As time permits

I see that the bobbleheads on the Portland City Council are fussing over how long it takes to get permits from the city. Two of the council members who want to be mayor under the daffy new city charter, Mingus Mapps and Carmen Rubio, are slugging it out over who knows best about how to streamline the process.

I doubt that anything serious is going to get passed on this before the new charter takes effect in 2025. The smart thing to do would be to wait, hire a city manager who can actually get something done, and tell him or her to get to it. 

But the real problem is not just how long it takes; it's also how much the city gouges people for the permits. Just like they gouge for sewer service and are soon going to gouge for water. Leaf tax, arts tax, special tax levies for fire trucks and basic parks maintenance – no one is ever going to change the city's nickel-and-diming ways.

But at least the City That Works You Over™ could fleece you more quickly and efficiently.

Without looking too closely at the Titanic deck chair charts being proposed by either of the two bobbleheads, I can tell you that I wouldn't trust whatever it is that Rubio is proposing. I wouldn't trust her with much of any import. She's the city version of the person who's the current county chair, a blister on the heel of progress. You can get the rah-rah on them from the kids at the Weed. They love them, and the city they've built for us.