Leonard scoffed, "Ball is a police officer. He knows the reporting procedure."

Bravo Randy!

The DHS reporting procedure is very specific. And not hard to find online for those who care to read it. Anyone in a "mandatory reporter" occupation should know the procedure. Anyone in public life who doesn't know the procedure should be shunned for claiming that talking to the press, spreading hearsay at a social event, or other methods less serious than the mandatory reporting procedure are an acceptable way to protect a minor.

People who really care about minors know the mandatory reporting procedure. People who bypass that procedure because they would rather spread rumors don't deserve the public trust.

LT - do gossip mongers deserve the public more or less than elected officials who: 1. misuse campaign dollars; 2. knowingly cause false statements to be printed in order to influence the outcome of an election; 3. lie repeatedly to the public in order to influence the outcome of an election; 4. knowingly falsely accuse a man of rape in order to taint that man's reputation and protect said elected official's personal power;

...etc, etc.

Just curious how serious you are about the public trust.

Stop with the gossip mongering and leave the poor guy alone. This is a non-issue. Enough already.

Smart Move by Lenard to be publicly vocal against the recall.

This allows him to run for Mayor when Adams is removed. This increases his credibility as a candidate, for he can say that he was against the disruption the recall caused.

We think that Lenard is not giving his constituents enough credit by thinking that they would allow a recall effort to "devolve into a circus about gay, transgender and other issues".

It is our observation that those who "Support Sam" are in fact, the one that bring up sexual orientation as an issue. Where as, we who "Support Portland" want Adams removed for deliberately lying and abusing his power in orchestrating an elaborate cover-up that compromised the 2008 mayoral election. Through Sam Adams actions alone he made the citizens of Portland the victims of his deception.

Please visit our site and make up your own mind if you want to help make our government better,

RecallSamAdams.com

The Mayor will likely be indicted and most certainly be recalled.

Randy's initial denial ("I only asked Sam if they had sex when Beau was still 17"), then (just days later) his faux outrage at being "lied to" seems implausible and self serving. Which is it, Randy: did Sam lie to you when the story first broke in 2007? Did he lie to you after flying home to D.C.? What if he's still lying to you now? Are you still willing to forgive and forget?

At what point would you be willing to support a recall campaign? After he's been indicted? After you realize he has lied to you yet again?

If you remain a stalwart supporter up to the bitter end, your political capital will be exhausted. Nobody likes a sychophant. Same goes for Amanda Fritz (she already lost the votes of half my neighborhood, including two coffee hosts).

That accurately covers, 100%, what many have been trying to say here on the issue.

So, were those of us that have been saying for 5 years that when one considers Leonard v Adams it is a choice about character v vision, extremely lucky guessers or do we understand something that most of Portland doesn't?

He's been Sam's friend. Like you say, we'll see how this moves forward, and it seems to be. Personally, I define a friend as somebody that knows exactly what you're like, but likes you anyway. Randy is still thinking that one through, on both accounts. Do I really know what he's like? Do I like him anyway? True friends are extremely rare. Your odds are better at the Humane Society.

Unfortunately, I think all of Portland, that thinks like Randy, is going through the same issues with Sam's supporters. Keep Portland weird. We know what it's like but we like it anyway. Now, having met Sam's hard-core supporters that want to turn a pure character issue into identity politics, a lot of us are asking the same questions Randy is. Do we know Portland? Do we like it anyway? Most will answer yes to both, because humans that have invested a majority of their life in any belief only change it under the greatest duress. It's just another social filter that you have to pass to effect the system. As such, we all are diminished.

The real estate market also helps. How real is anyone going to get that has a $275,000 double mortgage, on a 600 sq ft. 1901 house with no central heat or air (42nd ave, next door)? All they care is that things appear the way they're supposed to appear, and the rest is special interest nit-picking by people that have nothing better to do. I appreciate the post. I knew through this that Randy was one of the few real people that understood what was even going on. For what it's worth, I think this piece shows we can count Carla among that number.

People who really care about minors know the mandatory reporting procedure. People who bypass that procedure because they would rather spread rumors don't deserve the public trust.

