September 03, 2003
Blumenauer's Exit Throws Next Year's City Elections Into The Air Again
So now that Congressman Earl Blumenauer has decided to return to Congress rather than likely win a bid for Mayor next year, where do the races for the Mayor's office and City Council go from here?
Well, other than the Willamette Week having Jim Francesconi performing a jig outside City Hall, let's see.
First of all, Steve Duin reports that Commissioner Sten isn't going to run for Mayor this time out, but that Sam Adams (Katz's former chief of staff) is now talking about it, since there's no point in him running for Blumenauer's seat in Congress now.
Adams also comes up elsewhere in today's Oregonian:
In announcing his interest in Congress if Blumenauer didn't seek re-election to the House, Adams had said that decision foreclosed a race for Francesconi's open council seat. But he said Tuesday that he is exploring a mayoral run.
"I love this city too much not to have an open seat for mayor contested," said Adams, who would face questions about how he would differ from Katz, his ex-boss. "An office as important as this should have a real debate."
Meanwhile, attorney Nick Fish continues to ogle Francesconi's seat on the Council, and Multnomah County Commissioner Maria Rojo de Steffey continues to ponder a Council run as well. I've seen no word in the local media for some time about the whole rumored (or at least joked-about) run by Thomas Lauderdale.
As always, check the official candidate list for details on who is officially running for what. It hasn't been updated since 8/22, but who knows if that's because there are no new candidates yet or if they are just being slow with the updating.