Sam Adams Recall Fails, Again
Kari Chisholm
The second effort to recall Mayor Sam Adams has failed - falling short by some 12,000 signatures, roughly a third of the total required. From the Oregonian's Janie Har:
The second campaign to recall Portland Mayor Sam Adams announced Tuesday that it had failed to collect the necessary signatures. And to the end, the campaign was in disarray. ...
Avel Gordly, chief petitioner of the second effort, reported collecting more than 20,000 signatures. They will not be submitted to the auditor's office.
"We were just one mailing away from getting enough signatures to qualify," she said in a statement. "It was extremely disappointing."
Organizers are now vowing to defeat the Mayor in the 2012 election, assuming he runs again.
Throughout this process, the recall supporters have argued that a recall vote was necessary to put an end to the doubt and uncertainty surrounding the Mayor's future - conveniently ignoring the fact that it was the recall effort itself that was creating doubt and uncertainty.
Now, things are much more certain. Sam Adams will be the Mayor of Portland until at least January 1, 2013.
Here's hoping that with this recall nonsense behind us, folks in Portland will focus on what really matters - putting people back to work, fixing the problems in the police bureau, and helping our schools get the resources they need to educate our children.
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10:15 a.m.
Apr 21, '10
The interesting subplot to the ending of the recall campaign was the bizarre press release original organizer Jasun Wurster sent out as the official statement only to be followed by Gordly's press release.
10:00 p.m.
Apr 21, '10
"original organizer Jasun Wurster "
Talk about the "sausage making" of politics!
10:25 a.m.
Apr 21, '10
Yes, let's all move on and give Sam Adams a chance to do all that he can do. We are in a very competitive world and we need to focus on what is important. 2012 will come soon enough.
11:40 a.m.
Apr 21, '10
Will he really run again in 2012?
2:00 p.m.
Apr 21, '10
Hey, sexy call-out box, Kari. That classes up the joint.
As for the recall, I'm really glad the whole thing is over. I get why people were pissed at Sam, and he deserved the public dressing-down he received. But sometimes the cure is worse than the ailment, and going through a protracted recall seemed a bad solution. And it didn't help the reputation of either Avel Gordly or Tim Boyle, either.
And forget Breedlove, I'm pissed at Sam for that nightmare on the east end of the Burnside Bridge!
5:10 p.m.
Apr 21, '10
I don't live in Portland, and I do think it is time to end the recall attempts. They are obviously futile.
But I have to say it is a sad commentary that so few Portlanders supported the idea of at least voting on recall. Ignoring deliberate lies told for the purposes of getting elected can't be a good thing.
10:00 a.m.
Apr 22, '10
Normally I would agree with you. If the mayor had lied about his resume or qualifications it would be a major issue.
But he lied about sex when a microphone was shoved into his face. I wouldn't ask you about what you do behind closed doors in your own home and if I did I certainly wouldn't expect an honest answer. Sex is a private issue and not for the public.
10:41 a.m.
Apr 22, '10
Special elections cost money. Our schools could use that money.
The Adams-haters lost. They should just get over it.
5:40 p.m.
Apr 21, '10
Look, I really don't care about his love life, since it appears that everyone was over 18, but he has been ineffective because of the damage he sustained from this incident. If he cared about his principles more than his ego, he would have resigned.
5:43 p.m.
Apr 21, '10
people in portland i guess are happy with high unemployment and a do nothing liberal mayor.portland voters dont have the guts and brains to elect a competent business friendly lets get unemployment down and the private sector back to work attitude type leader.portland will continue to elect the same old pathetic do nothing democrats like saltzman and etc.btw folks what has adams, leonard,saltzman and etc done to reduce unemployment and the high vacant for leas signs in downtown portland buildings?
9:20 p.m.
Apr 21, '10
"high unemployment and a do nothing liberal mayor."
Whatever. That's what regular elections are for. Elected officials get two, four, or six -year terms for a reason -- it can take that long to demonstrate their abilities.
Recalls are reserved for when the elected official has done something illegal or unethical.
I know that there were plenty of folks who wanted to recall Mayor Adams because they thought that he had done something illegal or unethical. That's fine. I disagree, but I'm not arguing with that justification for a recall.
I do think it was absurd that some recall supporters talked about things like Major League Soccer, and other policy controversies. Sorry, but that's what elections are for.
If we start recalling elected officials the instant they do something unpopular, policy-wise, we'll never get anything done.
It's bad enough that we can't get anything done during an election year -- what happens when every single month is an election year?
