24 hours of reaction to Sam Adams

Kari Chisholm FacebookTwitterWebsite

So, it's been roughly 24 hours or so since the latest chapter in the Sam Adams story broke. Along with checking in on the comments here at BlueOregon, I've been reading the wide-ranging comments from people on Twitter, the group-texting social-network. (Incidentally, I've heard, but can't find a source to verify, that Portland has more Twitter users per-capita than anywhere else.)

I've grabbed around a hundred of them to share with you. There's a bunch of opinion all over the place, along with plenty of snark (and a little vitriol) directed at the Mayor, the press, the police union, and others. (And if you want to read everything, or the latest Twitter comments, do a fresh search here.)

24 hours ago

scotthuber: Breaking: Portland Mayor Sam Adams accused of sexual relationship with 17 year old, in Willamette Week.
leakarts: Oh Sam Adams! C'mon!!!
acuteangle: Sam Adams has let us down. Well, he's a true politician now, so that's out of the way. This other new guy better not lie. http://is.gd/gwkO (expand)
coreydu: Breaking: Portland mayor Sam Adams lied about his relationship with former intern, according to Willy Week: http://tinyurl.com/a7b5my (expand)
wordchick: Sam Adams reaction: deep sorrow.
jeffharrop: On all the news about Sam Adams...wonderful back to the Clinton days where everyone pretends sex is the biggest thing to scandalize us
Bachelorum: Sam Adams had an affair with an 18 year old named "Beau Breedlove" Really? That's a porn name!

23 hours ago

kyleyoungblom: Damn. It. Sam. Adams.

20 hours ago

capnleela: was told earlier we need to do a sex-themed issue. um, politics + sex? who'd be interested in that? cue news: what's this about sam adams?
quilttrip: So Sam Adams has pretty much ruined Inauguration Day, huh?
StevenWalling: Sam Adams is a deft politician. Admitting a sex scandal on the eve of a historic Presidential inauguration? Smart move, if crass.
verso: Can I just say that if Sam Adams had taken up with a newly 18 year old GIRL this whole thing would be winks and elbow nudges. #dblstandard

12 hours ago

Bonobo23: I support Sam Adams. The public had no business prying into his sex life in the first place.
jzmills: Sam Adams had an affair with an intern. Beau Breedlove. What's worse, the affar or his name? Keep Portland weird.

11 hours ago

billmason: Congratulating Portland mayor Sam Adams for finding a way to knock Obama out of the newspaper lead headline. Christ on a crutch.

10 hours ago

SleepyOwlzzz: Come to work prepared to bask in the glow of the inaguration & get hit w/Sam Adams bomb by my boss who is dumb. Is it true? What's going on?
toddmintz: The Sam Adams scandal is breaking on the one day where it's not going to be front page news in PDX...lucky for him.
lancejmayhew: Just realized that he knows far too many people involved in the Sam Adams sex scandal. And doesn't believe Sam at all. Time to resign Sam.
kristinaking: hopes Sam Adams stays Portland Mayor. Why do sex lives have to eff up public service? Doesn't care if he lied about it! It's sex!

9 hours ago

shendison: Any other PDXers just get an email from Mayor Sam Adams apologizing for lying about his homosexual affair, and asking the guy to lie too?
shendison: It sure is a well timed apology by Sam Adams. Sure to fly quietly under the radar with the Presidential inauguration happening as we speak.
Goboz: Crap front page of the Huffington Post "Sam Adams, Portland Mayor, Admits Relationship With Teen Following Year Of Denial"
ltl: damnit, sam adams.
simpledoubt: @nevafeva I'm with you on the Sam Adams deal. What he does in his personal time shouldn't matter. Who had 16 months to investigate that?
hayleyrebecca: Thanks a lot Mayor Sam Adams.

8 hours ago

komouse: and a big fuck you to Sam Adams.
heathra: I really don't care who Sam Adams sleeps with, as long as everyone is of legal age and consenting. Just saying.
heathred: am i missing something re: sam adams? if he lied, it was TO THE PRESS. possibly to avoid outing his young partner. why do people care?
bill_of_lading: I don't care who Sam Adams sleeps with. It certainly doesn't affect his ability to do his job; we elected him for his potential in office.
ajootian: Th Sam Adams "scandal'' is boorish right wing agitprop. Th boy was 18. No story there.
Todfilm: On Sam Adams having sex with 18 year old, is this a bad thing? Since when is consensual sex between two adults a bad thing?

7 hours ago

jacobuskaminus: Officially annoyed at Sam Adams.
otcpdx: Wow. I am pretty damn unhappy with Sam Adams right now.
stechz: Upset at the behavior by Sam Adams: http://is.gd/gxgP (expand). I expect more from a representive of the gay community and Portland. :(
frightening: so sam adams has been mayor for what, a week, and people want him to step down already =/

6 hours ago

adriang23: Is it wrong of me to wish I was Sam Adams intern? http://tinyurl.com/93l3h3 (expand)
bike4myLIFE: Darn it Sam Adams, why did you choose to lie? I don't care about your personal, adult relationships, just don't lie!
tonylux: Wow. It seems that sam adams got himself into some deep shit.
jacobuskaminus: You gotta appreciate Sam Adams' diabolic genius in releasing this news just to coincide with "No Other News But The Inauguration Day".
willradik: Trying to figure out why it was anyone's business who Sam Adams was fucking in the first place.
TylerInCMYK: I'm feeling like the Sam Adams thing is gonna go national and Portland is gonna look ugly. It's really too bad.
lyzadanger: This Sam Adams thing is very regrettable. Not super. Bad, actually.
illustr8r: @ericjodom Where can I get my very own Sam Adams action figure/bobblehead?
RobotAdam: I'm not sure what to think about the Sam Adams deal, but I know what I think about people calling for him to resign or be recalled.
Aumie: I am still upset about Sam Adams.
myredtie: Oh Mayor Sam Adams, how can we trust what you say? You even asked someone else to lie in this cover up. "shaking head."

5 hours ago

mrgayportland28: Sam Adams to make speech at 1:30 hmmm better clear the air mr
Jmartens: Mayor Sam Adams should resign
snelson: Sam Adams interrupts inauguration coverage to apologize for lying about a prior sexual relationship. Really? Right now? #pdx
willradik: I hate that people are even suggesting that Sam Adams should resign or be recalled because of this silly nonsense.
wendemm: doesn't really get the Sam Adams thing. Should she be upset? She isn't. She doesn't get why people lie about this kind of thing.
Ramona_W: It's not like Sam Adams is the first person to lie about who he had sex with so give him a freakin' break. These press folks are viscious!
marylougall: This Sam Adams press conference is almost comical
willradik: Heh. Getting mad at the reporters in the Sam Adams press conference. #thesamadamsthing
Ramona_W: @willradik No. Shit. How much of it is legitimate questioning and how much is bitchiness cuz Sam Adams is gay? "Did this tarnish the day?"
bissell: I didn't even know Sam Adams was gay, and I still don't care. Can we get back to fixing government now?
justinkistner: Don't care about the Sam Adams issue.
willradik: @Ramona_W I'm going to put on purple eyeliner and make a "Leave Sam Adams Alone" video. Leave Sam Adams A-LONE! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!
willradik: The Portland Police, who don't want to be subject to the scrutiny of a review board, want Sam Adams to resign for lying. Shame. Hypocrisy.
blinnpdx: Jeez they are really coming down on Sam Adams. Legally consenting people have sex? OH NOES TEH WORLD ENDS.
Ramona_W: Leave Sam Adams alone! Is there no one who has had a relationship with someone it was legal to shtup but that they now regret shtuping?
gocosmonaut: I am stunned Sam Adams took so many questions. I didn't think so yesterday, but his administration might be too damaged to continue.
PDXyogini: is sad at how the Puritanical, out-dated attitude toward sex between consenting adults drives public figures to lie! Watching Sam Adams now
marylougall: Wow the police are mad at Sam Adams - that's for sure
hopkinsrocks: Sam Adams' black rimmed glasses look suspiciously gay.
gocosmonaut: I voted for Sam Adams and wanted him to stay. This press conference has been a fiasco, and has exposed his crisis management skills....
alissa_pdx: Wondering if Sam Adams will resign. I had such high hopes for him. What a let down.
mmmfiber: If Sam Adams resigns I'll stick a fork in my eye.
qpdx: Whoa. Indymedia is being the most intense questioner here at the Sam Adams press conference
amysue: C'mon Portlanders, this is America! Lying about sex is expected from politicians. Give Mayor Sam Adams a break. #sexscandal

4 hours ago

willradik: Commissioner Fritz pretty much just took the mic away from Sam Adams and told the press, in so many words, to fuck off and stop being dicks.
Studyinlight: Sam Adams was just grilled by the Portland press. The Police Union asked him to step down. What craziness!!
casperpdx: rolling my eyes at the art of ignorance of the Portland Public in the reaction to the truth of Sam Adams' fling 2 years ago! Get real people
willradik: @Lelonopo Heh. This whole Sam Adams business is terribly sad and ugly. That press conference was awwwwful.
heidib: Dear local news: Why? Dear Sam Adams, Don't you know where you live? Both of you: Just stop and let it die a newsdeath.
willradik: @yuetsu Steve Job's health impacts his ability to DO HIS JOB. How does Sam Adams banging some young guy affect his job performance?
crunchysue: Boss: Sam Adams ought to be punished (recalled) for his immoral lying. Me: You and I are not in agreement.
verbz: wtf Sam Adams!? Ugh! Why today?
patrikilpatrick: Thinking about the cluster fuck that sam adams is in
chrisorourke: I had sex with an 18 year old...I was 19. Nope not really newsworthy is it? Why is it for Sam Adams? blegh I hate drama.
satyricrash: -- uh, why WOULDN'T Sam Adams be having a fling with a sexy young thing, he is certainly a strapping fellow. I think I like him MORE now.
amycgx: Curious to know what Sam Adams' fans think of the situation and the timing of his confession.

3 hours ago

colinmeloy: All this Sam Adams bullshit is making me cringe. Doesn't the Portland press corp have anything better to do?
schmelectra: The first openly gay mayor of a "top 40 city", portland's own Sam Adams, is involved in a sex scandal. Awesome.
JevonPepper: Shame on you Sam Adams!
dreww: I am really having a hard time caring about the Sam Adams "scandal", not living there aside.
annebocci: Sam Adams, c'mon, I don't care that you had sex with him. Please just try to save your integrity...because we need you. http://www.wweek.com
unquabain: Here's what bugs me about Sam Adams. People think "Homosexual" is a synonym for "Hedonist." Adams failed to show it isn't. Discuss.

2 hours ago

peachcherub: For those who think Sam Adams should step down for having sex with an intern, I have 3 words for you: William Jefferson Clinton.
peachcherub: @willradik That was more intended in support of Sam Adams. Bill Clinton lied to a grand jury and still remained president, though impeached.
Savage575: I think, as a nation, we need more Milk and less Sam Adams
bliccy: I'm sorry, who *wouldn't* sleep with Sam Adams? With those glasses and that hair, he redefines MILF. Interns are only so strong, guys.
simpledoubt: I think people are up in arms about Sam Adams because he's gay. Had it been a woman no one would be concerned and that's upsetting.

