(Updated) Some Hot Campaign Round-Up Action!
KOIN On KOIN, Dean On Potter, Duin On Francesconi, And Candidates On JTTF
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
To begin with, an update on the lying and/or incompetent KOIN 6 News. After we first posted about the station passing along the distortions in Jim Francesconi's negative radio ads as facts, many of our readers began emailing KOIN to object. Two of our readers recently passed along the response they've received from the station via email.
The first reader had written to KOIN to explain the facts of the shooting incident Francesconi abused in his first radio spot, pointing out that the officer was reinstated by a neutral arbitrator and that Potter wasn't even chief at the time of the incident. The second reader explained to KOIN that their assertion that both candidates had been accused of running negative campaigns was incorrect, and also relayed relevant facts of the shooting incident.
Both readers received the exact same form-letter response from Irene Mahoney, the station's executive news producer:
Thank you for your feedback regarding our mayoral candidate attack ads. The story clearly stated that Mr. Potter and his campaign staff said they would not resort to that kind of ad. We talked with both sides of this controversial issue and feel that we provided balanced coverage.
As both readers have pointed out, this response does nothing to address KOIN's disregard for the facts involved in the shooting incident, and actually also dodges the fact that the station bluntly asserted that both candidates might somehow be invovled in negative campaigning. We also find it amusing (as did at least one of the readers who received this stock reply) that Mahoney opens her email by referring to "our mayoral candidate attack ads" -- a nice Freudian slip, given that their coverage indeed amounted to participating in Francesconi's smear campaign.
Next, the slightly-old news. As reported last night by KGW and this morning by The Oregonian, former presidential hopeful Howard Dean campaigned with local Mayoral candidate Tom Potter yesterday, including a mini-rally at Billy Reed's in Northeast Portland in the afternoon, the only part of Dean's visit which we attended.
"We didn't know who Tom Potter was," Dean said at that rally. "You all let us know that he's someone you thought highly of." He explained that his organization doesn't endorse anyone simply because the grassroots tells them they should, but uses those recommendations as the springboard into their own research -- which led them to several elements about Potter.
"You are safe from any influence that may or may not be peddled in City Hall," Dean said, referring to Potter's self-imposed limits on campaign contributions. In addition, Dean cited Potter's support for community policing and his outreach to younger voters as reasons for the endorsement.
"After Tom gets elected, I want you all to think about running for office as well," Dean said. "Election by election, vote by vote, Tom Potter by Tom Potter, we're going to take this country back for ordinary Americans."
Potter himself opted to keep his own remarks brief, telling his supporters it was so they could get back to work. "Together, we are going to change Portland," he said.
In response, the campaign of Mayoral candidate Jim Francesconi spun it this way, according to the KGW report:
Besides, she said, Francesconi is drawing his support mostly from people like Portland anti-gang activist Maggie Gibson, not national figures like Dean.
"More important than big names is actual people who have working side-by-side with Jim for the last 30 years to make Portland better," Armstrong said.
And over in The Oregonian, they put it this way:
"It's interesting that he claims to be way more grassroots than Jim Francesconi and continues to be focused on process and money," said Armstrong, who worked for John Kerry's presidential campaign before joining Francesconi. "He continues to sit back and say nothing."
We should note that we've not actually witnessed (personally) any focus on money coming out of Potter's campaign appearances lately, so we're not sure what that remark is about. As for the charge that Potter sits back and says nothing, we'll see that again in the next part of this campaign update.
Today in The Oregonian, columnist Steve Duin wrote a eulogy for the Francesconi campaign, which begins with Duin stating that Francesconi himself "suspects he's toast in the mayor's race." If so, we suspect that may have something to do with the internal poll (for which camp we're still unsure) putting him 30-40 points behind Potter.
Among other things, Duin thankfully goes on to mention Francesconi's utter distortions of Potter's position on the Centennial Mill property and of the Mayor's baseball stadium proposal. We say thankfully because we've mentioned the former distortions here and the latter distortions on BlueOregon (in a thread about baseball which everyone should be sure to read).
Duin might also have mentioned that Francesconi's campaign promise to fill potholes within 48 hours if they are called into the Office of Transportion's hotline may also be a deception. As it turns out, we've been told that the City already fills potholes within 48 hours if they are called into PDOT's hotline. We suppose that it's easy to keep a campaign promise when what's being promised appears already to be the existing policy reality.
(Incidentally, we've heard similar charges from staffers at the Bureau of Development Services about Commissioner Leonard's early claims of problems at that bureau. His following up on those charges later on by saying that the problems had been fixed and the bureau was doing better has been met with some eye-rolling incredulity on the part of these BDS staffers, who insist that they've actually been performing their duties in exactly the same way the entire time.)
The column also quotes a Francesconi supporter, as if on cue from some set of talking points, saying that Potter is "sitting back there doing nothing." When we finally get around to the much-promised, much-delayed items on the recent arts and culture forum and Potter's discussion in East Portland, readers can decide that for themselves.
