Mayor Adams: 'I've done a lot' in four years
When Portland Mayor Sam Adams heard my suggested topics for an interview regarding accomplishments during his one term, he bristled.
That’s because I made the mistake of telling him I wanted him to, along with listing five accomplishments, five post-term goals, etc, list five things he didn’t get done.
“Man, what is it with you guys?” he said, with a kind-of smile. “I’ve done a lot.”
Truth be told, he really has.
For a piece that’ll run in Friday’s Business Journal issue, Adams talked of his economic development plan, which is, in terms of scope, the city’s first in decades.
The plan helped establish Portland’s clusters strategy which could shape growth in the city long after Adams has moved on to his next policy gig.
He also talked about his economic development cabinet, the downtown retail strategy, the Portland Development Commission’s changing role, Solopower, the Brookings Institute’s plan to help Portland boost it’s already healthy exports figures … we talked about a lot of things.
And then Adams had to run, specifically, to last Thursday’s Council session.
So we didn’t get a chance to talk about how Adams arguably came back from the major deficit he dug after the Beau Breedlove scandal came to light.
Nor did we talk about one of the most mayoral moves I’ve ever seen anyone in that position make, during a meeting regarding the so-called River Plan. More on that later this week.
We also never got to those “things he didn’t get done.” And while Adams said he’ll get back to me, it’s going to be a busy couple of days. It seems like all I’ve done the last two weeks is preview City Council items he’s introduced in hopes of leaving City Hall on a high note.
In the meantime, I’m sure those following Portland business have a take on Adams’ performance.
Send me your takes (to agiegerich@bizjournals.com) on what Sam’s done right, as well as what’s been lacking and your final word on the condition in which Adams, after four memorable years, is leaving the city.
'Mayor Adams: 'I've done a lot' in four years.'  Really? Like what? All you have succeeded in doing is alienating the people in Portland. What did you do when the occupiers moved in? Nothing, except to hamstring the police so they could not do their job. You thought a 'business' trip to S.E. Asia was more important than to nip the occupy movement in the bud. Yep, you've done alot. Well, good by, don't let the door from city hall hit you in the azz on the way out.
 @theobserver And leave the door knob on the door...
Seems he has done a lot....and the public will be payin for, and feeling the impact of, for years.
Yeah, I'll say he's done a lot...of harm.
What a corrupt and sorry example of a mayor.
The only thing worse is the electorate that kept him there.
"Mayor Adams: 'I've done a lot' in four years"
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Yeah it started with Adams doing Beau Breedlove and he's been doing the rest of the city ever since!
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I have to agree for the most part he did a good job......My BIG exception comes with his efforts to rename 39th......He stood up and tried to stop the rehiring of the PPB shooter. Don't think for one minute that Charlie is going to be any better, he has his little beings in the closets also. I firmly believe that most political types are corrupt!!!!!!
Yup, you moron, you sure did do a lot. Thanks a lot, b!tc#!
Sam's last day in office can't come soon enough.
Anyone want to have a block party on that day to celebrate.
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Ding-dong, the witch is dead!
Regardless of who the mayor is ... I think it's going to be impossible to do anything thanks to the folks Portland attracts and harbors. People in Portland don't want Portland to grow or be a city. They want it to be a Utopian Play Pen. While there are ZERO jobs or economy, Â the city is insanely focused on bioswales, bike lanes, building low income housing and providing drugs to addicts.
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The UGB is a worthy goal yet Portland's own absurd Downtown Height Limits help create sprawl while the skyline of Portland itself looks so tired and beat. (There are other areas in Portland to preserve the Mount Hood view than above your core.) Then again, this is a whole other issue. Most folks in Portland don't want sprawl but think high-rise are some terrible, corporate thing -- rather than realizing how they preserve land.Â
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The city is infested with feminists that cannot accept the fact women are now the majority in countless areas and still receive affirmative action. Instead, they consistently point to history 101 and cry about women not being first in line for all the goodies.
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The East Side is full of kidz in their 20's who think they're all about anti-conformity ... yet conform to the hipster cult. And going back to the Femin-Nazi thing, the bulk of these males are more feminine than the females. Sadly they've also been brainwashed by Feminism.
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Portland thinks it's one of the most innovative places in the country. Other than having a pretty darn good beer scene and some light rail trains, what the hell does Portland have? The city tries to do everything opposite of Seattle. What's funny is Seattle has JOBS. And the core of Seattle is growing plenty of fine without all kinds of already invested light rail. And people in Seattle recognize height limits help create sprawl.