1 hour ago

addybojangles: Damnit Sam Adams, way to reinforce stereotypes. Ugh.
Ramona_W: I was explaining my understanding of Sam Adams situation and the person I was talking to giggled, said, "Portland's mayor is gay?" #notcool
sicklittlejag: @bliccy oh god. Sam Adams is a silver fox. I would tap that so hard. /going to hell!
schutzsmith: @LogoMotives i knew you would! ;) Sam Adams and Beau Breedlove. I'm telling ya, it sounds like a gay soap opera sponsored by a beer company
_luk3: People should leave Mayor Sam Adams alone
Ramona_W: @willradik But the press went so easy on Clinton is what I'm saying. Supposedly the press is very liberal but they were savaging Sam Adams.
caitlinkeely: I still love Sam Adams jsyk.
justinkistner: @lisarokusek I agree, this Sam Adams thing feels more like anti-gay than a real problem.

Within the last hour

lrotter: Gah!!! I am so tiered of hearing about the Sam Adams drama...WHO EFFING CARES
willradik: Sam Adams should retaliate against the PPA by making the police wear pink uniforms. He can do that, right? That'd be sweet. Pink cars, too.
wheeldog: Because I was paying more attention to the inauguration,I thought all the Sam Adams' tweets were about the BEER. LOL :P now I know better.

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    Full disclosure: My firm built Sam's campaign website, but I speak only for myself. I was not privy to any of the non-public details of this story.

  • AdmiralNaismith (unverified)
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    Give 'em Hell, Sam!

    If sex is so disgusting, how come there are so many of us?

  • Mike D (unverified)
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    please...it's not the relationship..it is the abuse of power. He used his role as commissioner to woo an impressionable 17 year old. When confronted with it, he tried to spin it into some kind of Big Brother/Mentor act when it was really just a grooming this boy into bed.

    Then he used his power to get a Portland Mercury reporter who worked on the original article a crushy city job ($55K/yr--paid by taxpayers) in the Sustainability department that she isn't qualified for.

    He lies about it when he's running for mayor because to do otherwise, kills his chances. What else will he lie about? That we really need a convention center hotel at taxpayer expense? He has got to go!

  • Steven Walling (unverified)
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    Actually, Portland is 14th on the list of twittering cities.

    Thanks for this, it's an interesting tack. You might also create a tag cloud with Wordle from tweets just to get another perspective.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    14th on the list of Twittering cities worldwide may make it #1 per capita. Portland is #1 per capita in a lot of media consumption, actually.

    And I like this way of sampling opinion. It's not as scientific as a poll, but it also provides more nuance.

    And a lot of people seem to think Sam planned this timing, rather than WW timing the publication date for tomorrow morning.

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    My favorite response so far is the humor:

    Q: "How do you make a Portland boiler maker?"

    A: "A 17-year-old Scot and a Sam Adams chaser."

    There it is--Sam's behavior has made him a laughing stock, a lame-duck practically before he's taken office. For those who don't think lying to the public or grooming minors for a three-week tryst matters, ask yourself which high school is going to invite Adams to speak at graduation; which homeless youth program is going to solicit his assistance; and who in the hell is going to let their kid work in his office?

    Think about Tom Potter's week working out of Jefferson High School--you think the parents are going to even want the new mayor on campus? Don't kid yourself; Adams is severely compromised in his ability to advocate for the city at this point on any issue, but especially education. (And I doubt we've heard the half of it yet.)

    I also find the defense of Adams by those here who pilloried Mike Erickson and Derrick Foxworth extremely disingenuous.

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    Nice spin, Kari, if a bit transparent. Wiener will be pleased.

  • Daniel Spiro (unverified)
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    I get so tired of reading about out of control politicians and those who condone their recklessness.

    For the "it's only sex" crowd, here's a sobering thought which is about as much of a "fact" as we know of in American politics:

    If Bill Clinton had kept his Willie to himself, George W. Bush would never have been elected President (I, for one, don't believe he was truly elected ... but he did "win" as a technical matter). That's right, Al Gore would have used Bill to campaign for him, and the last eight years would have never happened.

    Now for something that is a bit less of a fact, but only a bit: if John Edwards had won the nomination like a lot of progressives wanted and then was exposed for his affair during the general election, we may have just inaugurated John McCain and his unthinkable V.P.

    The moral of the story is: stop defending this kind of conduct. These politicians need to know that this kind of behavior won't cut it. It's like a QB going out and getting drunk the morning of the Super Bowl. Yes, most of have gotten drunk at one point or another, but for a QB to do that on Super Bowl Sunday would be indefensible, given the circumstances.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    Gore should have campaigned with Clinton anyway, because he had high favorability ratings. And being fodder for jokes has never disqualified all the presidents we've ever had, so I don't see why a lame one apparently made up on a blog is a career-ender for Sam. As for everyone being worried Sam's going to rape all their babies, I think that's an overactive imagination.

  • Bartender (unverified)
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    Can't speak for the Twitter comments, but I just spent the past couple hours reading probably 500+ comments on local blogs, and I'd venture to guess that it's running about 80% against Sam - not the 50-50 split these "representative" comments of yours show, Kari. Just sayin.

    As literally hundreds of people have stated before me, it's not about the sex. He should not have lied, or induced others to lie for him. The ends do not ever justify the means.

    Perhaps his campaign would have suffered if he told the truth or simply refused to answer (for the very justifiable reason that it isn't our business if everything was indeed legal), but I don't feel that it is up to Adams - or anyone in such a position - to decide that I'm not capable of weighing the facts and deciding for myself what's relevant and true. I'm an intelligent adult and would appreciate being treated as one. We've had eight long years of people in power lying to us "for our own good" and telling us the ends justifies the means. It never does.

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    I appreciate reading / hearing that Mayor Adams acknowledges the poor judgment and power issues as an older adult dating a significantly younger man. Given the roles of supervisor/mentor and intern/youth, it is highly problematic from an ethical leadership standpoint.

    My gut feeling is still ARG, both at our Mayor, and at those who assume it is simply a non-issue as well as our Portland Police whose Spokesman called for his immediate resignation. Politics isn't my strong suit though.

    At this point, it is going to take time to rebuild trust. Mayor Adams has the potential I believe, at least with me. He still appears highly fit for the issues and needs of our city, though I supported Sho Dozono in the primary.

    My last point is a thank you to Willamette Week and all the efforts to do serious civic journalism. It takes significant time and money, and is often highly unpopular. It is a waste of both when we have to expose cover-ups and deception by our publicly elected officials.

  • Kurt Chapman (unverified)
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    Kari, change the name to someone you revile, like say Bill Sizemore and an 18 year old republican lwgislative intern. Still no problem?

    I am not trying to be snarky. the fact remains that this was an abuse of power by a political insider. Adams then lied about it when it came up. The people of Portland now get to deal with it.

  • david (unverified)
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    The issue is here credibility. Sam Adams purposely lied to us for his own personal gain, and urged others to lie on his behalf. He has no credibility now.

    For the good of Portland he should resign immediately.

  • Zarathustra (unverified)
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    The Reagan baby boom has come home to roost. Those born then are now influencing opinion and, to that generation, dissembling is the cost of doing business.

    Posted by: david | Jan 21, 2009 6:36:17 AM

    The issue is here credibility. Sam Adams purposely lied to us for his own personal gain, and urged others to lie on his behalf. He has no credibility now.

    For the good of Portland he should resign immediately.

    That's the legal definition of fraud; portraying a situation contrary to fact for purpose of consideration. Like it or not, the business of America is business, and the preferred method of carrying on that business is fraud.

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    I'll extend and revise my remarks from the other thread, since it was well after chalupa-time over there.

    ....

    I see these questions as kind of like a warrantless search. Anything you get after that is "fruit of the poisoned tree."

    The media had no business asking him a question about sex between two legal consenting adults. It doesn't matter what he said when he was asked -- the question was out of bounds. Once the media determined that it was a legit relationship, then that should be that.

    (It sucks to be a reporter who spends months on a story only to learn that there's no story there - tough to put it all in a file, instead of publishing. But that's the right thing to do.)

    People lie about sex. Get over it.

    Think back to whatever your most embarrassing sexual incident was - (didn't call her after? one-night-stand you'd rather forget? etc.) - and ask yourself what you would say if a reporter suddenly asked you about it. Would you confirm all the details? Would you say "none of your damn business" (knowing full well that's an admission)? Would you deny it?

    The only question should be - was it legal? Anything else is a question for his minister, his therapist, his mother, his best friend. But not the public. We're hiring him to be a policymaker and administrator; not a saint, not a role model, not father-of-the-year.

    If Sam had asked me (and he didn't), whether he should be dating an 18-year-old, I'd have said, "Dude, really? That's gonna get real boring, real fast. You want to fall in love? Find someone with similar life experiences." But whether I think he should have been dating someone is a FAR different question than whether I think it belongs in the public debate over his qualifications as mayor.

    [Oh, and to all those who are ranting about how this is just me defending a former client, you're wrong. I have LONG believed that consensual sex between adults is nobody's business but theirs. Everyone, including political leaders, deserves a zone of privacy.]

  • Eric Parker (unverified)
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    "People lie about sex. Get over it"

    Why? Just because we have liberal idealism, it does not entitle us to become Godless in our actions.

    It may be consensual, it may be between 'adults' (legally I may add), but the age difference is what's disgusting. Breedlove's age would make him seem like Sam's own child, being that Sam is 42. Common sense would dictate that you would leave someone alone and not persue someone that is at an age that would make them your son or daughter (or in Breedlove's case, your Parent).

    But, as we have seen many times over in our current society, a person's Cultural side overrides logical common sense and has been legally upheld as such in some instances. So, I guess, there is nothing we can do about it but be disgusted over it and live with the Godless consequenses.

  • Anonim (unverified)
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    Kind time of days! Help the Russian student not to starve to death, send to whom how many it is not a pity money on WM purse Z766143102689. Thankful in advance...

  • Ted (unverified)
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    Did you read the WW article? Did you read about how Breedlove has had some very emotional problems, how he felt that Sam could destroy his future? And why wouldn't he? He destroyed one of his opponent's reputations just to save his own skin and coached an 18 year old kid to lie for him. Or does Breedlove need to end up like Neil Goldschmit's teenage love doll before the harm is recognized?

    What about the liability Adams could have exposed the City to? What about a mayor being compromised by threats of blackmail? What about the lies? Adams wasn't caught off guard, he systematically lied in interviews, lied in press releases, and coached his barely-not-rape-victim to lie for him.

    I guess in one respect I will agree. Breedlove was the bigger man. He apologized to the candidate Adams smeared and ultimately came forward to tell the truth. The irony is, this 18 year old kid was honest and the real adult in this story. He is a much better reflection on the gay community than Adams, who just reinforces every negative stereotype there is (which is the point three of my gay friends were making yesterday).

  • Jiang (unverified)
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    Kari, maybe if you could write a short skit to illustrate, because I'm just not getting any kind of viable mental image here. The comments about age/sex aren't moralistic (excepting EP's- saying "Godless"; weakens any argument, duh...), it's an inability to imagine the scenario.

    Please describe/act out for us having a progressive political discussion with the guy, something about the big picture. Kind of like "My Dinner with Andre". Then cut to his having a conversation with Beau Breedlove. What did they talk about? Are we supposed to imagine that it's purely physical? I had a date once that said, "I'm not interested in you, I just like your cock", and was never sure if that made it better or not. Sure, people act like animals. They don't usually stop and have progressive discussions while doing it. What's the basis? If it's only physical is that a good reason to risk your political future? After Shrub, I'm more interested in a politicos risk taking index than views, pretty much. That, imho, was the final straw that killed McCain. He was a risk taker in his campaign at the very moment he was trying to portray himself as different from Shrub.

