Sam Adams Recall Begins
This morning, Jasun Wurster filed papers with the City Auditor to recall Portland Mayor Sam Adams. The campaign now has 90 days to collect 32,183 valid signatures from registered Portland voters. Wurster's shooting for 50,000. Looking through the Twitterverse, it looks like the people most interested in this are the media, keen on seeing if there's a story here. A few questions spring to mind:
- Following the AG's report, is there enough residual anger to support the campaign?
- Will this turn into a partisan crusade by anti-government libertarians, righties, and dyspeptic bloggers?
- Has Adams' performance been adequate to confirm supporters' argument that he is an able mayor, despite the baggage this scandal created?
- Are the other city commissioners prepared to follow Nick Fish's lead and "move forward?"
- Has Adams' lefty base eroded or strengthened in the weeks since the story broke?
- If the recall effort fails, is it clear sailing for Sam?
Time will tell.
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July 7, 2009 |
Jeff Alworth | Comments (118 so far)
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Comments
Posted by: mp97303 | Jul 7, 2009 4:58:32 PM
Thanks for adding the new word to my vocabulary: dyspeptic
Posted by: Carla Axtman | Jul 7, 2009 5:34:19 PM
Adams isn't my mayor and so maybe that contributes to my attitude..but honestly, it seems like this is less about Adams and more about selling newspapers and getting some extra blog traffic for some.
I've taken to skipping most of the coverage now. I think the recall is polluted and probably going to be completely ineffective. As soon as Kroger declined to move things forward, that seemed like it was it to me.
*shrug*
Posted by: Garrett | Jul 7, 2009 6:12:14 PM
I don't care, none of my friends care, none of my coworkers care. Once Kroger dismissed it it became about the sex. He committed no crime other than in someone elses eyes. Personally I don't give a rip if he lied about sex. Our former President did it once and I didn't give a rip then either. Mark Sanford did it and I don't care (other than to giggle because of his previous moral high horse riding image). Boo hoo if anyone cares that he lied to the press...happens all the time and its going to happen again.
Posted by: Kristin | Jul 7, 2009 6:15:02 PM
Um, yeah...I'm wondering if they've noticed the economy that's greatly stressing Portland's families on the one hand, or the amazingly beautiful summer weather we've been having on the other. If they can't focus on issues that matter for real people's lives, then maybe they should just, you know, go for a hike, take a walk by the river, maybe get a life?
I'm not peachy-keen on what Adams did, but I'm over it. Let's move on.
Posted by: Bob Tiernan | Jul 7, 2009 6:24:03 PM
Jeff Alworth:
Will this turn into a partisan crusade by anti-government libertarians, righties, and dyspeptic bloggers?
Bob T:
Where does progressive Democrat Marc Abrams fit
in among those three?
I'm signing it because of the idiot's support
for the stadium deal (and I'm still aware that
had Adams been a teacher, and Breedlove a 17-year
old female student, he would have been gone in
January).
Bob Tiernan
Portland
Posted by: Robert Collins | Jul 7, 2009 6:36:54 PM
Carla,
Have to disagree with you on this one.
In my lifetime I have never seen a political figure more closely resembling Richard Nixon than Sam Adams.
Adams' ambition knows no bounds.
Don't you remember, when the rumors first surfaced, how he absolutely destroyed Bob Ball? He sent out an open letter to all Portlanders insisting his innocence, and blasting Ball for promoting the homophobic stereotype of forty something gay men preying on teenagers. Well, he WAS a forty something gay man preying on a teenager. In some circles I think they call that a chickenhawk.
After he effectively destroyed Ball, he ran a ruthless, slash and burn campaign against Dozono. He tied up Dozono's public funding through a set of legal maneuvers, even though Dozono had more than exceeded the mark required for public financing... under the plan that Adams himself had helped implement.
I was an Adams supporter when he ran for council. Between myself personally and my company we contributed about five thousand dollars to his campaign. I backed the wrong horse and I regret it now.