And quit trying to make this about your goddamned whelps, LT!

Good God, another OMGSamAdams story. This is so January.

I have to laugh at Randy being anyone's friend besides himself. How quickly Randy turns on his "good" friends. First Ball and now Adams.

Randy is the first to turn to the media when he wants to smear someone else and the first to complain and claim victim for the same when it benefits him.

Let's find another hero in all of this because it isn't Randy.

Interesting that the individual behind the "recall sam adams" website registered the domain anonymously, and has no identifying information anywhere on the website.

Apparently Sam Adams should be subject to unlimited public scrutiny of his private life, and thrown out of office if he tries to keep it private, but those attacking him get to operate completely hidden from public view!

I agree, this whole thing is so two weeks ago.

This is a great post. One thing, though, that I think Leonard needs to keep a watch on, is that it seems to me that as the public tide turns more hard against Adams, that it could potentially take out those bitter-enders who stand with him. For example, Fritz has effectively allowed herself to be vilified (by stupidly leaping to Adams' defense, at a time when it was clear, whatever the truth about the Adams scandal would prove to be, she too had been lied to, and she didn't know the whole story either). If this things goes to a recall, I predict that by that point, frustration with Adams (and resentment with the status quo) could be so strong and built up, that it could take out more than just Adams.

"... it could take out more than just Adams."

Huh? I think the "bitter enders" involved here are the folks who keep stirring the pot to sell more papers, and grind anti-Adams axes that have nothing to do with his private life.

It's the cost that bothers me most, either the cost of a recall election, and/or the cost of an election post-recall or post-resignation. Sam will do just fine in the next 4 years. Then we should have this discussion. Until then, let's spend our money on worthwhile things, not making some point about sex and lying.

"think a recall will happen six months after business as usual returns to city hall"

Nah, City Hall will go back to normal - A mayor who lies to anyone who believes him whenever it gets uncomfortable for him.

As far as the cost of elections, maybe we shouidl do away with elections. They do cost something and life would be easier without them.

"I didn't make some sort of conscious decision to walk into City Hall and feel weirdness about the situation. Its simply the way it is."

Maybe for you. Truth is, a whole lot of us don't give a damn about about where politicians get their wicks dipped, and maybe you shouldn't either. Why don't you quit projecting your personal pre-occupation with other peoples sex lives as some kind of universal truth.

Radmacher,

I don't recall your obsession with electoral costs when VOE was being debated.

We spent north of $500,000 of VOE funds to get Fritz elected to office, and she's only demonstrated she's the most naive sychophant, not the voice of city hall outsiders.

Insert dead horse

now everyone go beat the ever.living.shit out of it.

italicSome things come into focus because they exist. Denying them doesn't change this..and trying to remove blame from Adams for a situation of his own making only exacerbates the issue, in my view.italic

This thread, if anything, just confirms my thinking on this issue all along. It's not going away. It's only "about sex" to those who want to pretend it is, as a kind of back-handed defense of Adams. (It's not. It's about things like lying, campaign fraud, misusing a city office, a public official using the bully-pulpit to libel the reputations of other Portland citizens, etc.). And, what's more, the longer this situation survives, the more harm it causes. It's clear to me that as the scandal goes on, not only is the pressure mounted evermore against Adams (as the media continues to dig, as the attorney general continues to dig, as he continues to commit really awful official acts in order to try and conceal the rest of it), but the pressure mounts against those who try and come to his defense. Like or not, this Adams fiasco is truly appalling to most Portlanders, and as the tide finally carries him out, and it may well take out all those who stand too near him as well.

Now, my question is this: All along, the two options I have heard presented are: 1) Adams can resign. 2) He can be recalled in six months. Are those the only options? In particular, I wonder if he can be removed by some sort of impeachment? Perhaps a vote of the rest of the City Commissioners?

Where does it say in any of the reports that Bob Ball talked to reporters?

"Leonard says that Ball was targeting Nigel Jacquiss, Anna Griffin and reporters at the Portland Tribune to get the story into print.

