Going for it

With 587 days left in the term of office of Mike Schmidt, the Multnomah County district attorney, already a deputy in his office has formally come forward as a credible candidate to oust him in next year's election.

The guy's name is Nathan Vasquez, and he's running to the right of wishy-washy Mikey. Actually, it would hard to squeeze in on Schmidt's left, and so we really don't know much yet about the challenger.

"My policies will focus on supporting crime victims, revitalizing our neighborhoods, and addressing our drug issue with a firm, yet empathetic approach. I believe in the power of unity for community healing and for the betterment of our neighborhoods."

I wish him luck. If it's the last thing Portland needs, it's four more years of Mikey. I'm still hoping that Governor Kohoutek will find something else for him to do, and quick. Maybe he'd take some kind of gig screwing around with the broken public defender system. That cluster looks like it will go on for decades.