Sam Adams is all about Sam Adams. His jobs at city hall, his tenure as a commissioner and his election to the mayor's office is all about moving on in the political arena. He doesn't care who he steps on, he doesn't care whose throat he slits. He is nothing but a political animal.
Look at the tripe he pedals now.
He's going to work on the dropout rate. Fine. But the city charter gives the city no authority over schools. He's going to work on the unemployment rate. He once said that he was the brains behind Katz's economic development strategy... a strategy that ran Columbia Sportsware off to Washington county and saw our region attain the second highest unemployment rate in the current recession and the prior. The business friendly, fiscally responsible mayor has two properties going into foreclosure and his renters will probably end up on the street because HE didn't pay his mortgage.
I'm telling you, the emperor has no clothes.
He talks the talk. He's hip and he's gay and he rides a bicycle. But in the final analysis he'll cut your throat if he thinks he needs to and not give you a fare-de-well.
Mark my words. The dirty tricks you will see coming out of Adams' office to fight this recall will rival Watergate. And the sad part is he will probably get away with it.
Maybe good politicians have to be sociopathic. Maybe good politicians can't be empathic or have a concience.
But a politican is all Sam Adams is, or ever will be.
Someday perhaps, in the far future, while he is in his rocking chair under his shawl Adams will realize that he is totally alone in this world, because his blind ambition has allowed him to screw everyone he has ever dealt with. Perhaps then he will know remorse.
But I doubt it.
Posted by: alicia | Jul 7, 2009 7:22:31 PM
Yawn.
What is it with Republicans and their public therapy sessions these days?
Posted by: Kurt Chapman | Jul 7, 2009 7:26:37 PM
He's not my mayor either. I really don't care, but found the report from Kroger to be more about stating that they couldn't build a case (even though it isn't illegal to lie to an Oregon Law Enforcement Officer), than exonerating Adams.
Face it - your Mayor lied in order to get elected. While not a crime, it is certainly low brow.
I think there could be a whole lot of petition signers who are pissed about the stadia and public money give-away. But then thats just me.
Posted by: Jamais Vu | Jul 7, 2009 7:46:57 PM
Agreed, Kurt, the Kroger report was hardly an exoneration; you don't even have to read between the lines to see that.
The surprising lack of public compassion for Breedlove and his tattered reputation as a liar and a vamp makes me thank god none of my youthful indiscretions were ever with a public figure. Someday he'll figure out what happened to him. As for Adams, he seems more like Goldschmidt all the time--except for the whole "effectiveness" thing. If he would only just quit...
Posted by: mlw | Jul 7, 2009 7:57:37 PM
Better question - can someone with his baggage effectively advance the the issues they elected him to handle?
My answer - For whatever reason, no. Once you can't do what you were elected to do, then you're a liability to your cause. Sticking around is just ego. Whatever happened to sacrificing personal ambition for the larger goal?
Posted by: Karl | Jul 7, 2009 8:22:36 PM
Comrads,
Sam Adams is part of what it means to Keep Portland Weird. The guy did a teen in the City Hall men's bathroom and got away it. In your face! Portland is about being sex positive and Weird. Get used to it.
Solidarity,
Karl
Posted by: Buckman Res | Jul 7, 2009 9:22:14 PM
My fantasy has Sammy facing a recall election, then surviving by something like 10 votes or so, making it excruciatingly close enough to keep the sideshow and jokes going on for the remainder of his term.
For instance:
Sam Adam’s Chief of Staff: “Mayor Adams, you’ve just received a huge financial contribution from a prominent political group on the East Coast!”
Sam: ”Finally some good news! Which group is it from?”
Chief of Staff: ”I’m not sure. What does N.A.M.B.L.A. stand for?”
We’ll keep ‘em coming Sam!
Posted by: AdmiralNaismith | Jul 7, 2009 9:42:16 PM
No, yes, yes, yes, strengthened, probably not.