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As much as you want to complain about Sammy, It's going to take a radical mayor in Portland to change the culture and people. I simply do not see that so long as you have a system that allows the people of Portland to vote in the kind that best matched their warped views.
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 @Lisa what crap you are spewing..."feminists...blah blah blah". Shut up.
 @whirledworld Stating an observation after living in PDX for 3 years, not spewing crap. I'm under the impression you live in SE, spend the bulk of your free time reading books from Powell's about how bad men are? Why don't you get your head out of a book and look at how the world -- actually -- is around you. Not everyone who moves to Portland loves it. And we leave after we realize there's little there except disgruntled, out of touch folks, like yourself.
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I'm waiting for the ... "Glad she's gone" comment from you. Classic SMUG East Side PDX attitude. So tolerant except to those who do not conform to your thought policing. For the record, I rarely used my car when in Portland. But the NAZI like bike brigade there forced me never to ride a bike. The attitude that the car is always wrong, holds all responsibility and that bikes can do whatever they want (rather than practicing common sense and responsibility) drove me crazy. Share the Road!Â
 @Lisa The utopian playpen is an awesome euphemism!  I wish more people in Portland would see the way you do...I'm a suburb native and can't wait to find a place and get the heck out of dodge now that we're in the city.  Crazy much?
 @Lisa You said it all. Thanks.
A utopian playpen.
One of your many problems Sam is that when you specifically cater to a few small issue oriented groups (bicyclists, occupiers, gays, anti plastic baggers, greenies, the skip a week garbage geeks, the Dam destroyers, the car haters, and your most powerful ally, the unions), you leave out the majority of the population of this city. While those groups mentioned are the loudest and most likely to receive media attention, they are still the minority, and while we pay the majority of the tax burden, they receive the majority of the benefits. Glad to see you leave.Â
Yes, you and your clones destroyed Portland in 4 years. Â Now its time to put it back together so it will be a nice place to live and do business.
Hopefully they were all over 18 this time Sammy the boy toucher.
A lot....of damage
I still don't understand the containers that where meant for your kitchen counter for food recycling or some stupid crap. How much did those f'ing things cost us? That idea was a gem... Glad that idiot is on his way out..
Yup quite a legacy Shot up neighborhoods,Anarchist Bicyclists, Unemployment, Mess Transit... the city that works us over has bankrupted the few workers for the loafers...
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 @B00gs  @gbudavid and protecting another predator in a political sex crime  scandal cover-up to earn brownie points with the Democrats by machinating the PPB  to lie and cover-up in regards to the Gore sex assaults in this city and five other cities with 6 victims.
Well, just following Sam's "career" as mayor of Portland (from the relative safety of my vantage point in Salem), he has always struck me as being quite "removed" from the general population. Â He seemed to have specific people or groups (bicycle riders, the Pearl District residents, etc) that he was interested in and with whom he communicated and did things for, but the rest of Portland's residents were pretty much ignored. Â His lack of capability in the LE area was certainly highlighted by his "handling" of the Occupy situation; specifically, Chapman-Lownsdale Parks. Â Â
Unfortunately, some of the things he did affected (or will affect) cities other than Portland; specifically, the water fluoridation issue. Â IMHO, he had absolutely NO business promoting something like that when it involved people who had no say in the matter, but would be tied into it merely by reason of where their city water came from. Â The fact that he "approved" of a chemical additive to city water does not mean that it was necessarily the right choice for everyone, especially when that additive is readily obtainable from other sources (toothpaste, mouthwash, etc). Â Â
Personally, I think he comes across as being very self-centered and arrogant... somewhat like some notable politicians currently situated in Wash DC. Â Â
I sincerely hope that Portland's new mayor will prove to be a MUCH better choice. Â Â Portland is a beautiful city with many good people in it, and it needs to have its good name restored..!
 @margay1 He is  obviously angling for a place in DC and is no doubt owed a favor or two by the Democrats at this point. Yuck.
 @margay1 I couldn't agree with you more Margay.. and I don't live up there either! But I have a novel idea for him also! He should connect his hose to the sink and stick the other end, he needs a enema badly!