    Psychology holds that there is a huge correlation between need for power and sexual conquests. I've said a million times that the primate "great man" complex, and peoples' unwillingness to question their biological assumptions holds the politics a prisoner of the assumptions required to sustain that thinking. This is a classic example. If you accept that situation, Sam Adams is "always a good choice". If you don't accept that, he's disgusting.

    If the latter, you can only conclude that he is there for power, not for results. I asked when he became a member of the City Council why everyone was immediately talking about his running for Mayor. I was very bothered by his running with it instead of first establishing his record. At the time I asked of BO, "how can that ever work? Is he a saint?", and was called a troll. When you dismiss questions like that out of hand, these are the results you get.

  • Abby NORML (unverified)
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    No, this isn't about character. He puts on his heaviest boots and gives Multnomah County Democrats a huge kick in the zatch on inauguration day to cover up a blatant lie.

    Announcing that you bold faced lied about your diddling 18 year olds on the day your party is talking about change and Camelot is every bit the douchebaggery that describe the political machinations of Saxy Chambliss.

    Everyone talking about party bias, you don't have to exaggerate. Just compare Randy Leonard to Sam, at this point. Proves talk ain't cheap. It can be very costly if you buy it.

    Get in line, all you criticizing Sam. You all need to say you're sorry to Randy.

  • Eric Parker (unverified)
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    "You all need to say you're sorry to Randy"

    Only if it involves Duct Tape and/or IKEA signs

  • Stacy6 (unverified)
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    Cherry picking: the act of pointing at individual cases or data that seem to confirm a particular position, while ignoring a significant portion of related cases or data that may contradict that position.

    Kari, you're not making Oregon Democrats and progressives look very good. This incident is embarrassing enough without you trying to make it look like there's more support for Adams than there actually is.

  • Jason (unverified)
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    "Give 'em Hell, Sam!

    If sex is so disgusting, how come there are so many of us?"

    Admiral,

    Last time I checked two men can't have babies.

    Oh, and this isn't about sex. It's about lying to the people who elect you. It's about whether or not voters can continue to trust someone; and it's also about the fact that Adams says the relationship started after Beau turned 18. I'm not saying it didn't, but why should we trust Sam on that one?

    I wonder how you'd be reacting if a Republican was in office?

  • JohnK (unverified)
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    The Mayor used the original charges to his political advantage and took pleasure in trashing Mr. Ball's reputation. Hopefully, he'll exhibit a little more character this time around, expend the same resources, and issue an apology to Mr. Ball proportionate to his original falsehoods..

  • North Coast Demo (unverified)
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    How the hell does anyone know hes not lying now about when the affair started - not like he's got a track record for truthiness. He should resign.

  • Jim H (unverified)
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    I'm with Eric on this one. He may have been "legal" but a 40+ year old and an 18 year old is sick. And no, I would not have been winking if the 18 year old was a girl.

    I'm not calling for his resignation like some, but as my wife said - Sam Adams just went down a notch in our eyes.

    It may be his personal life, but it does speak to his character.

  • Bill McDonald (unverified)
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    Kari, You're doing exactly what the Bush administration just got done doing for 8 years: Framing the issue in a way where you have the best chance of winning while ignoring the more damaging parts of the problem. Why talk about whether the Iraq War was a good idea - just say the surge is working. Your focus is on sex between adults as nobody's business and I suspect most of us agree with that. Now address the other issues such as the possibility that a reporter was paid 55 grand with a city job to get her off the scent here. Finally, I have a question about the underage angle: Sam said he lied because he was being accused of underage sex by a potential opponent in the Mayor's race. Now, I assume Beau Breedlove would know this was a horribly untrue accusation to make. If someone accused a friend of mine of criminal activity, I certainly would be mad about it if I knew it wasn't true. Yet, Beau apologized to Bob Ball for the smear campaign against him. Shouldn't he have at least said, "Okay you were right that there was a legal relationship later, but I'm furious at you for suggesting we had underage sex. Don't you realize the kind of trouble that puts Sam in?" But he didn't. He apologized almost as if the accusations were true.

  • Mtrace (unverified)
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    Kari,

    He Lied, and there is a possibility that his administrations is corrupt. I don't think we should "get over it."

  • Can Someone Start Another Website Please? (unverified)
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    There is an obvious problem with the fact that this website is run by someone who takes money from political candidates. It completely ruins the credibility of the site. A new Democratic website should be established. This site has become the Fox News of the left.

  • Garrett (unverified)
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    Why? Just because we have liberal idealism, it does not entitle us to become Godless in our actions.

    Oh man, now we've got the God patrol out.

    The difference between Sam and a Republican is that Sam is an openly gay mayor. A Republican that is openly gay would have never got past a primary. The Republican probably would have also attempted or passed plenty of anti-gay legislation because they hated themselves.

    So please, let me help you off your high horses and pulpits. No 40 year old straight guy has ever thought about getting it on with an 18 year old woman or ever gone through with it. I mean...the internet is full of lies and those barely legal sites are totally not fantasies of 40 year old guys.

  • Admiral Naismith (unverified)
    (Show?)

    sigh with followers like this, how do Democrats ever, ever win and stay in office?

    If Bill Clinton had kept his Willie to himself, George W. Bush would never have been elected President (I, for one, don't believe he was truly elected ... but he did "win" as a technical matter). That's right, Al Gore would have used Bill to campaign for him, and the last eight years would have never happened.

    In other words, if Al Gore had not succumbed to NCD (Neopuritan Chickenshit Disorder) and had let the popular President run with him, it would have been Gore and not Scrappy Doo who would have left the White House by helicopter yesterday, and people would have been cheering for different reasons.

    The moral is that we need to concentrate on attacking Republicans for raping the Constitutions of the United States and Oregon, not getting all lily livered over our own politicians who enjoy active sex lives.

    Clinton fucked. JFK fucked. RFK fucked. MLK fucked. The Northwest's great Supreme Court Justice, William O. douglas, got himself a new 20 year old wife, every 20 years. Who had the pristine sex lives, slept in twin beds, even? Bush, Helms, Nixon.

    We need to embrace our Democratic heroes, not throw them under the bus for fucking. When I was growing up, I was taught that liberals were the ones who favor exploring and enjoying a healthy sex life without guilt, and it was Conservative Republicans who would bring back sin-tribunals if they could get away with it.

    Portland han have a strong, progressive government led by a strong, progressive mayor who happens to have an active sex life, or liberals can spend the next four years pouting and whining and being bogged down. The choice is YOURS, not Sam Adams's. Leave it to the upright, uptight, homophobic Republicans to whine and puke about it and take the heat for doing so...if they even dare.

  • Admiral Naismith (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Why? Just because we have liberal idealism, it does not entitle us to become Godless in our actions.

    My Goddess accepts the happy union of intertwining, sweaty, lusty bodies shouting Her name in passion as a sacrament. If your God considers pleasure to be sinful, I'm sorry.

  • Jim H (unverified)
    (Show?)
    A new Democratic website should be established. This site has become the Fox News of the left.

    I agree. How is it that Blue Oregon is the only democratic website on the internet? Kari, how did you get a monopoly on that? I hope the Obama Administration looks into this obvious anti-trust violation.

  • (Show?)

    My original view of this entire episode was entirely negative. However, I have to admit that talking to some of my gay friends, my perceptions about this have changed.

    I was surprised to discover that not a single gay man I've talked to has been anything less than 100% supportive of Mayor Adams. My perceptions are colored by having a daughter who is 17 who I would not want dating a 40 year old man, but in the gay community, in which there are no worries about pregnancy, and power issues are less of an issue, they really don't think it's anyone's business at all. Period.

    The lying also doesn't seem to bother them, because it's purely about sex, and all gays are familiar with feeling forced to conceal their true desires.

    Again, from a purely pragmatic standpoint, I wonder if Mayor Adams can effectively run the city now that he has lost so much political capital over - yet again - the inability of a Democrat to keep his pants zipped. And for those of us who are trying to push the Equal Rights movement forward, I can't see this as anything but another step back.

    But I will say that, while I disagree, I believe that it is possible to honorably hold the belief that Mayor Adams is being pilloried over this -- and that we should judge him only by his public service.

  • Howard (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Oregonian====Resign Tribune====Resign WW===Resign Portland Police Association===Resign 80% of the public===Resign

    Kari===get over it

  • negev79 (unverified)
    (Show?)

    I see these questions as kind of like a warrantless search. Anything you get after that is "fruit of the poisoned tree."

    The media had no business asking him a question about sex between two legal consenting adults. It doesn't matter what he said when he was asked -- the question was out of bounds. Once the media determined that it was a legit relationship, then that should be that.

    Kari - the problem with this statement is that the original allegation was that the relationship began when Breedlove was 17. Asking about this was not out of bounds. At that point, what should have happened was Adams saying "yes, we had a relationship, not that it's any of your business, because he was not a minor at the time." It would have blown up into a mini scandal, but I think he would have weathered it. Instead, he lied because he was scared of losing the election. And he strong armed Breedlove into lying too. Incredibly disappointing. Now he has to spend time trying to regain some credibility instead of being able to do his job.

  • Dave G (unverified)
    (Show?)

    What is most surprising is that, no matter how many times this kind of conduct happens -- Clinton, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, John Edwards -- people don't seem to learn the obvious lesson. It's not the sex, it's the lie that hurts. The coverup is worse than the behavior. It sounds like there may be multiple lies here, and it is sad. Sam could have been a good mayor. From a selfish standpoint, I hate to have Inauguration Day ruined by a reminder that no matter how much we are striving to transcend past blunders, politicians are all too human. Dave G.

  • (Show?)

    The problem is, as each day goes by, another of Adams' lies gets exposed. He may hang on -- Rod Blagojevich is still governor of Illinois and the FBI's got him on tape discussing quid pro quo for Obama's Senate seat, after all -- but his credibility's been destroyed before his term's even gotten under way.

    Not to mention, as a look at Adams' style of dealing with criticism, this is a pretty ugly example. If he's willing to blatantly lie and attempt to assassinate the characters of others with potentially embarrassing news that's -- for the most part -- true, what's he likely to do when it's something serious involving the city and multiple millions of dollars? It's virtually Nixonian.

  • imwithsam (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Sam, please don't leave us with these jerks. This will pass and we need you where you are.

  • (Show?)

    Once the media determined that it was a legit relationship, then that should be that.

    Adams himself now describes the relationship as "inappropriate," Kari, so your use of "legit" here is troubling.

  • backbeat (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Kari, I have a 17 year old son and no way in hell is he mature enough to decide whether and how to fend off the sexual advances of a 41 year old Mrs. Robinson who he interns for. No fucking way. Sam was wrong to take advantage of someone who worked for him, period. He was wrong to lie about it and he was wrong to hire an unqualified person for a major department in an attempt to hide this. Any HR director will tell you not to take sexual advantage of someone who works for you, period. Particularly when it was an intern young enough to be his son. What an ass.

  • Eric Parker (unverified)
    (Show?)

    "Once the media determined that it was a legit relationship, then that should be that."