So is Wurster part of the Kevin Mannix Measure Hell team or the Bill Sizemore Measure Hell team?
Posted by: AdmiralNaismith | Jul 7, 2009 9:45:41 PM
"In my lifetime I have never seen a political figure more closely resembling Richard Nixon than Sam Adams."
Dude, you need to get out more.
"Had he any integrity at all, Adams would have resigned."
Oh, lookie, Boats is studying a foreign language. He said "integrity".
Posted by: PSJackson | Jul 7, 2009 9:46:46 PM
I don't know. With a bridge to build, A MLS stadium to build, a baseball team to relocate, a headquarters hotel to get off the ground.... I don't think the city can survive without Sam Adams as mayor. He is almost irreplaceable. I think that we should forgive him of all sins and focus on helping him bring all those living wage soccer jobs to Portland. Best dam use of the city's bonding authority I have ever seen. Common Portland, who's with me?
Posted by: Jasun Wurster | Jul 7, 2009 9:53:32 PM
Hi Alicia and AdmiralNaismith,
Please do not attack me, we Democrats are much better than that. Here is my current voter registration info:
Name: WURSTER, JASUN EUGENE
Voter Status: Active
County: Multnomah County
Party: Democrat
Residential Address: 5769 N VANCOUVER AVE, PORTLAND, OR 97217
More so, you can learn more about me at:
http://forwardsupport.com/about_us
Or this Anna Griffin article:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/anna_griffin/index.ssf/2009/06/its_all_about_integrity_recall.html
With much respect,
Jasun Wurster
503-799-7919
Posted by: Jägermeister | Jul 7, 2009 9:53:42 PM
Will this turn into a partisan crusade by anti-government libertarians, righties, and dyspeptic bloggers?
That's all it has been from the very beginning. Not to mention the people who aren't even residents of Portland proper. I'm looking at you, Clark County and Lake Oswego wingnuts.
Posted by: Nate Currie | Jul 7, 2009 9:54:25 PM
I'm sort of with mlw. If Adams were being more effective, I would be far less interested in the recall effort. However, I think most folks are thinking about other issues. Mostly their own predispositions about Adams and the way Portland is being run in general.
Here are a few random thoughts about the recall effort. Some are based in rational evaluation, others are gut feelings. Which are which probably doesn't matter. Anyway:
1) When you look at the timeline and threshold for statewide sig campaigns, and then look at the reqs for the recall (and take into account the current fundraising numbers), it becomes apparent that the chances of qualifying the recall are slim at best.
2) A viable replacement stepping forward imminently could change the whole game. If someone who could win the support of a majority of Portlanders jumped in, the people who never liked Adams to begin with could actually add some former Adams supporters to the mix and become a force to be reckoned with.
3) #2 would've already happened if it was going to.
4) When the recall effort fails, we will be stuck with an ineffectual mayor who is at the mercy of the rest of the council. Just like the last four years.
5) Dan Saltzman is going to relunctantly emerge as the most powerful man in Portland. No one, including him, will know what to make of this development. Frankly, we could do a lot worse.
Posted by: Boats | Jul 7, 2009 9:56:57 PM
Yep. It's all a homophobic high tech lynching. Adams is adamantly not the predatory pedophile his actions paint him out to be.
Posted by: Steve | Jul 7, 2009 10:07:54 PM
"Adams is adamantly not the predatory pedophile his actions paint him out to be."
OK< but the issue is with him lying. He could have said no comment all along. However, he went out of his way to smear Bob Ball and paint himself as a sacrifical lamb - which he wasn't.
Realize Portland - If he gets away with this scale of lying, just think what's in store.
Posted by: Nate Currie | Jul 7, 2009 10:11:32 PM
For better or for worse Boats, no one cares.
Just realized I didn't actually answer the questions. Here we go. No. Yes. No. Yes. Unless a viable successor emerges, it doesn't really matter. As an entrenched but ineffectual mayor (ironically, like his predecessor), yes.
