May 12, 2004
(Updated) Wednesday Election Campaign Update
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
We must be doing something right when we get email asking us for the whereabouts of our temporarily-daily campaign update post. Fear not. Here we go.
First off, just to round out the coverage, there's a Portland Mercury item on the death of Jim Spagg, as well as a brief one (scroll down) in Willamette Week. For those so inclined, the official Jim Spagg site now has information about the funeral and whatnot, although as of this writing, it appears to be offline.
Also in Willamette Week is an election edition of "Rogue of the Week" which includes still another mention of this mysterious push poll planting negative thoughts about Tom Potter in the minds of voters that's been making the rounds (and which still hasn't been tied directly to Jim Francesconi), as well as a mention of the home-stretch slapfest going on between Sam Adams and Nick Fish.
That sparring ratcheted up another notch earlier today, as the Fish campaign posted a press release for business leaders to counter claims made by the Adams campaign, and also sent out a newsletter quoting an Adams strategist as saying in 2003, "I love going to trainings and shocking the conscience of prospective candidates by saying that negative campaigning is a moral imperative on their part and they must engage in it."
Also in that newsletter is a pointer to a pair of articles by Adams and Fish from Brainstorm NW.
Meanwhile, over at News4Neighbors, they mysteriously post an item on Tom Potter and public involvement even though the only difference between it and the statement on Potter's own website -- which has been available there for weeks -- is an indication that Potter would keep the Office of Neighborhood Involvement in his own portfolio as Mayor.
Elsewhere, today's Oregonian offered something of an overview on the perspective that this election is a chance to "overhaul" City Hall. The article speaks to neighborhood leaders and candidates alike, including at least a couple that haven't tended to get any media coverage -- Jerry Adams and Brad Taylor.
Finally, in an item on Portland Indymedia, Mayoral candidate Robert Ted Hinds takes a slap at us while strangely attempting to take credit for setting the tone for the candidates' discussion of the issues surrounding police training.
Disclosure: PORTLAND COMMUNIQUE accepts political advertisements, and currently runs ads from the Busse, Francesconi, and Potter campaigns.
Update
An interesting thing about everyone trying to track down the ultimate source of this mysterious push poll: Campaign finance reports perhaps won't help. Looking at the appropriate chapter of the Oregon Revised Statutes, we see this from 260.083:
(5) Except as provided in subsection (8) of this section, expenditures made by an agent of a candidate or political committee on behalf of the candidate or committee shall be reported in the same manner as if the expenditures had been made by the candidate or political committee.
...
(8)(a) A vendor who enters into a contract with a candidate or political committee to prepare or produce brochures, mailings, polls, other opinion research or television, radio or newspaper advertising, or to provide mail handling and postage, shall not be considered an agent of the candidate or political committee for purposes of subsection (5) of this section. The Secretary of State by rule may designate other specific products or services that would qualify a vendor for an exemption from reporting under this subsection.
(b) Nothing in this section shall require a vendor described in this subsection to disclose the vendor�s internal or subcontracting costs for providing the specific product or service under paragraph (a) of this subsection.
Presuming this means that nothing about this poll needs to appear in various campaign finance reports, this would mean that it's going to take someone in the local media scene working traditional source avenues to find out who's behind this.
Comments (5)
Pete on 13 May 2004
Damn, that Ric Okasik (from the Cars) look-a-like Hinds dug up my comment from way back then. What a desperate bozo.
John Bartley K7AAY on 13 May 2004
And, there _is_ election news from without the People's Republic.. such as the revelation that Enron-PGE is the sole and exclusive funder for the alleged cLACKAMAS cITIZENS aGAINST tHE cOSTLY tAKEOVER. The website for that FUD campaign is listed with their PR flacks; amazing what you can find with WHOIS, ain't it?
Details in CLACKABLOG.
The One True b!X on 13 May 2004
Not surprising. We faced the same thing here in Multnomah County when the fake "citizens" group against the PUD measure here was almost entirely PGE people and flacks from Gard & Gerber.
brad taylor on 14 May 2004
I have had the opportunity to get to know Robert Ted Hinds and I am familiar with his ideas about our city's problems and potential. He is neither desperate nor a bozo. I respect him as a person and as a candidate. When a person runs for public office, she/he runs the risk of being superficially judged and ridiculed. I am sorry to see such practices on a site that should respect the act of publicly and officially advocating for the betterment of our city.
The One True b!X on 14 May 2004
Well, I called his neither desperate nor a bozo. But I did listen to him discussing his plans for the Police Bureau at that early Green Party event and I stand by my earlier characterizations of them.
It's also entirely legitimate to argue against his assertion that he set the tone for anything in this race.