    When there is an age difference like that of Adams and Breedlove, it is NEVER legit - in the eyes of constituents, logical people, and God. It makes no sense to have carnal dealings with those who would be logically considered to be your Parent, or your child.

    Sam's culture overrode his common sense, and now he's paying for it big time. I hope that, when it comes time for Sam to reconcile his life on earth with his maker, he can explain himself to the point where he won't be summoned to spend his eternity to the neather regions of his true spirit.

  • marv (unverified)
    (Show?)

    A few facts first. Bob Ball is a friend of Lars Larson.

    The accuser in the Adams case is a friend of Lars Larson Larson's attacks on a former mayor have not subsided. This site has reported on the case of an individual who was ten days past his eighteenth birthday when he had a consensual sexual experience with his girlfriend who was under eighteen. He was charged with a measure 11 crime and sentenced to nearly seven years in jail. It is truly sad that Carl Wolfson has now joined Lars Larson in the hunt to jail Sam Adams. Will WW provide the documentation to establish the time line confirming the illegality?

  • workingmom (unverified)
    (Show?)

    What disturbs me is the nearly total lack of concern for the young man involved. I am the parent of two young adults age 18 and 22. Let me tell you, 18 years old is VERY, VERY YOUNG. They may think they're sophisticated, hip, independent but they are still KIDS. Their world view is limited to a combination of high school angst, popular media images and whatever role models their families provided.

    By contrast Sam Adams is a middle-aged, educated man with a great deal of local celebrity. He has extensive professional, social and (presumably) sexual experience. In my view his relationship with this young man was narcistic at best, and likely predatory. And then, AND THEN, he tells the kid to lie about what happened!!! What's the message to this boy? That what they did was wrong? That he/they should be ashamed of their relationship? How did this relationship and subsequent lie help this boy find self acceptance as a gay man in a (still) homophobic world? We all know it won't. The kid did nothing wrong, nothing that any young, impressionable teenager might do when flattered and seduced by a man whose face regularly appears on the evening news. This was, and still is, all about Sam. He's damn lucky he didn't mess with MY kid because he'd be dealing with me, face to face, one on one, and it wouldn't be pretty.

    As for whether or not he should resign, I think it's up to him. It appears he broke no law, breached no official rule, so he can certainly weather the storm if he chooses. He might want to steer clear of high schools for quite awhile because, believe me, there are many parents who won't hesitate to publicly call him out on his outrageous behavior for many years to come.

  • James X. (unverified)
    (Show?)

    People sure do like dramatizing new facts to make this worse. Beau was happy to have had sex, and announced it on the freaking street corner -- he wasn't worried Sam would destroy him, he was worried he could destroy Sam. For having sex. As an adult. And 80% of the public hasn't said a thing about this. The people who choose to comment on blogs are the people who are most upset about it, not a randomly chosen sample. "I don't care" isn't something that sends one running to the blogs the way "I am outraged" does.

  • (Show?)

    Now address the other issues such as the possibility that a reporter was paid 55 grand with a city job to get her off the scent here.

    If that's true, it's a disaster - and Sam should resign and be prosecuted. But so far, there's zero evidence of that.

    Kari, I have a 17 year old son and no way in hell is he mature enough to decide whether and how to fend off the sexual advances of a 41 year old Mrs. Robinson who he interns for.

    <h1>1. Beau was 18. #2. Beau was NOT his intern. Beau was interning for right-wing wacko Kim Thatcher in Salem.</h1>

    Let me tell you, 18 years old is VERY, VERY YOUNG. They may think they're sophisticated, hip, independent but they are still KIDS.

    If you don't think that age 18 is the right age for legal consent, then fine. Fight to change the law. But right now, that's the law because our society has determined that that's when people can decide for themselves.

    As I said above, if Sam had asked me for relationship advice, I'd have advised him against dating the guy. But that's a VERY DIFFERENT thing than our standard for political leaders.

  • (Show?)

    Glad to see the DA is going to investigate this. Even without sex, Adams has now admitted that this was a sexual relationship from the start, and that he began pursuing the kid when he was still 17. The charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor may apply if Sam coached the kid to lie about the relationship. If they don't apply legally, it seems Adams escapes only on a technicality. What a creep.

    And for those here who keep blaming the victim, shame on you. I'm not pleased to have my mayor as the new spokesman for NAMBLA; and I hope the DA follows the investigation where it leads without being intimidated by Adams' famous temper, bullying or vindictiveness.

  • Idler (unverified)
    (Show?)

    What is most surprising is that, no matter how many times this kind of conduct happens -- Clinton, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, John Edwards -- people don't seem to learn the obvious lesson. It's not the sex, it's the lie that hurts.

    True up to a point, but other circumstances matter too. It's one thing to have a lover on the side, another to have one when your wife is sick, as in the case of Newt Gingrich or John Edwards. Yet another matter when you're acting like a predator to the young and impressionable, especially when they are minors.

    Opinions differ about these matters (and God was unavailable for comment), but enough people think that sexual conduct is an expression of character that politicians should restrain their appetites.

    I Adams does resign, he should avoid becoming a Catholic priest. He might be OK if he decides to be a scoutmaster.

  • Jeff (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Anywhere Adams goes, representing Portland & Oregon, they will know this before he even lands. In the first 24 hours, his admission was carried by more than 200 seperate news sources, including USA Today, CNN and MarketWatch. Around the world in Canada, India, China, Taiwan and Europe. There's plenty of fuel -- a recall effort, an investigation -- to keep this going. When does job effectiveness creep into this?

  • Roy McAvoy (unverified)
    (Show?)

    A recall is one option, but if I were Mayor and wanted to keep my job I might offer up the following to the public:

    1.A self imposed fine of up to one third of my salary for the first two years of office, with the monies dedicated to civics class projects at Portland Public Schools.

    2.I would ask for a volunteer Blue Ribbon committee to be formed to review my performance quarterly, and to make sure I was meeting all performance objectives set forth by the city to include issues of integrity. A quarterly performance review of fiscal policy might be a good idea absent the allegations in any case.

    3.I would encourage a complete and thorough police investigation to put to rest any suspicion that the young man was 17 yrs of age when the sexual acts occurred. I would strongly encourage Mr. Breedlove to come forward to the police and be forthright with any information regarding any romantic activity with me BEFORE his 18th birthday. I would personally meet detectives with and my attorney present to discuss the relationship with Breedlove prior to his 18th birthday.

    4.I would encourage an independent investigation by the city council or an appointed committee into any allegations of impropriety. Specifically, any persons related to these allegations that were hired, alleged to have been favored, or alleged to have been given any benefit for their silence.

    If all of the above was completed without further issue I would be more inclined to support the Mayor.

  • Clearly (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Kari,

    So do you agree with him lying, or do you think it was justified for him to lie and manipulate things in the way he did?

    You seem to focus on the sex, when the real issue is the lying. If we are to judge our politicians on their ability to lead his/her community, where do YOU draw the line when it comes to basing moral character, ethics and intelligence. As far as I know, the only way you can judge those people is by looking at their life and life decisions...and at times, that includes whether or not they are willing to face their mistakes.

    The truth is that if it wasnt for WW, Adams never admits to the lie. That says all you need to know. ANd you covering it up just makes you look worse.

    And to the earlier commenter's point regarding the hire of the reporter to his staff: this is what happens when you lie....everything comes into questions and motives are heightened. So now its not about the city, its about a mayor who wasnt willing to own up to his own decisions...regardless of what that incident was.

  • workingmom (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Kari - I'm not talking about LEGAL consent, LEGAL vulnerability, LEGAL outcomes. I'm talking about personal ethics, about adult responsibility, about doing the right thing.

    As I recall you welcomed your first child into the world a year or so ago. Talk to me again in 16 years when he/she has sex with an influential, charismatic man/woman old enough to be his/her parent. Think about it, Kari. Just because it's legal doesn't make it right.

  • Anne (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Help me out here. The first story I saw said the boy was 15 (forgive the no links but I'm on my phone). Now they say he was 17 but waited until he was 18 to have sex (which is every molesters first defense). Regardless, and unless Sam gets to adhere to lower standards, I don't see how this is so diffent from Neil Goldschmidt.

  • andy (unverified)
    (Show?)

    I hope boy lover stays in office. Making jokes will be easy with that clown in charge. Can't wait to see Sam at the new ballpark welcoming the ballplayers back to the shower room. Will Sam be hosting the Man Boy Love convention at the new convention hotel?

  • WeHaveToBeBetter (unverified)
    (Show?)

    I guess what I am most sad to see is the willingness to be apologists for behavior that one would excoriate if it was revealed about a Republican.

    It's this hypocrisy - that resigns the public to have no confidence in its institutions and impedes our ability to do important things like fix health care, get out of Iraq, saving the economy. And it doesn't reflect any better on Democrats than it does on right wing Republicans. The hypocrisy that Sam demonstrated is little different than that of Ted Haggard - who lied until he was caught. We all have failings. That's not the point. There is open question as to whether Sam did anything illegal - I want to believe him, but can I, really??? You know? The bigger issue to me is as the Oregonian editorial board noted (occassionally they get something right), is the sanctimony that Sam applied in denying for 16 months and the shamelessness he and his henchman applied in attacking Bob Ball. Win at all costs - Karl Rove must be impressed.

    Is no one else troubled that a "leading Democratic strategist coached the victim to lie?" Do they offer the same services to all their clients? Is it a coincidence or merely following a PR script, that Sam offered his apology on the same day that the news was consumed by Obama's historic inauguration? Remember how Edwards wanted until the Olympics started?

    How does Randy Leonard say with a straight face that Adams didn't lie to him? Does that mean he knew the truth and covered it up? Has he apologized to Ball? Like Bush, he seems to have no regrets.

    This is a sad, sordid tale but it can only be made worse and more lasting by not condemning the behavior and having some accountability. I don't know if that means resign or recall but in a time that we need government to lead boldly with transparency, this set back should not be underestimated.

    We have such potential in the era of Blue in Washington and Oregon, let us not fall victim the contorted moral relativism that plagued the Republicans and have led to the current abyss.

    Sam is energetic, talented and seemed like the right person for a tough job in an important time, but sadly i fear he lacks the judgment (not an isolated incident - remember the tram cost overruns) and now the credibility (e.g. police union dissention) be able to lead effectively. Perhaps most tragic is the potential set back for Portland's sustainability efforts (by hiring someone so unqualified on his staff to lead) and to gay rights (by giving every right wing nut from Lars Larson to Michael Savage a whipping boy for predatory behavior.)

    We have to be willing to clean our own houses when needed . John Kroger strikes me as a man of principal. I hope he doesn't allow his partisanship cloud his judgment in resolving the issue fairly -- however that may come out. It would be sad to see Sam not have the chance to utilize his talents, but I'm more interested in advancing the greater good over one person's political carreer.

    Blue Oregon let's set a better standard - we need to be a check and balance to all government officials. Let's not squander this opportunity....it may not be fair and we're all human, but like Jackie Robinson in breaking the color barrier in baseball, right now we need our elected leaders to be better and more ethical than our predecessors or the average Joe.

    Saddened but still optimistic.

  • Marshall Collins (unverified)
    (Show?)

