisdom and virtue. I was a member of the club for a while. Yes, they let me in.
But over the decades, they came out in favor of one dumb thing after another that led the city into the degraded state that it's in today. They have been very big on the Portland State "planning" orthodoxy that's fiddled away while the city has burned. And they even hired Sam Adams to run their shop at one point, after his brief can of kombucha as mayor. That didn't exactly scream "good judgment" on the City Club's part.
Be that as it may, right now they are providing a fine service with the debates they're sponsoring in connection with the upcoming primary elections. Reading reports of the Portland City Council candidates' performances at these recent events has helped me solidify my votes for those offices. Which is a good thing, because the ballots will be showing up in just a couple of weeks.
I'm going with Rene Gonzalez over Jo Ann With the Bullhorn and Vadim Mozyrsky. Gonzalez is talking common sense, while Mozy is bleating about stuff like the need for tolls on the freeways. And J.A.'s record speaks for itself; enough of that, thank you.
In the other race, I'm going with "Steely" Dan Ryan over A.J. McCreary. Dan's about as sleepy and wishy-washy as that other Dan who finally retired from the council, "Legend" Saltzman. But McCreary is preaching "no more police" and "no more homeless sweeps." We tried both of those programs, and the city has never been in worse shape as a result. And so the incumbent is the lesser of the two evils, by far.
Gonzalez and Ryan, folks.
Meanwhile, it looks like the club has got the candidates for governor coming in soon, with one debate for the blue and another for the red. But does that mean Betsy Johnson is left out? Their loss.
And the Multnomah County chair candidates will also have their day. So good on the City Club for letting us see who's who and what's what.
Speaking of Johnson, I got a kick out of this headline in the Weed a couple of weeks ago, calling her simply “the well-funded unaffiliated candidate." Sounds sort of like the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, God rest him. Only their beloved Tina had a name that day.
Well, gee, thanks, Jack. It's nice to hear that the rabble at the City Club is once again actually providing a civic benefit. It's been far too long.
ReplyDeleteI concur with your observation about Sammy Adams. Hiring him put the City Club in the toilet, as far as I'm concerned. And....Look where he is now.
I'll take you recommendations under advisement, but they are still tainted by your pig-headed support of Tom Hughes as president of Metro in the face of my textual screaming at you about what would transpire were he elected. You supported him and he did pretty much what I expected and now we, the people of Metro, now own a shitty convention center hotel. Like we need that. Thanks, Jack
And the alternative was...? I don't even remember. But it was somebody even worse.
DeleteRex Burkholder.
DeleteBurkholder was the third wheel, flushed out by the primary. Bob Stacey was the run-off competition. As much as I dislike Stacey for his imperious arrogance, I strongly doubt he would have actively pursued a dumbass Convention Center Hotel (but Bob the Dumbass _did_ vote for it). There may well have been alternative debaucheries Stacey could have brought to the table, but Jack, and too many others, went for the already tainted meat in Hughes.
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