Two Endorsements for Amanda Fritz: Nick Fish and Dan Saltzman

Portland Mercury:

Sarah MirkCommissioner Amanda Fritz let the news drop casually last night, during a council and mayoral candidates forum hosted by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. Two of the politicians most familiar with her work on the council—fellow commissioners Nick Fish and Dan Saltzman—have decided to back Fritz in her re-election fight against formidable Democratic legislator Mary Nolan. They're the latest high-profile endorsements in a list Fritz has been dribbling out, coming after the Oregonian this month also reported Fritz endorsement Mayor Tom Potter. And they come after private poll results—admittedly not as transparently reported as an independent poll—showed Fritz in good position in the race despite Nolan's significant cash advantage. Fritz, speaking in her office after today's city council meeting, said she learned of the endorsements some time ago but waited to reveal them until the forum. She's hoping to sell voters on continuity and collegiality, if they keep her, especially with three of five council seats up for grabs. "My colleagues want to continue working with me," Fritz said. "There will be three seasoned colleagues on the council who know they work well together." Saltzman confirms he told Fritz he was backing her right after Election Night 2010, when the voter-owned campaign finance system that first elected Fritz was rejected. (Fritz, this time, is voluntarily adhering to that system's strict limits: no more than $50 per contributor.) And Fish says he made the decision after Nolan and Fritz both contacted him for meetings. They like that she occasionally gets on commissioners' nerves by asking pointed questions about spending decisions. "She sometimes annoys friends and foes alike," Fish said. "But Amanda has earned the right, I think, to continue in this position." The affection certainly might remind some of the Sam Adams-Randy Leonard-Erik Sten bloc that often thwarted then-mayor Tom Potter and Saltzman. Does this mean will now find himself in a bloc of his own? "I don't think it's any foreshadowing," he said. "I hope it doesn't. Those things run contrary to to things that our citizens want and need from their government." [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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