Charlie Hales goes on the attack, gets booed (video)
Kari Chisholm
Last night, the American Society of Landscape Architects and the American Planning Association hosted a mayoral forum.
Amidst a discussion about urban architecture and planning, former City Commissioner Charlie Hales went on the attack, snarkily doubling down on his absurd assertion that Brady wasn't a co-founder of New Seasons Market.
I can't really do it justice here, you just have to watch the video. I promise you, Jefferson Smith's reaction to the booing is worth every moment of it. (And it's just 152 seconds long.)
And, I'll say this: Eileen Brady's response is cool, calm, and classy.
It was just a few weeks ago that Charlie Hales pledged to run an all-positive campaign. I guess that promise is out the window.
But perhaps now we can put to rest the nonsense that Eileen Brady was somehow a bystander at New Seasons Market. If there's any doubt, New Seasons board chair Stan Amy was crystal clear last week: "Eileen is one of our co-founders."
 |
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
12:03 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
Full disclosure: My firm built Eileen Brady's campaign website. I speak only for myself.
12:20 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
I appreciate the video. Am hoping that that's the last time the issue is raised. going to be a touch campaign no matter how you slice it.
12:41 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
Saying a candidate is whining--is that positive commentary about another candidate?
How does Charlie Hales being booed by some folks put the issue to rest, exactly?
1:45 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
Not the booing. Her response.
1:57 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
Thanks for clarifying part 2 of my question, K. Understood.
12:48 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
According to the WW, it was the Brady supporters who booed Hales. And as we all know Brady supporters have no sense of bias (Kari Kari Kari)... Just as her supporters are supposed to back their candidate - the whole population needs to look at every issue and form an opinion for themselves. Something that is usually helped along by unbiased reporting - currently lacking in any of Kari's posts regarding any of his numerous clients.
1:44 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
I wasn't there. My understanding is that the audience was almost entirely architects and planners, not a bunch of campaign supporters from any side.
Certainly, Jefferson Smith didn't think it was an appropriate attack - and I'm pretty sure he's not an Eileen Brady supporter.
As for WW, well, watching Nigel express his schoolboy crush is getting embarrassing.
2:00 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
Wow, what do you base that on? His reaction? My interpretation was "my name is Paul, and this is between y'all." But only interpretation. Yours is a pretty direct assertion of his view, given the "certainly."
12:28 a.m.
Mar 16, '12
Right. I'm not a mind reader. But his body language was pretty clear, especially for someone who's been a friend for a decade.
Also, I think the proof is in that Jefferson's honored his all-positive pledge and his campaign hasn't gone into this particular gutter.
9:21 a.m.
Mar 16, '12
His body language changed in response to the booing, not the commentary. And not to speak for Jeff, but there's a difference between pledging not to go there yourself, and finding someone else's intent to do so inappropriate. That's a speculative leap colored I think by your desire to BELIEVE he found it inappropriate, in order to boost the thesis of your post. But perhaps I'll defer to your deep and long lasting friendship.
2:12 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
i was there. the booing was throughout the audience. and the house lights were down, so anyone saying it was Brady supporters is doing so with no way of proving it. the volume of boos was too loud to be just one group of supporters.
Jaquiss' supposition about who was booing was incorrect, unsubstantiated & unprofessional. iow, a WW Trifecta.
5:06 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
It cost $10 to get in as opposed to the standard free entry. There were very few campaign supporters for any candidates. The booing came from throughout the theater, not just from the Brady contingent down front.
12:30 a.m.
Mar 16, '12
unbiased reporting - currently lacking in any of Kari's posts
I just spotted this tidbit. Parker, if you're just now discovering that I'm not unbiased, well, that's not news down here in Oregon.
I'm a blogger. I'm a political consultant. I'm not unbiased. That's kind of self-evident.
7:31 p.m.
Mar 17, '12
Agreed.
Parker: you, as the rest of us, just have to accept that BO is (among other things) a platform for promoting Kari/Mandate Media's paying clients.
Evil? No.
Unethical? Only a little bit, if at all.
Incompatible being a neutral forum for small-b blue Oregon to engage in dialog? Probably. But that doesn't make BO totally useless.
This Kari's blog called "Blue Oregon," not blue Oregon's blog. He's entitled to use it as he chooses.
1:02 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
Jeff's reaction makes the video worth it. Funny stuff.
3:25 p.m.
Mar 16, '12
Yeah. Jefferson's reaction was obviously to the remark and preceded the booing. The hands in the air backing away from the table was classic. Well played.
1:59 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
Is there more video available somewhere? I was seriously disappointed to have missed this event, and would love to see it in its entirety.
In the WW story comments I see T.A. saying he was shooting video at the event, so I'm guessing he's the one to talk to.
3:07 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
Charlie Hales' last name rhymes with the last name of Judge Smails from Caddyshack. Coincidence? You be the judge.