The only story on record that I have seen or heard is that Mr. Ball went to Leonard and Katz regarding his information on Adams. As I understand the story, it was Leonard that went to the media, outed Ball and made the story public.

"Insert dead horse"

Uh, he's still in office and still lying.

How can we miss him if he won't go away?

Kudos to Carla for standing up to the gay is okay any way crowd.

1) The problem with Adams isn't just the lie, it is the extent of the lie. It is the lie coupled with the constant denial. It is the lie and subsequent smearing of those he claimed were lying, even though he knew they were telling the truth. It was the use of City resources and his time as Commissioner to help cover up the lie. It was the apparent use of political bartering and appointments (and who knows what else) to maintain the lie.

2) Then there was the transgression itself. It wasn't a case where he was, in the heat of the moment, thinking with his dickhead (as he originally claimed). No, Sam not only became aware of Breedlove's real age, he continued the relationship, tried to disguise it as a mentoring relationship (which he now admits was a cover), and did it all the while against the better advice of everybody who was aware of what was going on. Yet Adams continued his seduction, made arrangement to attend the minor's 18th birthdate, and defended his interst on the fact that he (in Marvel comic fashion) did not say "flame on" until Breedlove turned 18.

Adams doesn't deserve to go to jail. His critics are not saying that. However he doesn't deserve to be mayor of Portland, either. He knew what he was doing was questionable enough to lie about it and try to squeeze it into legal boundaries that he perceived as beneficial to himself. He knew that despite all his BS about open and transparent government, he had to lie to get elected. And it wasn't a past lie, it was a new one. So he knew he was doing something he couldn't get elected for, that his political advisors were against, and that would outrage the community at large, yet he STILL did it!!!

What does all that tell you about he man of integrity and public trust Sam is supposed to be? To me it says he is a self-gratifying, power-hungry, young lust pervert who isn't what most people thought they were electing.

I look forward to the recall. If Sam really felt guilty, he could have fallen on his own sword (no pun intended) and been a martyr for gay rights. Instead he has insisted on defying public opinion and gambling his whole future on a tangled web of lies in order to pursue his own fleeting glories at the expense of city needs.

He lied to a reporter that asked something he had no business asking. He was wrong to try and cover it up.

Sucks you all feel lied to and hurt by our mayor's inability to keep it in his pants with another adult and him not admitting it to a newspaper. Sorry.

This situation is only an issue to a few media people that keep digging it up and a bunch of blog commenters. The mayor lied...nobody died.

Bob went to Randy as a concerned friend....as a city leader, randy should have probed the issue and taken bob seriously and our city would not be going through this embarresment. Randy is a joke along with the rest of the city council for supporting Adams - who should resign right away!!

"Leonard says that Ball was targeting Nigel Jacquiss, Anna Griffin and reporters at the Portland Tribune to get the story into print. "Bob Ball was looking to take Sam out (of the mayor's race). This was not some egalitarian duty."

Excuse me. Randy should be apologizing to Ball for throwing him under the bus, now that Ball's suspicions turned out to be correct. Also, was Ball really targeting the Oregonian? Anna, is that true? Or is this another one of Randy's "mistakes"?

Randy's story has several inconsistencies--it was he and Sam that went to the media before Ball--plus his faux outrage is nauseating. He has no credibility with me anymore.

Yawn

"Kudos to Carla for standing up to the gay is okay any way crowd."

Thanks for admitting it's about the gay thing. A whole lot of us have known this all along.

So, which way is it okay with you for us to be gay?

The Portland Mercury got it right: Application To Become Mayor of Portland

(Yes, handjobs count.)

" when did Sam commit campaign fraud or misuse City resources or abuse his position or libel...?"

" Which is why I think Leonard's complaint about the "reporting procedures" onto ball is kind of sad. Yeah, Ball should have reported it rather than running the story around town, but Leonard should have too, unless he was truly so gullible as to be taken in by Adams's denials, a situation that doesn't portray Leonard as a particularly effective advocate for the citizens of the city. " darrellplant

Up until the time Ball dropped this bombshell about Adams on Leonard, there wasn't, that I recall, any reason to suggest Adams would do anything of the kind of activity suggested. Except for the fact that some people clearly objected to Adams' personality and political style, Adams, in terms of the appropriateness of his personal life for the position of mayor, seemed to be impeccable. Leonard dismissed Ball's seemingly scurrilous rumor, giving Adams the vote of confidence that at the time he seemed to be worthy of.