    I could give a rip who Sam sleeps with. Whether or not anything illegal happened will soon be put to rest and if in the sense of law it was on the up n up then end of story. As far as the kid being 18, well when you are a good looking 18 year old gay guy chances are your gonna have at least one older dude that is in to you. And if you are just coming out your are definitely going to have guys that are maybe close to your literal age but decades ahead of you in terms of their sexuality. While I have nothing against May-December or experienced/inexperiences relationships there are certain rules of decency they SHOULD be followed. The number one rule as borrowed from Dan Savage is the "campsite rule". Just like when you go camping when you leave you leave it in the same if not better condition then when you got there. Same goes for the experienced or older person in a relationship. When the relationship ends its your responsibility as the older/wiser/more expereienced person to leave that newby in a better place emotionally and mentally than when you first met. Obviusly with this scandal and the enormous pressure put on young Mr. Breedlove Sam failed on all accounts to follow the campsite rule. Personally I think its a douchebag thing to do. While something like this would make me cross a person off my dinner party list I can't say it's going to mean he is gonna be a bad Mayor.

  • Disgusted (unverified)
    (Show?)

    I sincerely hope Mark Wiener goes down with Adams. Coaching an innocent teenager to cover up for a sex predator's deviant behavior isn't the first slimeball action Wiener participated in.

  • Eric Parker (unverified)
    (Show?)

    "when you are a good looking 18 year old gay guy chances are your gonna have at least one older dude that is in to you. And if you are just coming out your are definitely going to have guys that are maybe close to your literal age but decades ahead of you in terms of their sexuality"

    This is the culture that I am pointing to.

    Sick sick sick. Just because you are decades ahead sexually, does not entitle you to exploit that for and to anyone else.

    Think with your Big Head...not the 'little head'

  • Garrett (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Any HR director will tell you not to take sexual advantage of someone who works for you, period. Particularly when it was an intern young enough to be his son. What an ass.

    You're right, it is, but Breedlove WASN'T AN INTERN OF SAM ADAMS. God...read the story for yourself. He was an intern for a Republican in Salem.

    One thing that has really opened my eyes...plenty of progressives are just as myopic as the Republicans they've been deriding for the past 8 years. All this righteousness that is being spewed all of a sudden is really amazing.

    It's really nice if you think your 18 year old kid can't make his own decisions, but you don't get to make them for him. Guess how much control you have over him legally? NONE. How's that for a wake up call? He can get himself arrested and the cops won't even call you unless he uses his one phone call. He can go join the Army and request to be sent to Iraq and you can't do a damned thing about it.

  • joel dan walls (unverified)
    (Show?)

    I don't understand why anyone is criticizing Sam Adams. And I'm especially proud that both Adams and Randy Leonard are refusing to apologize to Bob Ball. I mean, it was none of Ball's business that Adams was having a fling with a minor, and he should have never discussed his concern with Leonard. It's disgusting that The Oregonian has now apologized to Ball when the right respone would be to burn his effigy in Pioneer Courthouse Square.

    So go go go, Sam. Let's have a big push on that publicly subsidized convention center hotel and that publicly subsidized ballpark. Let's have some more streetcars. And above all, let's have some more stunts. I recommend that you rappel from the OHSU tram again. And never, ever let people forget that if they criticize you, it must be because secretly they hate gay people.

  • Jerry (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Roy,

    You forgot no TV until homework's done.

    Mister Rogers

  • Garrett (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Has anyone looked at this from the angle that maybe Breedlove was doing the seducing? Obviously young, obviously aspiring for a future of power, obviously good looking. Could he have been trying to screw his way to the top?

  • DanOregon (unverified)
    (Show?)

    The people of Portland are the true victims here. They elected Adams because they thought he could get things done. Because of Adams' actions, he has damaged his credibility and ability to govern. The question is whether a crippled Adams as mayor would be better than whomever would come next is the question.

  • Morris Baertsch (unverified)
    (Show?)

    One thing this episode has revealed without a doubt:

    There is absolutely NOTHING that one of Kari Gism's paying clients can do that he will not find a sleazy and disingenuous way to defend.

    Shameless man.

  • Dan Levitan (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Kari, let me make this very plain.

    He lied, straight-faced, no less than 3 times before he was elected in November 2008. He took down a Portland city employee who was asking him about the truth and slandered him (civil lawsuit, anyone?). He is rumored to have hired Mercury reporter Amy Ruiz for a job she is not qualified for in order to shut her up (a rumor, but still damaging even if not proven).

    The fact that he ended someone else's political career with slander (Bob Ball) is reason enough for him to be dismissed. The fact that he lied about this issue, straight-faced, all the way through, and has now even ADMITTED that he is a liar, is reason enough for him to submit his resignation.

    It's not about the sex. It's about the cover-up.

  • JohnK (unverified)
    (Show?)

    The Mayor not only lied about his conduct, but he paid people to coach Breedlove how to lie. How corrupt is that? And what's wrong with this consultant who thinks it's OK to accept money to teach young kids how to lie? This is another guy who shouldn't be allowed around kids without adult supervision...

  • WeHaveToBeBetter (unverified)
    (Show?)

    I guess what I am most sad to see is the willingness to be apologists for behavior that one would excoriate if it was revealed about a Republican.

    It's this hypocrisy - that resigns the public to have no confidence in its institutions and impedes our ability to do important things like fix health care, get out of Iraq, saving the economy. And it doesn't reflect any better on Democrats than it does on right wing Republicans. The hypocrisy that Sam demonstrated is little different than that of Ted Haggard - who lied until he was caught. We all have failings. That's not the point. There is open question as to whether Sam did anything illegal - I want to believe him, but can I, really??? You know? The bigger issue to me is as the Oregonian editorial board noted (occassionally they get something right), is the sanctimony that Sam applied in denying for 16 months and the shamelessness he and his henchman applied in attacking Bob Ball. Win at all costs - Karl Rove must be impressed.

    Is no one else troubled that a "leading Democratic strategist coached the victim to lie?" Do they offer the same services to all their clients? Is it a coincidence or merely following a PR script, that Sam offered his apology on the same day that the news was consumed by Obama's historic inauguration? Remember how Edwards wanted until the Olympics started?

    How does Randy Leonard say with a straight face that Adams didn't lie to him? Does that mean he knew the truth and covered it up? Has he apologized to Ball? Like Bush, he seems to have no regrets.

    This is a sad, sordid tale but it can only be made worse and more lasting by not condemning the behavior and having some accountability. I don't know if that means resign or recall but in a time that we need government to lead boldly with transparency, this set back should not be underestimated.

    We have such potential in the era of Blue in Washington and Oregon, let us not fall victim the contorted moral relativism that plagued the Republicans and have led to the current abyss.

    Sam is energetic, talented and seemed like the right person for a tough job in an important time, but sadly i fear he lacks the judgment (not an isolated incident - remember the tram cost overruns) and now the credibility (e.g. police union dissention) be able to lead effectively. Perhaps most tragic is the potential set back for Portland's sustainability efforts (by hiring someone so unqualified on his staff to lead) and to gay rights (by giving every right wing nut from Lars Larson to Michael Savage a whipping boy for predatory behavior.)

    We have to be willing to clean our own houses when needed . John Kroger strikes me as a man of principal. I hope he doesn't allow his partisanship cloud his judgment in resolving the issue fairly -- however that may come out. It would be sad to see Sam not have the chance to utilize his talents, but I'm more interested in advancing the greater good over one person's political carreer.

    Blue Oregon let's set a better standard - we need to be a check and balance to all government officials. Let's not squander this opportunity....it may not be fair and we're all human, but like Jackie Robinson in breaking the color barrier in baseball, right now we need our elected leaders to be better and more ethical than our predecessors or the average Joe.

  • WeHaveToBeBetter (unverified)
    (Show?)

    I guess what I am most sad to see is the willingness to be apologists for behavior that one would excoriate if it was revealed about a Republican.

    It's this hypocrisy - that resigns the public to have no confidence in its institutions and impedes our ability to do important things like fix health care, get out of Iraq, saving the economy. And it doesn't reflect any better on Democrats than it does on right wing Republicans. The hypocrisy that Sam demonstrated is little different than that of Ted Haggard - who lied until he was caught. We all have failings. That's not the point. There is open question as to whether Sam did anything illegal - I want to believe him, but can I, really??? You know? The bigger issue to me is as the Oregonian editorial board noted (occassionally they get something right), is the sanctimony that Sam applied in denying for 16 months and the shamelessness he and his henchman applied in attacking Bob Ball. Win at all costs - Karl Rove must be impressed.

    Is no one else troubled that a "leading Democratic strategist coached the victim to lie?" Do they offer the same services to all their clients? Is it a coincidence or merely following a PR script, that Sam offered his apology on the same day that the news was consumed by Obama's historic inauguration? Remember how Edwards wanted until the Olympics started?

    How does Randy Leonard say with a straight face that Adams didn't lie to him? Does that mean he knew the truth and covered it up? Has he apologized to Ball? Like Bush, he seems to have no regrets.

    This is a sad, sordid tale but it can only be made worse and more lasting by not condemning the behavior and having some accountability. I don't know if that means resign or recall but in a time that we need government to lead boldly with transparency, this set back should not be underestimated.

    We have such potential in the era of Blue in Washington and Oregon, let us not fall victim the contorted moral relativism that plagued the Republicans and have led to the current abyss.

    Sam is energetic, talented and seemed like the right person for a tough job in an important time, but sadly i fear he lacks the judgment (not an isolated incident - remember the tram cost overruns) and now the credibility (e.g. police union dissention) be able to lead effectively. Perhaps most tragic is the potential set back for Portland's sustainability efforts (by hiring someone so unqualified on his staff to lead) and to gay rights (by giving every right wing nut from Lars Larson to Michael Savage a whipping boy for predatory behavior.)

    We have to be willing to clean our own houses when needed . John Kroger strikes me as a man of principal. I hope he doesn't allow his partisanship cloud his judgment in resolving the issue fairly -- however that may come out. It would be sad to see Sam not have the chance to utilize his talents, but I'm more interested in advancing the greater good over one person's political carreer.

    Blue Oregon let's set a better standard - we need to be a check and balance to all government officials. Let's not squander this opportunity....it may not be fair and we're all human, but like Jackie Robinson in breaking the color barrier in baseball, right now we need our elected leaders to be better and more ethical than our predecessors or the average Joe.

  • Zarathustra (unverified)
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    I think you need a shot of medicinal rum, Admiral. Yes, there are puritanical types piling on, but MOST the people outraged agree with your notions 100%. We could care less if it is about sex or that he's a critter hoarder. The issue is lying and covering it up in the most calloused, inconsiderate manner imaginable.

  • Frank (unverified)
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    "...The mayor also said he and Breedlove discussed a relationship prior to the intern's 18th birthday, when Breedlove was still a minor, but that he could not engage in an "inappropriate relationship" with someone legally underage...."

    http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_011909_news_adams_breedlove_relationship.e142c06.html

    I said yesterday this was about sexual misconduct with a minor, and this comment by Adams proves it. Adams talked about sex with Breedlove while he was still a minor.

    That's sexual misconduct with minor. That's the same type of sexual misconduct charge former Jail Blazer Ruben Patterson eventually got convicted for, forcing Ruben Patterson to register as a sexual predator every time he gets traded.

    You want a registered sex offender as a mayor? That's where this case is headed. I guarantee it.

    End this ridiculous discussion. Adams needs to resign yesterday.

  • Zarathustra (unverified)
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    When there is an age difference like that of Adams and Breedlove, it is NEVER legit - in the eyes of constituents, logical people, and God. It makes no sense to have carnal dealings with those who would be logically considered to be your Parent, or your child.

