The Good, the Bad, & the Awful
Kari Chisholm
I almost missed it this last week. In years past, the Willamette Week's Good, Bad, Awful ranking of metro-area legislators has been one of the most anticipated and feared issues of the biennium - chock full of gossip, snide commentary, and anonymous potshots. Not to mention the feared dead-last "beyond all hope" ranking. [Which went to Hillsboro's Derrick Kitts (R) this year - who was, by the way, endorsed by WW last election, but who later was their Rogue of the Week.]
Without explanation this year, WW printed only the numbers (which are, they admit, wildly unscientific) and left out the juicy stuff. They didn't even bother with any commentary about the rankings.
Remember, these are metro-area legislators only. (Anyone care to explain why Willy Week has never aspired to statewide rankings? Is the 2005 edition lackluster because John Schrag is no longer on the scene?)
So, without further ado... the sub-rankings of the top three and bottom three in each category. (Check out the full rankings here.)
Brains:
9.02 Rep. Greg Macpherson, D-Lake Oswego
8.89 Sen. Kurt Schrader, D-Canby
8.70 Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin
...
4.31 Rep. Derrick Kitts, R-Hillsboro
4.18 Rep. Linda Flores, R-Clackamas
3.63 Sen. Charles Starr, R-Hillsboro
Integrity:
8.20 Rep. Diane Rosenbaum, D-Southeast Portland
8.14 Rep. Steve March, D-East Portland
7.95 Rep. Jeff Barker, D-Aloha
...
5.25 Rep. Linda Flores, R-Clackamas
4.24 Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Mount Hood
3.72 Rep. Derrick Kitts, R-Hillsboro
Diligence:
8.56 Sen. Kurt Schrader, D-Canby
8.38 Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin
7.90 Rep. Diane Rosenbaum, D-Southeast Portland
...
5.00 Sen. Frank Shields, D-East Portland
4.84 Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Mount Hood
4.38 Rep. Derrick Kitts, R-Hillsboro
Clout:
9.46 Rep. Karen Minnis, R-Wood Village
9.29 Rep. Wayne Scott, R-Canby
8.72 Sen. Kurt Schrader, D-Canby
...
3.95 Rep. Carolyn Tomei, D-Milwaukie
3.77 Rep. Chip Shields, D-Northeast Portland
2.83 Sen. Charles Starr, R-Hillsboro
(Note: there were only nine metro-area Republicans included, out of 37 total ranked - so, some disproportionality is expected.)
Any thoughts?
 |
More Recent Posts | |
Albert Kaufman |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
Kari Chisholm |
Final pre-census estimate: Oregon's getting a sixth congressional seat |
Albert Kaufman |
Polluted by Money - How corporate cash corrupted one of the greenest states in America |
Guest Column |
|
Albert Kaufman |
Our Democrat Representatives in Action - What's on your wish list? |
Kari Chisholm |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
connect with blueoregon
Jul 19, '05
Rep. Mark Hass (formerly known as "Captain Haircut") should send a BIG thank you note to WW, and that's all I'm gonna say.
10:44 a.m.
Jul 19, '05
This really bummed me out. I used to love the Good the Bad and the Awful. This year was lame. It was so short and there were very few good quotes about how stupid the republicans were. There was no mention of Derrick's DUI or his insane belief he can beat Wu in the 1 CD. I miss the 10 page cover story with Chris Beck getting called that donkey from Winnie the Pooh and Lobbyist talking about how they are scared of Kurt Schrader. Willamette Week what happened? I heard you guys were going to try and cover Salem this year and now this! The Oregonian could have crapped this out. Et tu Zussman, Et tu. Well it could be worst it could be the Mercury.
12:48 p.m.
Jul 19, '05
Joe's right--this year's edition was a slight snoozer. Might have spiced things up if there had been a ranking for "obstructionist" (or from a strengths-based perspective, "works well with other (party members)").
Maybe we should do a Blue Oregon version. I hear Jesse knows a few people in Salem...
4:22 p.m.
Jul 19, '05
Update: My sources tell me that the lackluster quality of it this year has nothing to do with an editorial decision to scale it back; it'll be back in style in 2007. This year's edition was the result of a freak intersection of short-staffing (due to some illness) and other big stories they're working on. (Apparently, we should all stay tuned...)
4:55 p.m.
Jul 19, '05
Thank GOD. Kari way to go doing the investigating and whatnot.
Jul 19, '05
The WWeek is always a disappointment - I'm sitting here trying to remember anything ...
ah, the history of the WWeek issue was pretty cool. Other than that, I can't remember anything worth
...OK, Tom Tomorrow is pretty cool
but besides that, really, what has the WWeek ever done that was
..oh yeah, that food issue with the models decked out in food, that was cool
Humphrey of the Mercury is the funniest in town, though. I start with the Mercury, if I have time, I move onto the Murmurs section of the Wweek. I hate to say it, but I miss the Seattle Weekly :(
7:31 p.m.
Jul 19, '05
Yea, I caught that when I was looking up items on Minnis.
I thought it was pretty funny that she was labeled as "good" just because of her clout. Her other numbers were average at best.
There definitely should have been a category about working with others.
The numbers were nice, but how they use them to come up with who was good and who wasn't was just plain crap.
Of course someone like Minnis is going to have a lot of clout-- she can keep anything from going through, she can adjourn the House for 3 days as often as she likes, etc. And people do what she wants, else it's off with their (political) heads-- just ask the Republicans who voted for the balanced budget with the Dems. I don't think that makes her "good."
What WW should have done was see about hiring on a few freelancers who could have helped put together the item so that it wasn't so lacking.
9:13 a.m.
Jul 20, '05
Well if WW knows Kitts is a sleazoid, dimwit hack ---- why the )*@&$%&@#($@&#%@ did they endorse that creep over the smart, hard-working, progressive Mik Sander last year???!!! Sheesh. Pick an assessment criteria and go with it. Don't give us who know what's going on out here such blatant opportunities to say "WE TOLD YOU SO!"
PS -- I invite Blue O readers to come on over to www.BlogforOregon.com anytime and post your progressive commentary of the day. Cheers.
Jul 20, '05
These rankings are a crock. Frank Shields especially came off badly, and he's got the most integrity out of anyone. Some health problems probably set him back a bit, but regardless, he's one of the best out there.
Jul 21, '05
Sen. Frank Sheilds has integrity...that is a load of horse^&*(.