10:30 p.m.
Apr 23, '10
sheeshmaybethesnarkwasappropriate.
Good post Kari.
Cheers.
8:26 p.m.
Apr 21, '10
Rex: I think there are a decent number of people who think that a recall election would be a massive waste of money.
Matthew: have you been to downtown Portland? Have you done anything to actually find out what elected leaders are doing? Admittedly, the lack of grammar and capitals tends to dull my reception of your point. Perhaps you can share how the (presumably) conservative mayor of your town has reduced unemployment and vacancy signs?
9:56 p.m.
Apr 21, '10
kari chisholm please explain to me what any of the democrat progressive leaders in oregon including governor kulongoski and mayor adams have actually done about our still double digit unemployment rate?tell us also what they have done to make oregon more business friendly and put the private sector back to work?tell us what they are actually doing to reduce the vacant storefronts in portland?all you liberals kari want is more taxes and fees to maintain the pay and overgenerous benefits for the fatcat pers govt and ecducation class in oregon.the democrats and education establishment could care less kari about anyone in the private sector who dont work for govt and thats a fact too.yes i have been to downtown portland and have emailed adams and etc to tell them how i feel and see what is going on now.all i ever get is thanks for your comments.the leaders in portland could care less about anyone in the private sector.all they care about is appeasing the greedy selfish public employee unions who btw have not done anything for anyone in the private sector who is unemployed, struggling now and they dont care about us either.they only want more of our money and will use the same old tired extortion scare tactics like they did with 66 and 67to get their greedy way.im sorry 600 million that is being spent on bike paths would be better used to fix the roads and not on streetcars and bike paths.shane bemis in gresham jonathan is forgoing fees for small business owners and is doing everything he can to make it more business friendly out here.is sam,randy,saltzman and etc doing the same in portland?didnt think so.oregon needs people back to work now and we cant afford another do nothing liberal like kitzhaber or bradbury who are way too extreme for oregon and dont care about anyone in the private sector either.
12:42 a.m.
Apr 22, '10
"...the democrat progressive leaders..."
Your wing-nut slip is showing. Actually the Democratic leadership both at the state and local level have done quite a bit to help address unemployment From pushing for the passage of 67/67 last year, which staved off massive layoffs, and have done things like passing bills such as HB 3698 which establishes the Building Opportunities for Oregon Small Business Today (BOOST). Boost is a program which provides grants and loans to small businesses (less than 100 employees) in order to create full-time positions and fill the positions with employees who had been unemployed for at least 60 days.
Combine that with the Stimulus passed last year at the Federal level, we are beginning to see economic recover, though we still need more.
Is unemployment still too high (particularly here in Oregon)...?
Of course.
But given the economic cliff that the previous set of economic policies under GOP control (Federal and State) in the run up to the Great Recession which started in 2007, it is damn near a miracle we are in as good a shape (however poorly it is) as we currently are.
10:43 a.m.
Apr 22, '10
You lost. Get over it.
11:38 a.m.
Apr 22, '10
Matthew, do you honestly believe a mayor in a single city has the ability to reverse unemployment amid a nationwide recession? If you do believe that, tell me what conservative mayors have done to reverse unemployment in their cities. Because surely that's you're evidence.
11:47 a.m.
Apr 22, '10
mitchell the passage of 66 and 67 was not necessary.what was necessary was to cut taxes,fees and regulations on businesses in oregon to give them a better reason to want to remain here.66 and 67 forces businesses to pay more taxes and fees and sorry to burst your bubble but the total tax burden on businesses is much higher than that 10.00 minimum baloney we were told before.the stimulus has not done anything to reduce private sector unemployment.the only jobs growing in oregon are pers pension state jobs.unemployment is still high because kulongoski is sitting on his rear end doing nothing hiding from the private sector who aint seen him in 8 years.the governor dont care either.all he want to do is please his oea ,opeu and seiu union buddies that put hime in office.btw i know a state worker that claims kulongoski said this at a seiu union meeting.i will scratch your backs and i could care less about the well doing of anyone in the private sector and high unemployment.mitchell the gop is not the reason unemployment remains high in oregon its the do nothing progressives like kulongoski who is the worst governor in our history and the worst and most invisible in the nation now.kulongoski has had the last 4 years to fix oregons economy and high unemployment and has not done anything.sorry if my wing nut slip is showing but i am tired of the left wing nuts in this state sitting on their rear ends doing nothing about unemployment and only talking about more taxes,fees and more education money which is not needed everything.
8:37 p.m.
