Gov. Barbara Roberts throws her hat in the ring for Metro Council

Kari Chisholm FacebookTwitterWebsite

In a rather surprising development, Governor Barbara Roberts has asked to be considered for the appointment for the Metro Council seat vacated by Robert Liberty. She filed her paperwork right before the deadline.

From the O's Eric Mortenson:

Roberts is the biggest name among some heavy hitters who seek to succeed Robert Liberty as the District 6 councilor. She was Oregon's first woman governor, elected in 1990 and serving a four-year term. Before that she served two terms as secretary of state and was a state representative.

On her application, Roberts listed her occupation as "Retired public official; author."

Not in the O's description - her stint as a lecturer on government reform at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

I've talked to a number of Metro observers, and most seem to agree that Gov. Roberts would be the presumptive frontrunner -- perhaps even recruited to be a consensus candidate.

Whether that's true or not, as the O notes, she probably hurts the candidacy of Bob Stacey:

Roberts' filing may cramp the chances of Bob Stacey, who conventional wisdom said was the frontrunner because he narrowly lost to Tom Hughes in November's election for council president and swamped Hughes among District 6 voters. Supporters maintain Stacey is the logical conservation activist successor for Liberty, as both were directors of 1000 Friends of Oregon and hold similar views on the growth management issues Metro decides.

A Metro official said Roberts telephoned Stacey from the building to tell him she seeking the appointment. Stacey served as Roberts' senior policy advisor for urban growth issues from 1993-95.

In addition to Stacey, the other major candidate is Bob Shiprack - a former official with the building trades unions and a former state legislator.

The appointment will be made by the Metro Council, following public interviews on February 16. The complete public process is outlined here.

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    2 questions: where does she stand on CRC? and what are her recent credentials for this gig? i know that Stacey would be a good choice; why would i support her instead? because she's Barbara Roberts?

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    I just feel like Stacey got screwed; unless he wasn't going to get it anyway and this is a way to block Shiprack. Does anyone really know?

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    This is peculiar. Unless it's just a matter of Barbara Roberts just can't stay away from politics and governance.

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      Evan, that's troublesome.

      Before pillorying Shiprack, however, I'd be curious to learn if his values and principles are the same as they were twenty years ago.

      I'd look to his own statements - as well as more recent actions for evidence.

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        Definitely agree, though I find clear records of policy decisions and votes are more telling than platitudes. Everyone can say they support the UGB and protecting farmland, but have starkly different policy interpretations of that once in office.

        I'd be open to hearing how his views may have changed - my post was simply saying many of his past votes aren't consistent with what I think we value as a region.

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    Gov. Roberts put herself forth as a third-path candidate in case of a 3-3 tie between The Bobs, who both said they want to run for the seat in 2012, win or lose in 2011.

    She wouldn't say who it was that recruited her to the vacancy, other than it was "people connected with Metro."

    A little surprising that the Portland media and blogosphere didn't pick up on her side of the story, which was posted less than an hour after she applied.

    http://news.oregonmetro.gov/1/post.cfm/former-gov-barbara-roberts-last-minute-application-makes-seven-for-council-vacancy

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      I'm posting on it now.

      Pretty simple answer to your question, Nick, at least for me: It didn't come up in a Google search.

      My post was about 18 hours behind the news - and so I read every story that came up in a search, looking for a quote or other news tidbit.

      The Metro piece didn't show up.

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        No worries Kari. I've tried to get Google News to pick up the Metro News Feed, but they don't do one-reporter shops, and apparently they aren't interested in linking to PR sites.

        So, between rock and hard place, I rely on RSS and e-mail subscriptions to get the news out.

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