Q: How can you tell when Sam Adams is lying? A: When Randy Leonard's lips are moving.

This can probably go on forever because you can jump back and forth between reality and symbolism to just keep the bickering going. Bob Ball is a classic. Yes, he's a sleazy, politcal operator, as a matter of fact. The GLBT community doesn't like him because he's not the right kind of gay, tho. So you can be motivated by that, jump to arguing what he did, fall back to that...on and on until the average idiot that watches TV every night for entertainment concludes that progressive politicians, like conservatives, just aren't worth the hassle. You are poisoning the well for the Rudy G's of the world. Have you no shame? Don't bitch at the bitches in politics like Palin if this is the best you can do with your own! Maybe if you'd stop chewing the fat and give each other a chew you'd understand.

Posted by: darrelplant | Feb 10, 2009 1:13:58 AM

Up until the time Ball dropped this bombshell about Adams on Leonard, there wasn't, that I recall, any reason to suggest Adams would do anything of the kind of activity suggested.

There never is, is there? The first accusation of unexpected behavior on the part of anyone is pretty much unexpected, by definition. That's the whole point of reporting guidelines. The basic concept is that the report is made when suspicions are first raised, not after a long-term pattern of behavior has made it blatantly obvious.

I'm a career counselor and I'm hearing more and more, every day, "I won't work with kids". We have legislated so much shock and awe "for the children" that they are coming to live in a social ghetto were they are just what you wanted: untouchable.

Fact: the biggest child abusers in the state are DHS. Fact: every Mormon is a child abuser. It's simple. Use=Abuse. Generating a positive cash flow by relocating children, or having them simply to get more head count in your kingdom is no better than a baby beauty pageant. It is the opposite of being about the children. Learn from East European terrorists. How many times do they target schools to make sure they get a response from the parents? When you make it all about the precious children, you put them in the crosshairs. The old, wise adage about being seen and not heard did not survive for centuries because people lacked snark!

you're right, it's not about the sex. it's about selling newspapers using sex.

clue-check: there ain't nothing illegal about lying to newspapers. hell, it's the only sane response to dumbass questions.

you are all so beavis it hurts. hehehe, dudes kissin' in a bathroom, hehehehe. who gives a shit, my friend just lost her job.

Posted by: darrelplant | Feb 10, 2009 1:34:10 PM

Darrel, I "heard a rumor" that you diddle goats on the weekend. You'll be hearing from the game warden--can't be too careful!

People report rumored abuse all of the time. If a kid comes to a teacher and tells the teacher that a friend of theirs has been abused, you're saying that the teacher is just supposed to blow it off? Pretty fucking callous.

What's pretty fucking callous is the attitude that says "why do you care what the police do if you have nothing to hide", Poison Ivy.

Posted by: darrelplant | Feb 10, 2009 1:59:31 PM

By posting that crack...

Oh look, more "I love the police state and think just like it", can't imagine a thing apart from it. Let's portray life using the palette of an episode of "Cops".

This was about betrayal. Oh, right, you are talking about betrayal. "It happens; get over it. It happens a lot if you're doing something wrong. Loyalty is to the police state, then whatever. Don't think. Comply with regulations. We're not fucking hippies, anymore".

That about it?

In the future please comply with FCC regs for decency. Thank you for your cooperation.

clue-check: there ain't nothing illegal about lying to newspapers. hell, it's the only sane response to dumbass questions.

True enough about "the moment", but your convenience is not a reason to lie. For the 10,000,000th time, you refuse to answer/ignore/reply in kind to a dumbass question; you do not lie because it is convenient, as gen X culture finds so many other excuses to do.

To be clear, the culture is a culture, not a demographic exclusively. I would include the Mayor.