Posted by: torridjoe | Jul 7, 2009 10:17:19 PM
"Don't you remember, when the rumors first surfaced, how he absolutely destroyed Bob Ball?"
As well he should have--Ball spread a vicious rumor that was not supported by any evidence. None of us needed to be put through all of this, without BALL'S political ambition, and his willingness to gossip about something which he clearly had no real information on.
"He's going to work on the dropout rate. Fine. But the city charter gives the city no authority over schools."
Tell that to Ted Wheeler, who gripes constantly about what the County is not getting from the City for PPS.
"The business friendly, fiscally responsible mayor has two properties going into foreclosure and his renters will probably end up on the street because HE didn't pay his mortgage."
...as a result of Ball's rumormongering, given that Adams is paying legal bills instead of his mortgages.
"My answer - For whatever reason, no. Once you can't do what you were elected to do, then you're a liability to your cause. Sticking around is just ego. Whatever happened to sacrificing personal ambition for the larger goal?"
Where is there evidence that he can't do what he was elected to do? The Merc did a nice job showing he's been decently effective under the worst circumstances. Put this behind us and it's only grudgeholding that prevents his effectiveness.
"The guy did a teen in the City Hall men's bathroom and got away it."
Wow, how come you never gave this information to the AG? They're under the impression that no evidence exists for what you claim.
Posted by: Nate Currie | Jul 7, 2009 10:19:03 PM
Sorry Jason, but you haven't even figured out that you're going to need every sig you can get, even from people who won't give you their contact info on your website. As long as you're turning off a significant percentage of your potential supporters, you're going to be fighting an uphill battle (and would be anyway, but you could at least make it interesting).
Posted by: Nate Currie | Jul 7, 2009 10:20:43 PM
Oh, and sorry for misspelling your name, Jasun. My iPhone doesn't believe in your spelling.
Posted by: torridjoe | Jul 7, 2009 10:24:45 PM
Question: does he really have 90 days? I thought it was 82.
Posted by: Nate Currie | Jul 7, 2009 10:27:34 PM
More free advice: calling Adams a pedophile only turns off potential supporters who actually know what that word means.
Posted by: Disgruntled | Jul 7, 2009 10:51:43 PM
Give me a break. If this was a 42 yr straight guy that had sex with a 17 year old girl and then lied about it he would be in jail with the key at the bottom of the river. It angers me that public officials get away with damn near anything and then the liberal media buries the story.
Get a grip. The facts speak for themselves. He had a relationship with a former aid and he was potentially underage. That is statutory rape in every state that I know of. Lady justice must turn a blind eye on the "alternative lifestyle" crowd in Portland. Furthermore, if the AG had pressed charges and won would they have required S.A. to register as a sex offender? There are tons of straight guys every year who have a relationship with an girl that is 17 and her parents press charges and that guy's life is ruined because is required to register as a sex offender.
It is about time the people take back their city, state, and country and stop letting the reckless politicians destroy our freedoms and bend the system to their advantage.
Posted by: Adam James (AJ) Busfield | Jul 7, 2009 11:30:30 PM
Don't you remember, when the rumors first surfaced, how he absolutely destroyed Bob Ball? He sent out an open letter to all Portlanders insisting his innocence, and blasting Ball for promoting the homophobic stereotype of forty something gay men preying on teenagers.
Bullshit.
1. Bob Ball said Sam was having sex with an underaged minor. The AG said there was "no evidence" of that. No evidence. None. (Not "insufficient" or "not credible." None.)
2. Bob Ball is a gossip and a scamp. There's not a political operative in this town who hasn't heard Bob passing along some rumor, usually overdone if not untrue.
3. The reason Randy Leonard took Sam's side against his friend Bob was because Randy knows first-hand that Bob isn't a reliable source.