5:46 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
I love Eileen Brady for Mayor! She will win it...that is why Charlie is so worked up. We need an entrepreneur with her type of experience to build Portland up again...we are not as strong as we were at one time...it is time for a real solid business change! I vote for Eileen! The things that Eileen describes that she has done for New Season's IS the type of experience needed to help small businesses work with our local government in creating jobs, building up failing neighborhoods, bringing coolness to Portland, helping local farmers and growers...and she knows how to negotiate and work with all types of people! I think Charlies' comment totally opened up the door for Eileen to highlight all her strengths! It is a great thing that he did!
11:57 p.m.
Mar 15, '12
Not to nitpick, but can a workplace be both progressive and anti-union?
11:09 a.m.
Mar 16, '12
Yes.
6:25 p.m.
Mar 17, '12
No.
11:37 a.m.
Mar 19, '12
Yes. I think there's a sliding scale, where the most regressive, abusive workplace is the one that is most in need of a union. On the other end of the scale is a progressive workplace, where profits of the company are shared with employees, where the company gives health benefits to employees who aren't full time, etc. That kind of progressive workplace is one that is least in need of a union.
7:31 a.m.
Mar 16, '12
Kyle, the answer is a solid yes.
9:47 a.m.
Mar 16, '12
NSM is progressive & NON-union. big damn difference.
1:07 p.m.
Mar 16, '12
I used to work at Fred Meyer, probably doing the same job that I could've been doing at New Seasons. But I was a union employee at the former, and that option wouldn't be available at the latter. It's just weird, is all.
11:11 p.m.
Mar 16, '12
Non-union and anti-union are two different things. Grocery Outlet - whose CEO is union-buster Bob Tiernan - is anti-union. New Seasons is non-union.
I haven't worked at either place; not in the grocery biz at all. But having learned a few things about grocery store employment in the last few months, I can tell you this.
Had you been a New Seasons employee, you would have:
started at $10/hour (at minimum.)
had health care benefits, even if you only worked one shift.
been able to get health care benefits for your family, including a domestic partner.
been trusted to take home, for free, product that gets damaged (not dumpster it.)
been guaranteed the same schedule every single week, so that you could schedule your life more than a week or two in advance.
I can't speak to the details of how Fred Meyer employees are treated. But that does describe what it was like for you?
9:06 a.m.
Mar 17, '12
Exactly Kari. The whole point of joining a union is to negotiate for better wages and benefits. At New Seasons those wages and benefits are given without union intervention. Thus for New Seasons to unionize, the employees would be giving portions of their checks away to the union for no reason.
6:27 p.m.
Mar 17, '12
Thanks for the Republican talking points.
12:18 a.m.
Mar 20, '12
the employees would be giving portions of their checks away to the union for no reason.
I disagree that it would be "for no reason" - there are lots of reasons for unions to exist that are beyond wages and benefits. Working conditions and representation for example.
My point, however, is that it's possible for non-union workplaces to treat their employees quite well, actually.
6:29 p.m.
Mar 17, '12
We've had this discussion in a previous thread, but let's remember that wages/benefits is not all that a union is about. And if we're going there anyway, when I worked at Fred Meyer as a cart-pusher, I received full health, dental and vision benefits with ZERO monthly premium and $10 co-pays as long as I worked 80 hours a month. How good is New Seasons' health care benefits for part-timer employees?
12:20 a.m.
Mar 20, '12
It's all right here.
11:38 a.m.
Mar 19, '12
And if you'd worked at New Seasons, you'd be sharing in the profits of the company. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen at Kroegers.
8:03 p.m.
Mar 16, '12
I was there in my Eileen Brady T-shirt. My blue one because my green one is in the laundry. I did not observe any identified Brady supporters booing. The audience of urban and landscape planners did not appreciate Charlie's attacking comment. Eileen responded intelligently, articulately and I think you can hear me clapping and saying right on!
11:35 a.m.
Mar 17, '12
New Seasons may be a fairly progressive employer, but Ryan Gaughan's story is indicative that one reason they don't want a union is that they want to be able to fire people who talk too much about things like safety without any damn union getting in the way.
6:01 p.m.
Mar 17, '12
Look, Brady claims she wrote the employee handbook but not the non-union language and knew nothing about it. PUH-leeze.
She wants to be in the front row of all the positives of Natures or New Seasons or whatever it's called but wants to be like George HW Bush when it comes to the negative. ("Iran Contra? What's that".)
A background in business is a good thing but this Ross Perot idea that you can just come in and command the government is just so much nonsense.
Especially when most of the city employees are union members.
9:41 p.m.
Mar 18, '12
I love the headline to this post.
"Goes on the Attack"???? Because Hales points out obvious embellishments in his opponents resume?
That's an attack???