Meanwhile, the Mayoral candidates have had some duelling via letters to the editor in The Oregonian, with one by Francesconi back on August 21, and one by Tom Potter today (scroll down).
Finally, in a sidebar to a Portland Tribune article on the impending renewal of Portland's participation in the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the paper provides quick position statements from Francesconi and Potter, as well as City Council candidates Sam Adams and Nick Fish.
Adams expresses concern about "probable cause" and "fishing expeditions," and expresses a desire to have access to the JTTF files (something not likely to happen since only police commissioners are granted such access). Fish cites the recent Brandon Mayfield fiasco as reason for proper oversight. Francesconi simply says there are "legitimate questions about the scope of powers." And Potter says he's comfortable with such cooperation, but adds there's a need to protect civil rights, "particularly for members of our Muslim community."
Update
Something we didn't update. In last week's Willamette Week, they skewered Tim Hibbitts in much the same way this weblog and others have been doing lately, and we mentioned this last Friday.
Well, this week, the Week had an update in which they report that "Hibbitts chewed out one of the Nose's colleagues, saying he'd been misquoted." The paper goes on to show what it said, and what Hibbitts himself had said. We're not sure what to think about the fact that we aren't on Hibbitt's radar and so didn't get chewed out ourselves despite having made the criticisms first. Oh, well.
August 31, 2004 at 03:16 PM
If you emailed KOIN, expect a response this week. A third reader just informed us that they also received the same non-reply reply today.
August 31, 2004 at 03:49 PM
I got the same nonreply reply. It made me feel real speshul. I fired off a response immediately--maybe I'll get another canned reply in a few weeks.
Oh well. The one good thing I can say about the reply I got is that it was Cc'd to a few actual people (as opposed to an all-purpose "feedback" address), which made it easy for me to Cc the same people when I wrote back.
Cc: Teresa Stedman , Dan Salamone , Irene Mahoney
September 01, 2004 at 11:52 PM
This article http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=15634 from the Portland Tribune, published on January 3, 2003, makes clear the dysfunction of the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) up to that time.
Michael Mills, the city ombudsman, informed me at that time that BDS managers would consistently not allow him to speak to some employees who were responsible for issues he received complaints on. He told me it was the only bureau that he knew of in the city that had such a policy. His frustration with the policies of BDS in dealing with citizens were well publicized at the time
This is a quote from the article I have referenced above:
"Since the ombudsman's office opened 18 months ago, the Bureau of Development Services has received the highest number of complaints, 83, almost twice the Department of Transportation's 42 complaints".
Michael Mills recently informed me that BDS has accomplished the most positive profound transformation of any organization within the city. Additionally, Mr. Mills has informed me that BDS, from his perspective as a citizen troubleshooter, has completely changed it's approach in dealing with citizens and compliance issues and as a result has seen a dramatic decrease in complaints. Mr. Mills also told me he is dealing with a number of complaints within the water bureau that he is optimistic would be resolved if the water bureau adopted the Bureau of Development Services new customer service and problem solving approach to serving citizens.
Having said that, I am aware that not all employees are pleased with the changes we have made that the vast majority of employees have embraced. As an employee told me in a group meeting at BDS yesterday, it was difficult for some employees adjusting to being empowered to make independent decisions based on their experience, judgment and intent of the building code. Under the prior administration the letter of the code prevailed over common sense more often than not.
The employees of BDS have, in fact, accomplished one of the most remarkable turnarounds of an organization within the city that I am aware of. I am proud of their new solution oriented strategies when dealing with the public in issuing remodel and building permits. These employees have risen to the challenge I have given them and have earned my unqualified loyalty in return.
In the interest of space and time, I will not go on and on about the positive changes that have occurred for employees and citizens who interact with BDS...unless of course asked.
September 02, 2004 at 10:08 AM
I was floored by the non-reply reply. Even Fox News understands enough about journalism to pretend to care about reporting the facts correctly. KOIN appears to fall short of even that standard.
My bet is that those of us who replied to the non-reply reply will not hear back at all this time.
September 02, 2004 at 12:51 PM
I know I am being picky picky picky- but in the letter to th editor that Tom Potter wrote in reponse to J.F.'s letter- why does he say:
"I welcome a truthful review of both of our records -- a full, complete and honest assessment -- of his eight years and my 27."
???? This sounds as if T.P had 27 years in public service and Jim had 8...does anyone knows what 27 years he is referring to? OK off to my last camping trip of summer before school starts- looking forward to catching up when I get back!- JM
September 02, 2004 at 01:46 PM
Tom's 27 years with the Portland Police Bureau is what Tom was speaking too.
