February 27, 2003
'Possibility in the chaos'
Speaking of politics, today's Oregonian also has a nice overview of the range of competing issues at City Hall -- and the competing perspectives on the nature and responsibilities of local government:
The bulging to-do list has broken open a philosophical divide on the City Council.
One stance voiced by Katz and Commissioner Erik Sten, and less loudly by Commissioner Dan Saltzman, says the council can't fear a busy agenda. They see an upside in big-picture solutions to problems that went ignored during better economic times.
"We're at a very dangerous, and hopefully, opportune moment to get some things turned around," Sten said. "I see a sense of possibility in the chaos that was missing during the contentment."
But Commissioners Jim Francesconi and Randy Leonard warn that trying to do it all distracts from bureau management. They also are concerned about genuine crises in schools and the economy, but say the council too easily takes on other peripheral issues.
"There is too much going on," said Leonard, the newest council member. "We have to look at priorities and lop some of them off."
Then again, perhaps it's not a matter of taking on too much, but of electing people who don't have what it takes to govern in a complicated time when a wide range of issues -- large and small alike, but often important in some manner -- need to be addressed.