    And you just wrote off 1/2 of the eminent personages in French history. It's down to the 18 year old. Yes, 99.9% are still kids, but not all. When I said the extreme progressive believes that no one gets ahead until everyone gets ahead, I meant everyone. Every.last.one.

  • (Show?)

    Eric Parker claimed: When there is an age difference like that of Adams and Breedlove, it is NEVER legit - in the eyes of constituents, logical people, and God. It makes no sense to have carnal dealings with those who would be logically considered to be your Parent, or your child.

    This means any relationship where the partners are more than 18 years apart in age (maybe even 6) is not legit "in the eyes ... of God"??

    Excuse me but who are you to make such a claim? No Biblical relationships that meet that definition? 50 and 30? 60 and 40? What's your line, Eric?

  • (Show?)

    I meant 16 above, not 6.

  • WeHaveToBeBetter (unverified)
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    I guess what I am most sad to see is the willingness to be apologists for behavior that one would excoriate if it was revealed about a Republican.

    It's this hypocrisy - that resigns the public to have no confidence in its institutions and impedes our ability to do important things like fix health care, get out of Iraq, saving the economy. And it doesn't reflect any better on Democrats than it does on right wing Republicans. The hypocrisy that Sam demonstrated is little different than that of Ted Haggard - who lied until he was caught. We all have failings. That's not the point. There is open question as to whether Sam did anything illegal - I want to believe him, but can I, really??? You know? The bigger issue to me is as the Oregonian editorial board noted (occassionally they get something right), is the sanctimony that Sam applied in denying for 16 months and the shamelessness he and his henchman applied in attacking Bob Ball. Win at all costs - Karl Rove must be impressed.

    Is no one else troubled that a "leading Democratic strategist coached the victim to lie?" Do they offer the same services to all their clients? Is it a coincidence or merely following a PR script, that Sam offered his apology on the same day that the news was consumed by Obama's historic inauguration? Remember how Edwards wanted until the Olympics started?

    How does Randy Leonard say with a straight face that Adams didn't lie to him? Does that mean he knew the truth and covered it up? Has he apologized to Ball? Like Bush, he seems to have no regrets.

    This is a sad, sordid tale but it can only be made worse and more lasting by not condemning the behavior and having some accountability. I don't know if that means resign or recall but in a time that we need government to lead boldly with transparency, this set back should not be underestimated.

    We have such potential in the era of Blue in Washington and Oregon, let us not fall victim the contorted moral relativism that plagued the Republicans and have led to the current abyss.

    Sam is energetic, talented and seemed like the right person for a tough job in an important time, but sadly i fear he lacks the judgment (not an isolated incident - remember the tram cost overruns) and now the credibility (e.g. police union dissention) be able to lead effectively. Perhaps most tragic is the potential set back for Portland's sustainability efforts (by hiring someone so unqualified on his staff to lead) and to gay rights (by giving every right wing nut from Lars Larson to Michael Savage a whipping boy for predatory behavior.)

    We have to be willing to clean our own houses when needed . John Kroger strikes me as a man of principal. I hope he doesn't allow his partisanship cloud his judgment in resolving the issue fairly -- however that may come out. It would be sad to see Sam not have the chance to utilize his talents, but I'm more interested in advancing the greater good over one person's political carreer.

    Blue Oregon let's set a better standard - we need to be a check and balance to all government officials. Let's not squander this opportunity....it may not be fair and we're all human, but like Jackie Robinson in breaking the color barrier in baseball, right now we need our elected leaders to be better and more ethical than our predecessors or the average Joe.

  • (Show?)

    The only thing that Sam Adams did wrong was to lie about his relationships with Beau Breedlove. The first allegation was that Adams mentored the boy while he was still under 18 and Adams admits that was a lie. The second allegation is that he had sex with the boy while he was under 18 and no one has any credible proof. Adams admits waiting scrupulously until the clock chimed midnight, i.e., until the boy turned 18. It is perfectly legal to have sex with those who are 18 or over.

    An argument can be made that Adams used his power position to intimidate the boy into any kind of relationship, either before or after the clock chimed midnight. Apparently everyone agrees that the boy threw himself at Adams not vice versa. So the power calculus does not enter in to the considerations.

    Basically, therefore, should Adams, a man of proven accomplishment in the field of running Portland be forced out of his duly elected position because he hid the truth about his relationships with a young person who beguiled him? In other words, are the sex and lie issues relevant to the mayoral function?

    I would suggest that everyone take a deep breath here. If the implication is that Adams lied so we can't trust him not to lie about civic matters, the answer is that there are no civic matters that are as personal (absent graft). I don't think Adams is either greedy or graft ridden. I don't think the lie about the boy ought to be considered in judging Adams' ability to run Portland any more than Mayor Katz' cancer or Bud Clark's drinking habits did. If the objection is that a public official had sex with someone who was 18 or over and should be ejected from office because of it, then we are going to have to have witch hunts all over the place because there are plenty of offenders to be found.

    This is a tempest in a teapot created by puritans for puritans. We should get out of the pecksniff business and of other peoples' bedrooms.

    Just to note one irony in all this: Breedlove was a legislative aide to one of the most brainless right wingers in the legislature. I'll bet she had a fit when she found out that she had a gay LA.

  • WeHaveToBeBetter (unverified)
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    Sorry for the multiple posts. User error.

  • (Show?)
    1. Fascinating post, Kari. Nice use of Twitter to create a group-mind of how Portland processed the news. I still don't totally get Twitter, but sometimes it's fascinating to hear all these voices.

    2. On the "none of your damn business" response. This is by no means an admission of anything. It's just setting boundaries. You tell the press you're not discussing your private life, period. They ask you about an 18-year-old you had a fling with and you say, "What part did you miss? My personal life is none of your damn business."

    3. For others who impugn Kari's motivation: why? Even if, as some have claimed, the mood is running 80% against Sam, do you believe that the remaining 20% are all former contractors? Go out on a limb and assume the shocking possibility that Kari's in the minority on this one before darkly suggesting his motivation is malign. I would say, off hand, that he's not doing his business any favors by defending Sam publically. That would tend to argue against the self-interested huckster argument. Let's follow Obama's lead here and assume the best about the motivations of those with whom we disagree, shall we?

  • (Show?)

    Two questions for everyone:

    a) are your personal consensual adult sexual adventures relevant to your job?

    b) do you want to live in world where non-job factors dictate your private life?

  • Walter H. (unverified)
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    Okay - didn't we go through this with Clinton? Two consenting adults having sex - whose business is it except their own? And yes, he was 18. That's old enough to vote, that's old enough to go to war. The government decided on 18 as the age of an adult.

    In a word, get over it!

  • Harry Kershner (unverified)
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    The Admiral said, "sigh with followers like this, how do Democrats ever, ever win and stay in office?"

    DP priorities are abhorrent. You don't care about Obama's positions on Palestine, single-payer-non-pay-or-die health care, increases in military spending and militarism, but you will throw him under the bus if he is shown to have had sex in a way in which you disapprove and lied about it.

    The DP and the RP are virtually identical in their puritanical unsophistication. Fuck on, Sam.

  • (Show?)

    The dividing line for age of consent purposes is almost univerasally 18. Legislators all over the world have determined that one becomes mentally mature enough to consent to sex at that age, though some societies peg mental maturity at a lower age. The term mental maturity describes the point at which control shifts from the nether regions to the mind.

    Those who think that 18-year old boys are just kids and unable to function at all until they grow up are entitled to some consideration but not much. We force 18-year olds into dependency when we baby them until they turn 24 or 30. Our position as a society ought to be to encourage young people to take responsibility on as a life style and to accept them when they do.

    The political implications here are important. Up to 2008, young people were written off as non-thinkers and non-voters by people who dismissed them as politically unaware and that notion became self-fulfilling. Now we know what teriffic contributions the young crowd made to American politics and hopefully we can maintain that level of contribution. Life is not a party; it is a commitment and the earlier our voters figure that out the better. I'm not content waiting for someone to turn 30 in order to be a competent participant in politics.

  • fester (unverified)
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    <h1>1. Beau was 18. #2. Beau was NOT his intern. Beau was interning for right-wing wacko Kim Thatcher in Salem.</h1>

    Kari, How do you know Beau was 18 before Sam "did" him? Is that based upon what Sam said? The fact is you don't know, and Sam has little credibility. Kari - you are just as creepy as Sam. ICK!

  • conrad (unverified)
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    Read a lot of stories and comments today on numerous sites. Would agree that popular opinion is against him from what I've seen.

    Personally, I appreciate his honesty now... but the fact is, I wouldn't have voted for any public official that I knew was dating, much less sleeping with, someone at a 42/18 age differential. I'm a democrat, and supportive of the L&G community. But completely remove political preference, take out sexual orientation, and there's something wrong with someone that can't control their naughty bits when they know they'll be held up to the most critical public scrutiny. Nevermind the legality of it, or sexual instincts we all carry inside at times... it was just stupid- and he did it repeatedly... then lied to protect his campaign.

    And now we'll face the ridicule of a nation for his lack of judgment, and pay for investigations with our tax dollars while unemployment soars past 10%. Awesome.

    One of the first comments on this page summs it up- Damn. It. Sam. Adams.

  • M (unverified)
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    Sam needs to resign!

  • Sid Leader (unverified)
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    So, it's just GAY men who like young 'uns?

    In the past 25 years, I have seen a dozen local policemen fired for diddling hot, female 14-year-old explorer scouts, especially in Vancouver, which had quite a scandal about it.

    The worst predators I have ever seen were married, white, Christian, suburban hetero men -- in Portland newsrooms -- literally circling a big, tall, right-off-the-farm, corn-fed new secretary -- who will be her first -- the powerful ND? Short Desk guy? Or the rich, sexy freak, with the Beemer, in Sales.

    We shall see.

  • Kris (unverified)
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    Someone's quote --> "Keep Portland weird"

    If you want to raise the bar, why don't we get rid of Sam Adams and hire a guy who crossdresses and has sex with dead puppies on a maggot farm? --> this is sarcasm for those of you "Keep Portland weird" types who think this is a good idea...

    Tell Sam to Take a Hike! Maybe Ron Tonkin is the man for the job???

  • Eric Parker (unverified)
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    "Maybe Ron Tonkin is the man for the job???"

    Nope...Dozono is.

  • NE mom (unverified)
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    Wow. The posturing and moral outrage on the blogosphere has taken on a life of its own.
    Yes, I am disappointed with Sam. Does his lie about having a relationship with a consenting adult cancel out his years of working hard on behalf of Portland? I guess so. It doesn't seem as though he is going to survive this and that is a loss for the city.

  • andy (unverified)
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    Kari, your lapdog act is funny to watch. Hey, you wouldn't catch me in Sam's lap but a man has to do what he has to do right Kari?

    Keep it up Kari, you have a revenue stream to protect. Morals are for wimps right, gotta keep the cash flowing in the door. Just watch your backside around Sam.

  • (Show?)

    Lee Coleman: "he hid the truth about his relationships with a young person who beguiled him.

    "Beguiled"? So Adams was the victim of deception here? Wow.

  • honda accord (unverified)
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    Randy is upset about Sam asking Beau to lie and then being untruthful about it. How does he feel about his political consultant's role in this?