September 02, 2004 at 03:51 PM
My guess is that at first, KOIN's errors were caused by incompetence. But because it's embarrassing to be incompetent, there's some incentive to pretend that one is not. So when KOIN had its incompetence pointed out, along with the facts to prove that the channel had screwed up, KOIN chose to deny that it had erred in any way. It was at that point that KOIN's journalistic mistakes became lies. The channel might not have set out to lie, but it certainly ended up doing so. Bravo!
September 05, 2004 at 08:29 PM
I don't know, B!X, I went and read through those baseball posts at BlueOregon, but found them a bit underwhelming.
First point - everyone dismissed Francesconi's concerns about where the money's going to come from without a second of critical analysis, that I could see.
Now, you could go one by one through my personal reasons for supporting Potter in this race, but nowhere would you find the notion that Francesconi doesn't have a firm understanding of how the game is played in this city - where the money comes from, where it goes.
He's an intelligent man, with years of experience in the back rooms of city/public funding deals. Furthermore, Francesconi, like Potter, like you or me, cares about this city. That concern, coupled with his insider knowledge of public financing, is as likely to inform his position regarding MLB as anything else.
I'd suggest at least asking him to explain his analysis, before you discount it.
Or, hell, just tell a happy story!
Or, to put it another way, let's just put a big sign on our collective city foreheads - "Easy Mark here."
That is the role we played in this last MLB go-round...
A few people on the thread tried to interject information, the fact, for instance, that numerous studies, recent, reputable studies by academics far removed from Portland's politics, have shown the financial benefits major league sports venues bestow upon their cities are spotty, to say the least.
A few more pointed out that Commissioner Leonard's vaguely remembered Econ 101 principle of the multiplier was a bit more complex than touted. But no one challenged him on his "pish-pah" hand-washing of the credentials or bonafides of those opposing MLB in Portland.
I've been following this subject for some time. And, while I have not yet made up my mind, completely, I have been impressed by the depth of the research and knowledge-base of many of those, too happily disdained on BlueOregon, MLB in Portland opponents.
It' a big mistake to underestimate the opposition...
Overall, IMO what I read was mostly the siren song of memory-lane, wishful thinking, and a whole heck of a lot of enabling.
The proponents of MLB in Portland will need to spend at least a quarter as much time analyzing whether a major league sports venue is a good fit/need/use of Portland public funds, at a time when, sorry Randy, we do need to pick and chose (remember your econ 101? Econ's the study of how we allocate finite resources in a world of infinite wants) -- as they are eager to spend dreaming of where to site the facility, or whether it should be baseball, or soccer.
At the very least they should familiarize themselves with what the opposition is saying. And, understand it.
Otherwise it's just public policy as self-talk. Not too encouraging, IMO.
(And, btw, while I agree the WPA was a noble and worthwhile, humane, endeaver -- it did not end, or even significantly impact, the depression. Woody would have had nothing to sing about if it had...)
But it did create some things of lasting benefit. I suggest we take that lesson to heart if we are going to have a discussion along those lines. Why not, instead of a baseball stadium, why not an updated infrastructure to carry this city into the 22nd century?
Now there's a WPA reference I can get behind!
September 05, 2004 at 08:57 PM
For whatever it's worth, my main criticism with Francesconi's response to the Mayor's proposal was the way he crowed about "if an owner comes into the picture, we'll talk" as if that wasn't part of the Mayor's proposal. In reality, nothing about the Mayor's proposal kicks in until and unless an owner comes into the picture.
So the way he made that particular statement came across as if he was trying to make hay out of a particular flaw in the proposal, but that particular flaw didn't exist.
As for the BO thread, I didn't mean to assert any given argument was ultimately persuasive. But yeah I did find it interesting.
September 06, 2004 at 01:57 PM
What I found interesting was how quickly we all -- not just Commissioners who want to bury reservoirs -- leap right past the place where we cogitate on whether we SHOULD do what we want to do, and get right to where we want to be -- deciding HOW we'll do what we want to do.
The glue that binds us all in these moments is how we turn a deaf ear to those who disagree with our goal.
You don't have to listen to Francesconi on this one, there are others, not in any way affiliated with the Commish, who can speak for that side.
The weakness of the conversation on BO, IMO, was that none of those voices were present. So there was a limit to what you could learn from the conversation. (I already know where Safeco Field is...)
I'm not saying we've got to listen to every flat-earther or anti-gay marraige kook out there, btw. But the educated, reasoned concerns of fellow citizens - we need to hear and understand those.
September 06, 2004 at 03:20 PM
Well, here's where I stand, all told, on MLB in Portland these days.
While I've only managed to scan the Mayor's proposal so far, I don't see the enormity of problem others appear to. Whether that's because critics of the proposal are wrong or I'm just really weak on financials is an entirely open question.
For me, the contentious issues are twofold. First, is Portland an MLB town, how would MLB affect Portland's character, and would it be for good or ill? And second, Is the time and energy spent on trying to work out an MLB package taking away too much from putting time and energy into other possibilities or concerns?
And I continue to be something of an agnostic as to the possible answers to those questions.