November 12, 2003
(Updated) Mayoral And Council Candidates Compare Themselves To Current City Hall
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
As part of the slow build-up to coverage of the upcoming campaigns for next year's municipal elections, I asked various candidates for Mayor or Commissioner to describe which members of the current City Council they are most alike in politics and policy.
Phil Busse (Candidate for Mayor): If I'm not flattering myself too much, I would like to think that, in terms of policies, I am closest to Erik Sten. I would also like to think that I am comparable to Sten in terms of being approachable.
In terms of brashness, I would say that I aspire to be like Randy Leonard, who is squaring off against the city's towing companies.
Robert Ted Hinds (Candidate for Mayor): Politically speaking, I praise Dan Saltzman for the introduction of Resolution 36179, in which the City of Portland took an official stance on the PATRIOT Act, recognizing that some of the provisions of this controversial legislation are contrary to Oregon law and The Constitution of the United States of America. Though the resolution is necessarily diplomatic and general in its proclamation, it does reflect my feelings that US Attorney General John Ashcroft has over-stepped the boundaries of his office, and that urgent action is needed by our legislative branch of national government to correct these infringements to the Constitutional rights of American citizens.
Policy-wise, I identify with the proposal of City Auditor, Gary Blackmer, in Report 288, "Managing for Results." A central theme of my campaign platform will be to implement a system of Total Quality Management for the City of Portland. What Blackmer proposed in 2002 with "Managing for Results" represents an overview for such a plan. My experience with world-class organizations like Toyota and Frieghtliner/DaimlerChrysler has provided me with a strong background on the development and implementation of various quality management systems through which unnecessary waste and costs can be identified, measured, and eliminated. In the public sector, this means lower costs to the taxpayer, greater efficiency in public service, and increased accountability on the part of civic administrators.
Jason Newell (Candidate for Commissioner No. 1): I'm interested in replacing the "business as usual" crowd in city hall, not just fitting in with the old boys club. Many of the other candidates running are simply a rehash or montage of the same old crowd. I'm happy to say that I don't have many similarities on the City Council, and that is why views I share with many unrepresented businesses and neighborhoods are badly needed.
One example, everyone on the council seems willing to waste hundreds of millions of dollars on bury a reservoir. I will put an end to business as usual.
Brian Smith (Candidate for Commissioner No. 1): Definately Erik Sten and Randy Leonard.
Jerry Watson (Candidate for Commissioner No. 1): Erik Sten is closest to me in terms of politics and policy.
Alicia Salaz (Candidate for Commissioner No. 4): I would consider Erik Sten to be closest to me in terms of politics and policy. He appears to me to be levelheaded, a great mediator, and a dedicated public servant. I also admire Randy Leonard's ability to take on Vera and not bend like a noodle, but I can't identify with him as much in terms of political position.
It should be noted that I continue to contact the various campaigns only via email. While on the one hand, this hobbles me as compared to the access of other media, I'm a bit of a stickler for the notion that campaigns, especially on the local level, should be as accessible and responsive as possible.
The absence of any candidate in this item is the result either of their lack of locatable email address, or simply of their lack of response -- both of which are, to me, part of the story.
While it's possible that some absences are the result of technical problems with a campaign's email, one think at this point that would have been discovered and corrected. And since there are some campaigns which have never once responded to me about anything, I think it's safe to assume that in those cases, this is not the explanation.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, at the risk of appearing petulant: If you're not going to actually make use of email addresses, your campaign is better off without them. If they don't represent a functional conduit between your campaign and the public (or the press), please forego what is therefore nothing but a pretense.
Update
You will notice, of course, that it is the candidates of a higher mainstream name-recognition who tend to be absent from the above list. Take that for whatever it's worth.
Update
For those keeping track of such things: Tom Potter officially declares his mayoral candidacy next Monday, while Jason Newell officially declares his council candidacy next Thursday.