Apr 22, '10
Yes the passage of 66/67 was necessary. Failure to pass would have completely sunk the budget, led to massive layoffs at a time when public services are most needed, and basically fired well over 10,000+ customers of Oregon businesses. And that would have been the immediate effect, to say nothing of the magnified indirect repercussions economically on the cut in services and lay offs.
That you start off with the premise that 66/67 was not necessary underscores just how disconnected from the fact and reality of the budget and the economic impact of the GOP laissez-faire polices which lead the economy into the ditch. That you can even pretend that the Bush era economic policies didn't drive the economy off the cliff is astounding if for no other reason that shear pomposity of such a ludicrous claim.
Far from "bursting my bubble" all you have managed to do is give the impression that the utterly failed "conservative" economic theories (from "trickle-down" to deregulation = self-correcting markets, etc.) ...which have never worked when put into practice, are still earnestly parroted by some.
How many times are failed "Reaganomics" going to crash-and-burn before you realize it, along with communism and command economic theories, are finally thrown on the ash-heap of history as abject failures that they are?
11:55 a.m.
Apr 22, '10
jeff alworth please tell us how much better the liberal leader in oregon are doing now on unemployment and creating private sector jobs now?before you pop off about conservatives please tell us wghat kulongoski and the liberal are doing now to get our double digit unemplyment rate down and the private sector back to work.please dont blame bush as he had no direct control over the state of oregons economic policies.yes i believe a conservative would do a much better job than the pieces of garbage liberals we have in portland now.keff the liberals have a lot of things they could do in oregon to create more private sector jobs like cut taxes,fees and unnecessary regulations on businesses.do you see adams and randt leonard doing any of that?sorry i dont buy the liberal baloney and propaganda about schools being underfunded either.10,000 bucks per pupil for 20 years straight is more than adequate and very stable funding.jeff its time you liberals start caring about the private sector and putting us back to work instead of maintaining the pay and benefits of the pers govt class and appeasing your seiu,opeu and oea union pals.
7:29 p.m.
Apr 23, '10
no mitchell passing 66 and 67 was not necessary.what was necessary was a major league cut in the size of the bloated state govt and significant cuts in salaries and pers pension money for the govt class.baloney the budget would have sunk.the states all funds budget grew from 48 billion to 54 billion so i fail to see where the shortfall is when the state budget grew 6 billion dollars this biennium.tell us mitchell what state services is there such a high demand for now because i dont get anything from the state as dont most private sector oregonians?the gop policies mitchell have nothing to do with oregons economic policies.in case you have not noticed its democrats in oregon who control the budget and have legislative majorities.tell us mitchell please before you pop off about conservatives and bush policies what have the democrat leaders in oregon including kulongoski done about the number one issue facing oregon now unemployment and putting the private sector back to work?can any of you blue oregon crowd folks honestly answer that without blaming the gop and conservatves,name calling and questioning someone like me and my intelligence?fired 10,000 customers of businesses?tell us who would have been fired had 66 and 67 failed mitchell?reaganomics mitchell has nothing to do with oregons economic woes now.its pathetic do nothing on the economy liberal democrat leadership.
4:37 p.m.
Apr 24, '10
That you fail to see everything from unemployment benefit to applications for COBRA increasing substantially, because of the recession brought on by GOP economics crashing and burning is part of your problem it seems. Add to that the already underfunded programs because of years of GOP "starve the beast" policies, combined with a drop off in tax base revenue because of the economic crisis and yes the budget would have been sunk.
And I have already pointed out several things State and local leaders have done to increase jobs in the state. That you refuse to acknowledge that the information is already provided (and far more than I mentioned in passing if you bothered to do your own research instead of spouting drivel about 'garbage liberals') you would be well aware of the efforts put into increase job growth in the state.
4:41 p.m.
Apr 24, '10
" i dont get anything from the state as dont most private sector oregonians?"
Really? You walk everywhere and businesses don't rely on public infrastructure to function?
Amazing.
5:58 p.m.
Apr 26, '10
mitchell i looked at your information and sorry i dont see any democrats doing anything to put the private sector back to work.i dont see any democrats having town hall meetings with the private sector to discuss our economy and ways to get us back to work.tell us what the liberals are really actually doing and i want more details too doing before you spout off again about conservatives.
11:04 p.m.
Apr 26, '10
Then you didn't look. Because the facts are the Democrats have been and continue to work to improve job growth. That you are too blinded by your partisanship and an apparent dogmatic embrace of repeatedly failed laissez-faire economic snake-oil is not my problem.