March 09, 2005
Palace Intrigue At The Portland Development Commission
Ow, Sweetie, Ow
After the resignation of Don Mazziotti last week, a curious set of dances ensued, and our brain folded into a maze of twisty passages, all alike.
While the soon-to-be former executive director of the Portland Development Commission cited the cliche "family reasons" for his announcement, the decision sparked the inevitable speculations as to possible other reasons. Mazziotti himeself, in addition to the reason he gave, asserted that he'd been planning this move for the past six months.
Apparently, while City Hall insists that Mazziotti did not leave at the Mayor's request, sources have said that it's possible that PDC chair Matt Hennessee is the one who pulled the trigger. It might have been for reasons of political ambition, although Hennessee's "occassional" PR frontman downplays that suggestion.
All of this, of course, is difficult to separate from the increasing scrutiny under which the PDC has fallen in recent months -- which actually stretches all the way back into last year's City election campaigns. And that feeds right into one blogger's prediction that the job will go to former City Council candidate Nick Fish.
We've been waiting for someone to mention that particular idea, since it would provide an opportunity for Fish to return to public service without the torture of yet another political campaign. But whatever the ultimate decision, and even if Mazziotti's depature was not at the hands of Mayor Potter, the Mayor's office was immediately ready with very clear indications as to just what sort of person Potter wants to get the job.
But back to that newly-intense scrutiny, which in no small part lately is fed by the recent City Club of Portland report (pdf), which among other things raised questions about the relationship between PDC and the Portland Family of Funds.
Returning to an article we linked above, there are open questions about Mazziotti and one Norris Lozano, who heads up the PFF.
What's more, we've heard rumblings -- well, rumors and allegations, really, just to make sure we're perfectly up front about that -- that the recent departure of Kenneth Asher (scroll down) from PFF was at the hands of Lozano as a pre-emptive strike against Asher, who (according to the rumor) was pushing for Lozano's resignation.
For the record, Carl Talton, PFF's new executive chair (pdf), told us that the organization "doesn’t discuss human resource matters and so it would be inappropriate to comment further". Nonetheless, he went on to comment further, saying that the rumor/allegation was "inaccurate".
All of which is a long-winded and somewhat convoluted way of explaining why we haven't been keeping up with all of these machinations and maneuverings which in one way or the other are related to PDC. They are horribly arcane and incestuous, and they make our skull hurt.
Comments (7)
allehseya on 09 Mar 2005
And that feeds right into one blogger's prediction that the job will go to former City Council candidate Nick Fish.
Oh joy!!! I hope, I hope, I hope!!!!!
sean on 09 Mar 2005
Didn't Kenny Asher star in The Fall Guy?
Jack Bog on 09 Mar 2005
It's not all that complicated, b!X. It's all part of the fallout from Neil's Humpty Dumpty act; he had put all these guys in office through his protege, Vera. If the Scone had been able to buy the mayor's job, they would probably still be doling out pork. But with an honest-to-goodness leader in City Hall, they're all reading the handwriting on the wall.
CW on 09 Mar 2005
"Honest-to-goodness leadership" in City Hall or no, it strikes me that it will be a challenge to find a replacement for Mazziotti with the same level of credentials and experience that The Don brought with him when he was appointed four years ago. Given the impact of PDC activities on the community, I'd be interested in hearing from the community-at-large who they would like to see head PDC.
Jack Bog on 10 Mar 2005
Not Nick Fish. I like the guy, but he took an awful lot of campaign money from the Same Half Dozen Developers who get all the PDC pork. Somebody like Dick Roy of Northwest Earth Institute or Steve Kanter at Lewis & Clark would be good -- if they'd take the job. They've got vision, smarts and guts, and they aren't politicians.
allehseya on 10 Mar 2005
Uhm -- Jack? Didnt you vote for Nick Fish back when he ran for City Council? I'm not going to recount Fish's experience and committment regarding his work in Manhattan representing the hospital workers' union and advocating for low-income housing. I won't go into his civil rights legal work here in Portland -- I'm sure these are things you already know ...
What strikes me in your post is how it reflects the way 'big developers' get a bad rap in this city in general.
A very Portland-esque assumption is that Wealth = Evil
The inclination to look at city growth and those contributing to it through such tainted glasses is common. If developers are too successful, we must be reminded how 'evil' they are for having been too successful. There are exceptions to this (success = evil) formula here in Portland and while I'm not arguing that the rich are all do-gooders and every developer with a histroy of winning bids is a saint -- I do feel compelled to point out at least one admittedly rare exception.
For example, Portland's largest developer (that gets most of the PDC pork as you say) is Gerding/Edlen. Gerding/Edlen bought up the Armory as part of the five-block Blitz-Weinhard Brewery. After the purchase, Gerding/Edlen promptly put the half-block Armory building on the National Historic Register. What was that? Preservation?
The development plan for the property included energy-saving and rainwater-harvesting innovations to earn the highest "platinum" Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. This kind of planning showcases Portlands environmental green ethic and is a first for any Northwest building and moreover -- a first anywhere for a historic renovation project. The kicker? The PDC that loves to be painted evil by Jack developed plans to turn the building's lobby into an interpretive center for Green Development in Portland. But Im not going to focus on PDC's merits (there are in fact many).
The thing that I really wanted to point out was that Gerding pledged to donate $705,000 of the standard 3 percent developer's fee back to the non-profit Arts organization that would be occupying the space.
Granted this deal (aka: the Portland Center Stage deal) has recieved a lot of criticism. Among the critics is Nick Fish himself in regards to it being a 'backroom deal' without enough citizen input due to the tax credits for 'affordable housing' being applied to leverage the deal. (City Council voted on it unanimously at the time.)
I just raise it to illustrate that the 'big-time developer' in Portland was getting the following kind of critique himself for his involvement in it:
"The deal was done," says Mike Heerman of HSM Pacific, the agent representing the fitness chain. "Gerding kept talking about civic-mindedness. Well, I'm about client-mindedness and profit-mindedness. In 20 years of leasing, I've never seen anything like this."
Isnt irony grand?
allehseya on 10 Mar 2005
"The fitness chain" being the potential occupant that was bumped out of the deal in support of an Arts organization entering the space instead.