Posted by: Adam James (AJ) Busfield | Jul 7, 2009 11:40:35 PM
If this was a 42 yr straight guy that had sex with a 17 year old girl and then lied about it he would be in jail with the key at the bottom of the river. It angers me that public officials get away with damn near anything and then the liberal media buries the story.
Get a grip. The facts speak for themselves. He had a relationship with a former aid and he was potentially underage. That is statutory rape in every state that I know of.
Christ, you people won't even let FACTS get in your way.
The Attorney General said there was "no evidence" of sex with an underage minor.
The AG is a prosecutor, not "liberal media".
Breedlove was never an aide to Adams. He was an intern in the state Capitol for Republican gay-basher Kim Thatcher. (Any wonder why the kid reached out for help?)
You've never heard of Washington? Because the age of consent up there is 16, as it was in Oregon until just a few years ago.
Posted by: torridjoe | Jul 7, 2009 11:41:31 PM
"Give me a break. If this was a 42 yr straight guy that had sex with a 17 year old girl and then lied about it he would be in jail with the key at the bottom of the river."
And what would that have to do with this?--a 42 yr gay guy that verifiably had sex with an 18 year old male and then lied about it? I suspect we'd make much the same lurid fuss, then let them move on, having been scandalized.
"Get a grip. The facts speak for themselves. He had a relationship with a former aid and he was potentially underage. That is statutory rape in every state that I know of."
#1, Breedlove was never an aide or under Adams' employ, to my knowledge. He worked in Salem.
#2, Please forward the criminal statutes in every state you know of, where "potentially underage" (which would be accurate in this case, along with "unprovably underage") is a statutory rape beef.
Very factual, yes, those facts.
Posted by: torridjoe | Jul 7, 2009 11:43:37 PM
"Bullshit."
Thank you. Ball deserves no grace at all in this mess. His accusation was specifically about an underaged kid--which he a) had no evidence of to support his allegation, and b) was something if he believed to be true, as a former law enforcement official he would be bound to report it to the authorities--not Randy Leonard.
Posted by: Bob Tiernan | Jul 8, 2009 12:30:23 AM
Robert Collins:
...and he rides a bicycle.
Bob T:
Well, if cameras are around he will. Otherwise
he drives a big gas-guzzler up to Jantzen Beach
Mall when he could have taken his bicycle on the
Yellow Line and gotten most of the way there
before cycling away.
I never liked him because he has the cold, icy
eyes of a killer. But that's just me. The
stadium (and hotel scam) deals in the works
are enough of a reason.
Bob Tiernan
Portland
Posted by: David | Jul 8, 2009 7:06:33 AM
My summary: Portland DESERVES better than Sam Adams, and we CAN do better. Sign the petition and let's move forward.
Posted by: Ted Wheeler | Jul 8, 2009 7:43:49 AM
Torridjoe: "Tell that to Ted Wheeler, who gripes constantly about what the County is not getting from the City for PPS."
Say what???
Posted by: Ms Mel Harmon | Jul 8, 2009 8:03:41 AM
As I'm not a Portland resident, I've got no dog in this hunt. But I am curious:
The recall effort---will the way the MLS deal has been handled affect the recall numbers in a telling way? Are there many people out there who would wish to recall Sam not because of the Breedlove situation but because they don't like how the MLS situation has been handled?
Second question---if Adams was recalled, who do you think would replace him?
Posted by: Eric Ramon | Jul 8, 2009 8:12:22 AM
I don't think it's right to recall him if you don't like his policy. The mechanism for removing him for that sort of thing is called "elections" and should wait until its proper time.
That would leave the sex thing as the reason for recalling him. Do you want to do that? If so, sign the petition.
My biggest concern is, should the recall work, who would succeed him? Until I know the answer, and until it's an answer I like, I'm not signing anything.
Posted by: Alicia | Jul 8, 2009 8:18:47 AM
The recall gang lacks balls to face actual problems so they obsess over other peoples sex lives. How Republican. Until their own laundry spills, that is, then they get all Sanford soul-matey on us. hypocrites.