  • James X. (unverified)
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    We're basically down to a group of outraged folks who still want to bother with this story, and the comments reflect that. I wish there were a poll today and a poll a month from now that we could look at, to get a more random sample of what people think.

  • joel dan walls (unverified)
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    Does his lie about having a relationship with a consenting adult cancel out his years of working hard on behalf of Portland? I guess so.

    If hypocrisy were a crime, we would all be criminals and there'd be no jailers. So no, the lies do not "cancel out" whatever Adams may have done well--not a lot, IMHO--but the backhanded manipulations, the suborning of others to tell lies, the vicious attacks on Bob Ball DO. The self-serving justifications of his lies--"woe is me, they would have stereotyped me as a pedophile"--DO. And the fact that the City of Portland is now effectively rudderless, at a time of fiscal crisis, MOST CERTAINLY DOES.

    But WTF, keep pretending this is all about puritanism and whether or not Beau Breedlove had turned 18 before he and Adams got into the sack together. Keep pretending it's all about legalisms. Keep asking what the meaning of "is" is.

  • mp97303 (unverified)
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    Does Blue Oregon have a written "conflict of interest" policy regarding staff comments in re: clients?

  • TruthSquad09 (unverified)
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    Since the way people respond to any and all questions about their sexual history apparently directly relates to any form of direct or indirect public employment (including public editing and reporting), THE PEOPLE OF PORTLAND HEREBY CALL for full public investigation of the entire sexual history of Mark Zusman, Nigel Jaquiss, and every public official who has called for the investigation or resignation of Sam Adams.

    Anyone with stories, video, dirty panties, or hazy beer-soaked recollections of sexual encounters with any and all Willamette Week or City Hall employees are asked to make them public. Right now. The People of Portland deserve to know how many hypocrites are running the show around here.

  • joel dan walls (unverified)
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    Kershner sez:"You don't care about Obama's positions on Palestine, single-payer-non-pay-or-die health care, increases in military spending and militarism, but you will throw him under the bus if he is shown to have had sex in a way in which you disapprove and lied about it. The DP and the RP are virtually identical in their puritanical unsophistication. Fuck on, Sam."

    Yo Harry, my first response was that Sam Adams be sent to The Hague, but on second thought, I think he should be condemned to a sort of Clockwork Orange treatment by taping his eyes open and forcing him to watch endless reruns of Ralph Nader rallies.

  • (Show?)

    an Petegorsky "Beguiled"? So Adams was the victim of deception here? Wow.

    I think Lee was using that word in its other definition, meaning to charm, or to pass time pleasantly.

    Surely, you've heard at least once a woman's dress described as "beguiling". That isn't intended to indicate it has neocon slogans written all over it.

  • (Show?)

    joel dan walls: I think [Adams] should be condemned to a sort of Clockwork Orange treatment by taping his eyes open and forcing him to watch endless reruns of Ralph Nader rallies.

    Sweet mother of all creation! You fiend! You realize, he'd run screaming every time he heard "The people... united... shall never be defeated"?

    What could he have possibly done to deserve that?

  • Oregon Parent (unverified)
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    Kari -

    You said:

    We're hiring him (Sam Adams) to be a policymaker and administrator; not a saint, not a role model, not father-of-the-year.

    I disagree. Our politicians should be role models to our kids. My children should be able to look up to the Mayor of Portland, or any city mayor, councilor, state legislator, etc. and say "I want to grow up and be like them." Public service - particularly elected public service - is a choice. When one makes that choice they do so knowing that their actions will be on public display.

    While I agree that we can, at times, hold our public officials to a standard that is unreasonably high - I do think that their private behavior reflects on their ability to use good judgment. At the end of the day, we call upon our public officials to utilize good judgment in order to run our government.

    Adams may not have broken any laws or violated any rules, but he clearly exercised terrible judgment in getting involved with this young man in the first place - but even worse judgment when he lied to cover it all up - and asked the young man to lie as well. It seems to me that this is relevant to his ability to function as a strong mayor. Further, I believe it is fair and right for citizens to expect better of their Mayor - even in his private life.

  • (Show?)

    Kari, in giving time relative dates, it helps to provide a baseline time.

    There is an interesting superficially parallel case (middle aged Mayor revealed lying about gay sexual relationship with 18 year old intern) from Spokane in 2005 involving then-Mayor Jim West. The story broke in May, and West eventually was recalled by voters in December, after delaying things for months with court challenges to the recall efforts.

    In detail the cases are not so parallel, and I think the differences are at least somewhat illuminating about what Sam Adams did and didn't do.

    West was a closeted Republican who had pursued anti-gay policies. The intern was in his own office, and he had used public resources to communicate with the intern and apparently or allegedly used promises of jobs as part of his approach. Eventually this led to FBI corruption investigations though in the end I don't think prosecution. Further there were never-proven allegations, though made by affidavit, that 20 years earlier West had engaged in what if true would be unquestionably illegal and predatory pedophilic assaults on Boy Scouts under his leadership. (The ground of his court challenge was that reporting of those accusations meant people were signing recall petitions based on false information). As with Larry Craig, the people who went after West and called for his resignation were by no means only or evenly mainly partisan rivals or liberals.

    I know what I think about Adams' personal relationship, which is that it seems to have involved a violation of trust in a mentoring relationship, though not a sexual harassment kind of abuse of power. I don't know him or enough about him to tell where that falls on a spectrum from typical to aberrational for him.

    I'm still not clear about what kind of implication if any I think it should have for him politically. There's the democracy aspect -- if people had known he had lied in the way he did, would they have elected him? If not, is that a reason to resign? And there's the question of how this affects the ability of people to work with him. Do they see these lies as reflecting his interpersonal honesty so that they can't trust him, or do they see the lies as a matter of political misjudgment but ultimately a public political lie that was a mishandling of rather underhand attacks on him, that's wrong but understandable enough to live with.

    In Spokane, it's not clear how the long battle affected governance. Clearly a lot of West's time went into the fight, as did a lot of City Council energy calling for resignation. But Spokane has a city-manager form of government.

  • (Show?)
    Steve Maurer: Sweet mother of all creation! You fiend! You realize, he'd run screaming every time he heard "The people... united... shall never be defeated"?

    Perhaps you're confusing Nader's rallies with someone else's.

    MLK marchers elated by Obama's rise to power By Derek P. Jensen The Salt Lake Tribune Updated: 01/20/2009 06:33:47 AM MST They chanted, locked arms, and hoisted MLK portraits, but as the diverse mass of humanity carved their way through the Utah inversion, Monday's first-of-its kind community march to honor Martin Luther King Jr. often sounded like the inauguration party. ... Monday's two-mile walk, dominated by college students, was organized jointly by Westminster and the U. Many on the route had dogs -- including one with a "pug 4 peace" belly strap -- bikes, even long-boards. Drivers along 1300 East honked and flashed peace signs. Later, when the group passed the U. law school, several chanted "the people, united, shall never be defeated."

    To paraphrase Gen. Macarthur: "Old stereotypes never die, they just get repurposed."

  • Daniel Spiro (unverified)
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    "Two consenting adults."

    What a load of crap. I can't imagine what kind of creep in his 40s would come to my house in two years -- when my younger daughter is 17 -- and tell me that he's been flirting with my daughter, and would make the affair sexual when she turns 18, but it's all good, because she's "an adult."

    You can say all you want that the real problem is lies, and not sex. Or that mere sexual illness should not disqualify someone from the job of mayor. But please don't give me this "two consenting adults" B.S.

    What kind of father would find Adams' conduct acceptable if the child at issue was their own son or daughter?

  • Doug (unverified)
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    The argument that 18 year olds are not responsible to make sexual decisions does not really fly. We let these "children" vote and go to war, so the argument comes down to you can go and get killed in Iraq, but don't sleep with anyone older then yourself.

  • Admiral Naismith (unverified)
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    I think you need a shot of medicinal rum, Admiral. Yes, there are puritanical types piling on, but MOST the people outraged agree with your notions 100%. We could care less if it is about sex or that he's a critter hoarder. The issue is lying and covering it up in the most calloused, inconsiderate manner imaginable.

    Yeah, right. I'm not so young that I don't remember the last time Republicans screamed themselves blue about "It's not the sex, it's the lying." Whenever anyone says that, it means, "It's not the sex OR the lying, it's the fact that we get to jump on a Democrat". It's not a real reason, but an excuse, and a pitiful one at that, and those people who have asserted it need not be taken seriously about anything else they say.

  • Scabbers (unverified)
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    I am a gay man who never voted for Sam Adams. I thought that he was a business-as-usual flak for Vera Katz. I also never thought much of some of his "big ideas" such as making West Burnside into part of a one-way grid."

    I don't care if he was boinking boys on their 18th birthdays at Steam Portland (and don't try to tell me that there aren't more than a few 40+year-old-men who in positions of authority in portland who haven't done this or worse), as long as no drugs or intimidation or force were used.

    Portland is so tolerant (or just so PC) that Sam is likely to weather this storm. But his (and our) reputation will suffer.

    P.S. I have met Mr. Ball and I cosider him to be a conservative, gay opportunist. He may have been right on the Sam Adams issue, but he would make an even worse Mayor than Sam.

  • Bill McDonald (unverified)
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    Kari, Nigel was on the Mark and Dave show and said the Mercury reporter admitted to him that she wasn't qualified for her new job. Why was she chosen? And he said the Mercury reporter was given the same basic new information about the case that he had. Sam is an expert at playing the political game here in Portland. He's spent decades learning how. To say there is no evidence that the Mercury reporter was hired to keep her from pursuing the story, strains credulity, especially if she admitted to Nigel that she didn't have the qualifications for the job.

  • (Show?)
    Doug: The argument that 18 year olds are not responsible to make sexual decisions does not really fly.

    I don't think the argument is that it's the 18-year-old who's not responsible in l'affaire Adams. It's Sam Adams -- the newly-installed mayor -- who's the irresponsible one.

    Leaving aside the whole pervy quarter-century/less-than-half-his-age thing, anyone who was considering a run for office (which Adams was) just a year after the whole Neil Goldschmidt thing hit the fan has got to be a freaking idiot to put himself in the position of crossing his fingers and hoping that something like this wouldn't come out in the open during, say, the rest of his political life, even if everything was all legal-like.

    Sure, it didn't sink Jerry Seinfeld's career to be dating a 17-year-old when he was 38, and Gavin Newsom's managed to survive some sexual peccadilloes, including taking a 20-year-old out for drinks, but you have to ask what the hell were they thinking?

    And that last incident does bring up the question: During the weekend when Adams and Breedlove were having sex at Adams's house, did Adams provide Breedlove with a beer or some wine or an appletini? Wouldn't that be a violation of OLCC 471.410?

