May 06, 2004

County Chair Diane Linn To Apologize For Lack Of Public Involvement

Unfortunately Will Include Same-Sex Marriage Process In List Of Regrets

Jack said he heard it on KPAM, and we caught the tail end of it on KOIN's late newscast. Sure enough, here's the early word from the Portland Tribune:

Diane Linn plans to apologize to the public Thursday morning for Multnomah's County's secret deliberations over same sex marriage and other recent political missteps.
Linn, the chairwoman of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, will also apologize to Commissioner Lonnie Roberts, who was left out of the process, and to residents of the East Multnomah County district Roberts represents. "I've come to this conclusion: I owe the community an apology," she said. "I do think I should have been more understanding of the public process and citizen involvement means so much to this community."

While we certainly concede that there's a pattern of decisions that have caused much consternation on the part of Multnomah County residents, we will once again go out on the lonely limb all by our lonesome and say that we're a little disappointed that Linn is including the same-sex marriage process in this apology.

It would seem rather clear, however, this is the quintessential political maneuver, offering a sudden apology in the midst of a recall campaign against her. We just wish that, on the same-sex marriage issue, she wasn't suddenly copping out, because we continue to believe that the process in that case was entirely legitimate.

Posted at 12:35 AM | PermalinkComments (9) | TrackBacks (1)
More In Metro-Area Politics, Same-Sex Marriage

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Comments (9)

  1. Keith on 06 May 2004

    Wow. I'm a bit shocked. I'm so tired of the concept that my civil rights should be treated as some kind of process oriented popularity contest, that it's been a source of personal pride in my community that it wasn't treated like that here.

  2. Jack Bog on 06 May 2004

    Sorry, no heroes here. Just people trying to keep their jobs.

  3. not disappointed on 06 May 2004

    Diane is still clueless. I am a strong supporter of same sex marriage but very unhappy with the high handed way that the county commissioners decided this issue.

    The recall is not just about gay marriage, it is about a string of issues (library director, snow days, county tax, gay marriage) on which Linn has made it clear that she has no respect for the other elected officials with whom she has to work, nor any idea about restoring badly eroded public support for government in this state.

  4. John on 06 May 2004

    I'm yet another who agrees with Diane on the same-sex marriage issue, but would still like to see her tossed out of office. She's had total contempt for any consultation with anybody outside her office, whether it's other government officials, county employees or the public.

    I will say, though, that her despicable attitude was a natural result of the way the County's been run for years. Bev Stein --god bless her -- was so knowledgeable about everything the County was doing that the rest of the Commissioners sat on the sideline and let her pull all the power into her office, essentially becoming rubber-stamping appendages of the Chairs' Office. So when Diane got the job, she fully assumed she'd waltz into the same situation. Unfortunately for her, she's not as bright or capable as Bev, and doesn't command the respect of the rest of the Board the way she did, who challenge her in ways they never did with Bev. Not to mention her tacky lovelife intruding into public policy... This has all driven her to a Nixonian level of paranoia that makes her even LESS likely to consult with anybody outside her circle.

    So I'd love to see her lose her job, but I'm torn because every media outlet will interpret it as a victory for the homophobes. (Fuck it, I'll vote against her anyway.)

  5. Sheryl Anderson on 06 May 2004

    Chair Linn basically apoligized for the process around marriage equality but said she was proud of the role she played in brining legal equality to more than 3000 families who had been denied this right. Further, she said she did not regret for one moment her support of marriage equality in Multnomah County. The County posted the Chair's statementon its site. Also, a streamed broadcast of her statements at the County Commissioner Board Meeting dated 5/6/2004 is available. She made a lot of other apologies.

  6. The One True b!X on 06 May 2004

    Ah, yes, thanks for posting the pdf URL. I hadn't had the time to go grab that yet, and didn't feel up to typing in excerpts from the paper copy I have from this morning.

    It is important to point out that she did try to distinguish the same-sex marriage decision from the other decisions. But since I continue not to believe there was another way to do it, I don't think that decision should have been part of the apology at all.

    But that's politics.

  7. Shelley on 07 May 2004

    I found it refreshing that Chair Linn saw the error of her ways and had the guts to apologize for her actions. L. Roberts did deserve one for the stunt she pulled. I do find it ironic that she didn't give a 'heads up'to Serena and others..after just stating that she was going to focus more on being inclusive. Why do I find myself waiting to see what will happen next?

  8. Glenn on 05 Nov 2004

    Diane, thank you for taking this issue into you own hands and driveing it forward when you did. Not only did you ensure that measure 36 passed but you, the mayor of SF and the judges in Boston all contributed to President Bush getting re-elected.

    Again thank you.

  9. Bruce on 16 Apr 2005

    The Oregon Supreme Court was right on by overturning 3,022 marriage licenses issued illegally by Multmomah County. Perhaps the four clowns that supported the issue will now think twice before they attempt to alter the State Constitution. All Gay Marriage and Civil Union issues should be put to a vote of all registered Oregon voters who can determine sanity from stupidity.

Trackbacks (1)

  1. Diane Linn's civil rights mea culpa on 06 May 2004

    The Multnomah County Chair, Dianne Linn, is now apologizing for not bringing in the public to help decide whether or not same-sex couples have the right to marry. Such an action would have enveloped the civil rights of Gay men...