Posted by: Carla Axtman | Jul 8, 2009 9:32:45 AM
I don't think it's right to recall him if you don't like his policy. The mechanism for removing him for that sort of thing is called "elections" and should wait until its proper time.
This is the smartest comment in this entire thread, frankly.
Posted by: Torridjoe | Jul 8, 2009 9:38:51 AM
I'm sorry Mr. Wheeler--I'm referring to the multiple times you've cited lost revenue for schools--and overall annual revenue of as much as $20 million--from Portland URA agreements. Those, to me, are gripes about what Portland is not doing for PPS. Does it specifically relate to chartered authority? No. But I think the commenter's intent was to absolve Council of responsibility for PPS, when clearly you think there is some connection.
Posted by: Jefffrane | Jul 8, 2009 9:40:27 AM
I'm not at all happy with Adams and the stadia, but that's a stupid reason to vote for a recall. We just elected him last Fall, knowing full well what his policies are and what his vision of Portland is. Like Eric Ramon writes, the mechanism is the next election. Or, you know, show up for City Council meetings.
Anyone know how Oregon came up with an 18 y.o. age of consent? Incidentally "Disgruntled" really needs to get out more. And check out the footnote on Mississippi.
Posted by: PSJackson | Jul 8, 2009 9:47:45 AM
I think that if someone posts on this issue, they should start the post by stating if they are in any way connected or get money from the City of Portland and it's agencies or work for, or have worked for Sam Adams and/or M&R.
I get the feeling a lot of people posting here have a lot more invested in Sam Adams than just wanting good government.
FYI, I do not nor have ever worked for Sam Adams, the City of Portland or it's agencies.
Posted by: Adam James (AJ) Busfield | Jul 8, 2009 9:52:15 AM
Hahaha. Only 10 states have an age of consent that's 18. Thanks.
Posted by: Richard Smoker | Jul 8, 2009 10:06:50 AM
I am so tired of people beating up on Sam. He's working hard for the people of Portland. If he wants to have sex with teens it's his own business!
Posted by: Jonathan Radmacher | Jul 8, 2009 10:15:22 AM
To PSJackson: I get no money from Portland and have never worked for Sam Adams. I voted for him for mayor, but voted for Nick against him in the Council race. Like criticisms of most people, I think some have some truth, and some are exaggerated.
Ditto to Carla and some others -- if you don't like Sam, let him ride out his term and then vote for someone else. A recall election, and if successful the following election to replace him, will be too expensive in this present climate, particularly where it would be following by regular elections in a couple of years.
Posted by: torridjoe | Jul 8, 2009 10:25:28 AM
"I am so tired of people beating up on Sam. He's working hard for the people of Portland. If he wants to have sex with teens it's his own business!"
Haha! He's trying to hit Adams on sex--and his handle is Richard Smoker. Get it? Dick Smoker! Oh, the hilarity! You stay classy, Mr. Smoker.
Posted by: Bigguns | Jul 8, 2009 10:26:41 AM
What I like best about today's comments is this underlying theme: "We need to stop him now so his otherworldly political talents don't get Sam elected to higher offices."
Has the Portland electorate really become Christopher Walken to Sam Adams' Martin Sheen? We are in The Dead Zone.
Posted by: Ted Wheeler | Jul 8, 2009 10:28:22 AM
Thanks for the clarification Torrid - but I have to take exception and here's why. IF an urban renewal areas is created, AND that area is truly blighted, then some amount of tax increment MUST be invested into the area to spur economic development. That increment comes from somewhere - most notably existing public services provided by the county and school districts. NOT taking tax base away from schools and critical county services is hardly the same as "doing something for" schools anymore than my not robbing you is "doing something for you."
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Posted by: Jeff Alworth | Jul 7, 2009 4:56:05 PM
My answers, incidentally, are no, yes, possibly, grudgingly, yes (but few will admit it), and no.