    471.410 Providing liquor to person under 21 or to intoxicated person; allowing consumption by minor on property; mandatory minimum penalties. ... (2) No one other than the person′s parent or guardian shall sell, give or otherwise make available any alcoholic liquor to a person under the age of 21 years. A person violates this subsection who sells, gives or otherwise makes available alcoholic liquor to a person with the knowledge that the person to whom the liquor is made available will violate this subsection. (3) No person who exercises control over private real property may knowingly allow any other person under the age of 21 years who is not a child or minor ward of the person to consume alcoholic liquor on the property, or allow any other person under the age of 21 years who is not a child or minor ward of the person to remain on the property if the person under the age of 21 years consumes alcoholic liquor on the property. The prohibitions of this subsection apply only to a person who is present and in control of the location at the time the consumption occurs. The prohibitions of this subsection do not apply to the owner of rental property, or the agent of an owner of rental property, unless the consumption occurs in the individual unit in which the owner or agent resides. (4) A person who violates subsection (1) or (2) of this section commits a Class A misdemeanor. Upon violation of subsection (2) of this section, the court shall impose at least a mandatory minimum sentence as follows: (a) Upon a first conviction, a fine of $350. ... (7) A person who violates subsection (3) of this section commits a violation. Upon violation of subsection (3) of this section, the court shall impose at least a mandatory minimum fine as follows: (a) Upon a first conviction, a fine of $350.
  • DanK (unverified)
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    Whether or not he had sex prior to the kid's majority, we now know Adams has conspicuously bad judgment.

    This wasn't merely a lack of forthrightness. He carefully crafted a lie for the sole purpose of protecting his political aspirations.

    That tells you everything you need to know. He should step down and spare Portlanders further anguish.

  • mp97303 (unverified)
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    Yeah, right. I'm not so young that I don't remember the last time Republicans screamed themselves blue about "It's not the sex, it's the lying."

    Me too, except I voted for Clinton twice and was one of the screamers and I voted for Sam and I am screaming about it here again... It's not the sex, it's the lying

  • (Show?)

    I agree with those who say the public and the press have no right to ask Sam Adams – or any candidate or officeholder – about their legal and consensual sex life. But I disagree with those who then believe that an inappropriate question is a justification for lying. It is not. It is a justification to say “none of your business,” or “I’m not going to answer that,” or, in this case, “I have not committed any illegal sexual act and you need know nothing more.”

    Sam Adams made none of these statements. He lied. Repeatedly. If you listen to his interview on KEX with Mark and Dave from 2007, he lies in about half a dozen different ways. He then undertook a cover up, urging Breedlove to lie and even sending him to a coach for the purpose. He then, on his own and through others, including fellow Commissioner Randy Leonard, caused Bob Ball’s reputation to be severely tarnished for what we now know was truth-telling. Who knows how this election would have turned out had Sam responded in any of the ways above.

    It’s not the sex. It’s that Sam lied to the media, to the voters, and to you and me. He did not have faith that the voters would reach his desired conclusion. He subverted the electoral process. At that point, it is no longer about the sex, it’s about fundamental honesty and the relation of the governed to the governing. It’s about not knowing when Sam is telling the truth or when he’s reached another self-justification. Honestly, would we tolerate this in a Republican? I doubt it. If not, then our standards should be the same.

    I supported Sam for Mayor. I think he could have been a good, maybe a great mayor. But if fundamentally we cannot count on him telling the truth when it matters most to him, he should not continue in office.

  • (Show?)

    I agree with those who say the public and the press have no right to ask Sam Adams – or any candidate or officeholder – about their legal and consensual sex life. But I disagree with those who then believe that an inappropriate question is a justification for lying. It is not. It is a justification to say “none of your business,” or “I’m not going to answer that,” or, in this case, “I have not committed any illegal sexual act and you need know nothing more.”

    Sam Adams made none of these statements. He lied. Repeatedly. If you listen to his interview on KEX with Mark and Dave from 2007, he lies in about half a dozen different ways. He then undertook a cover up, urging Breedlove to lie and even sending him to a coach for the purpose. He then, on his own and through others, including fellow Commissioner Randy Leonard, caused Bob Ball’s reputation to be severely tarnished for what we now know was truth-telling. Who knows how this election would have turned out had Sam responded in any of the ways above.

    It’s not the sex. It’s that Sam lied to the media, to the voters, and to you and me. He did not have faith that the voters would reach his desired conclusion. He subverted the electoral process. At that point, it is no longer about the sex, it’s about fundamental honesty and the relation of the governed to the governing. It’s about not knowing when Sam is telling the truth or when he’s reached another self-justification. Honestly, would we tolerate this in a Republican? I doubt it. If not, then our standards should be the same.

    I supported Sam for Mayor. I think he could have been a good, maybe a great mayor. But if fundamentally we cannot count on him telling the truth when it matters most to him, he should not continue in office.

  • Glen Livingston (unverified)
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    Here is a forwarded copy of the email letter that I sent this morning to Multnomah County DA Mike Schrunk formally requesting a grand jury investigation into possible violations of Oregon campaign laws and criminal violations of Oregon Revised Statutes.tnomah County can investigate this matter.

    The District Attorney of Multnomah County can investigate this matter. He is just trying to legally pass the buck on this issue. But I guess that Schrunk has ducked the issue by getting Atty. Gen Kroger to investigate the matter.

    If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at either telephone number or by email.

    Sincerely, Glen W. Livingston

    <hr/>

    From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Request For Grand Jury Investigation of Mayor Adams Untruthful Statements Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:33:32 -0800

    Glen W. Livingston

    1508 SW Hume St.

    Portland, OR 97219-4267

    Cell: 503-933-7540

    January 21, 2009

    Michael Schrunk

    Office of District Attorney

    Multnomah County

    Dear District Attorney Schrunk:

    I am writing this letter to you, as a citizen of Portland and the county of Multnomah, to formally request that your office open a grand jury investigation into the untruth statements and actions of Mayor Sam Adams.

    Statements that occurred wile the Mayor was campaigning for the office of Mayor last year have been repudiated as lies by the Mayor. Also the employment of Ms. Ruiz to an office to which she admits that she has no expertise in can be construed as an illegal attempt to keep her from further investigatiion of the Adams-Breedlove illicit relationship.

    The attempt to appoint Com. Randy Leonard to b be Commissioner of Police needs to be looked into as a payback for Leonards' attempts to help Adams quash the investigation into the Adams-Breedlove affair.

    There are too many alleged violations of ORS and also violations of Oregon elections laws to be ignored or investigated by a citizens panel of politicians. This needs to be investigated formally by a grand jury of Mulltnomah County citizens. It is your authority under the law to convene such an investigation and this is my formal request to your office to do so under Oregon law.

    Sincerely,

    Glen W. Livingston

  • (Show?)

    I've been thinking about and reading about this issue all day. I think that Sam is going to be a great mayor. I think he slipped up by asking Beau and himself to lie about their relationship, but I can understand why he did it. If he did sleep with Beau when he was 17 then there's a pretty big problem there, but if not, then I hope we can move on and move through this cause I think Sam has so much amazing potential to be a great mayor here and a great leader. leaders make mistakes. they're human. we all make mistakes - it doesn't mean you lose you job. if you break the law, that's one thing, but if not, I think we should think good and hard about asking him to step down. After all of the time Sam has spent in Portland politics, studying the situation, he's been trained for where he is and we would all be ably led by him. I know what it's like when you come out of a long relationship, you often don't know which way is up - I hope that's all it was, Sam, and I look forward to your mayorship sailing smoothly forward and Portland being the better for it.

  • (Show?)

    I'm @Bonobo23 above.

    Sam needs to shake it off and keep moving. And NEVER resign!

  • Tom Kimball (unverified)
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    Sam's initial statement on the Mayor's website concerns me, based on his logic and reasoning for lying -- and admission he got Beau to lie on his behalf.

    I don't doubt that Beau was of "age" when they first had a sexual relationship, based on the WW article. Or that any investigation will prove otherwise.

    He has to go, it doesn't mean the agenda has to change. Let simply let him go, and let's get someone in there with a similar view of where this city should be heading.

  • DanOregon (unverified)
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    Adams is a smart guy. When there is a state investigation launched because of something you do, and requiring resources to be diverted, you should step down. He's young. Spend the next two years, maybe four, rebuilding that trust, working in the community, maybe get back on the board of commissioners or Multnomah County.

  • ellie (unverified)
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    I wonder what Kim Thatcher's reaction is to all of this.

  • Get em while they're Young (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Mayor NAMBLA is toast.

    The live boy/dead girl theory of political survival still applies, even in stumptown.

  • relan (unverified)
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    Dear Editors and Outraged Citizens, If your doctor had an affair with a young woman and lied about it would you no longer trust him to practice medicine? Honestly, should you lose your job because you lied about a personal matter that has nothing to do with your work? I am disappointed more in the sanctimonious attitude of the press and those citizens who feel the need to punish him than I am with Sam. Sam, I say stay. Oregonian Editors, you should get laid and move on.

  • mp97303 (unverified)
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    @relan:Honestly, should you lose your job because you lied about a personal matter that has nothing to do with your work?

    The mayor position is NOT A JOB. It is an elected office whereby the office holder serves at the will of the electorate.

  • Zarathustra (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Posted by: Sid Leader | Jan 21, 2009 1:32:15 PM

    So, it's just GAY men who like young 'uns?

    In the past 25 years, I have seen a dozen local policemen fired for diddling hot, female 14-year-old explorer scouts, especially in Vancouver, which had quite a scandal about it.

    The worst predators ...

    Notice how the move from something specific to pontificating social status (though put accurately) is mediated by a litmus test noun. You just described the behavior. Why do you need a litmus test noun? Just cut it out. All nouns are fraud. Use sparingly. If you can't reread the statement with the noun expanded into actual behavior and make the same point, don't say it!

    There's all kind of ego centric, selfish behavior. Creating special nouns for certain kinds only denigrates the victims of all the other kinds. As you correctly point out, it is endemic in the culture. We are a sad, sick society. Where does that leave representation? Personally, I think most the venom directed at baby Bush and Clinton stem from the fact that there are exactly like the average American. That's one sense in which Obama is real change. He's not much like the guy on the street. YEEEEEEEEEEEHAAW!!! Seriously; I'm glad he's not.

  • Roger (unverified)
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    I think Sam Adams should be ashamed and should ABSOLUTELY resign. He lied during the campaign so voters elected him based on his lies. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the kid was younger than 18 when this started happening - should be an investigation into that.

    Why don't citizens CARE anymore about the moral turpitude of elected officials? Shouldn't the standard be BETTER than this?

    Resign, Sam. Fade away.

  • Abby NORML (unverified)
    (Show?)

    The popular answer seems to be "if it's a stupid question, or one that's nobody's business, it's cool to lie". "It's smart to lie". This is the direct result of arguing with little children instead of tanning their rear ends. Why did you learn not to lie? Fear. If you only fear having a perk withheld, just lie to get to the next step. That's all that matters. Then, if someone calls you on it, THAT is an act of hostility. That's the basis of the anti-gay accusations. Sam is like his young lover's generation in that he really, really believes that 6 figures city jobs and full-time positions at non-profits are their to give their class a job. You can't expect them to do what their donors do for work, can you? EVERY non-profit with full time staff positions thinks in the entitlement terms we've heard in this debate. In the future, instead of sending these self-important, middle-class spares money for living expenses, how about just take your donation and hand it to ANYONE that needs it. Yes, there's a lot of problems with that, but not nearly so many as giving it to a non-profit where job 1 is keeping theirs.

    Everybody that called on Sam to take a salary cut doesn't get it. He'd sooner go straight. It's his lifestyle. If you want to get "liberals" spitting and cursing the same lines as neocons, tell them that public service should be at a public service salary, not a career. Repeat it for us again BO, "money is the mother's mild of politics". Are you ever going to grow up and wean yourself? Of course not, nobody has ever weaned themselves. As long as the tit is there, you will suck.

    Is the massive thread repetition to encourage cross-posting?

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