 @margay1 Flouridation messes our kids up pretty bad. Many studies at Harvard have proved it. Its sad how the sheeple just go along with it. People wonder why our kids are adhd and their math and reading skills are the lowest of most 3rd world countries. Even adult are getting cancers that could be related to flourosilicacid drinking water. All this for clean teeth? Id rather have a messed up grill than cancer and a lower IQ. I think the govt is thinning the population under our noses. May I recommend a video on youtube called "The Culling: Our Water"   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx0ROInM3C4   This was a eye opener.
@B00gs  " People wonder why our kids are adhd and their math and reading skills are the lowest of most 3rd world countries"
.You can thank the public eduction system and its defunct unions for that.
'cause everything on the internet is like, gospel, dude
 @Tonk ...not necessarily, but if you're searching for the TRUTH, you're certainly not going to find it on MSM outlets.
@margay1 .......couldn't agree more, Margay
Has it only been 4 years? I'm going to reserve my opinions, but gosh it seems like I've been hearing about this guy my whole life.
Portland is a tricky city to manage as a mayor. a major proportion of the tax base and voting constituency are progressive liberals, many well-to-do ones too. that was what the peeople wanted, majority rule, can't satisfy ery'body
@Phuzz ......tricky?? Tricky?? Not if you have some fundamental skill sets and not decisions based on ideology and special interests.
 @Phuzz Really?  That's it?  Some of that Phuzz must be growing in your brain.
Frankly Sam, we don't give a d_ _ _. Â You didn't listen to the majority of Portlanders. Â You had your own agenda. Â Your arrogance here is appalling. Â I hope we can find someone that can redo your damage.
 @my2cents I'd rather we find someone who can UN-do his damage.
 @my2cents BRAVO!! Well said.
You cut off his quote! Â Why did you leave out the "of 17 year old boys" after the "done a lot" part
He's done a lot alright, ruined this city!!! The garbage, the roads, the wasted money..good riddance...I've lived in Portland 50 years and he's the worst mayor ever !!! Good riddance to him and that other worthless Randy Leonard....
Sure he's done a lot.. waste endless amounts of taxpayer money on stupid petty pet projects. Sammy will go down as one of the worst mayors in Portland's history. Sammy is a liar and a pedophile, yet the loons in Portland somehow couldn't come up with enough signatures to remove him.. then they go and elect Kitzlahber.Â
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Not all is Sammys fault. I mean, the voters are primary to blame for electing the brain-dead idiots that sit on the city council.
 @axpman If I may add a point to make your comment more precise, it seems it's not the voters electing Sam and his ilk so much as it is voters not bothering to vote and allowing a minority of all voters to elect them. If people outside of the bike lobby fanatics and urban elite would get charged up to vote, we'd have a very different city council and set of city priorities.Â
 @NWGuy  @axpman All's I can say is I voted down anyone including him who has anything to do with the filthy liberal cabal infesting City Hall, and it has been for naught.
You've done a lot all right. A lot of harm. Can this idiot possibly be more self absorbed, self centered and bordering on delusional?? Some of the damage is irreparable. Look up the word narcissist.........there'll be a picture of this incompetent fool.
 @Rob C 503 He's a deluded sneak.
Sadly not much of it was good though...
I would say his greatest personal accomplishment was a series of lies and misleading statements to the public in order to gain office. The end does not justify the means in my opinion, good by and good day to you Sam Adams.
'When Portland Mayor Sam Adams heard my suggested topics for an interview regarding accomplishments during his one term, he bristled.'
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LOL... Yeah, most royalty does that. They don't like to be questioned by the common folk about what they do. If we would just accept his decrees and do as we're told, everything would be just fine. Damn rabble.Â
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Frankly, there have been some highlights (insofar as business is concerned) to his reign. The problem is that they were few and far between, and that the entirety of them are eclipsed by his pre-election grooming of a minor for a sexual affair, his focus on ideological causes at taxpayer expense, and his tendency to behave as if his office is a dictatorship.Â
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January cant come soon enough.Â
There is not a single positive thing anybody can say about him. Â 100% of all comments here are negative and with good reason too.....
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Should give a clear indication of his performance while in office. Â Public service? Â Laughable at best. Â more like self service.
"And then Adams had to run, specifically, to last Thursdayâs Council session." What timing, after "gloating" of what he "did do". Not buying it. Sorry, Sam, but you just feel very short.Â
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He messed up portland. Â Everything he did was wrong.
What a disgrace to Portland. Any normal male his age  that was caught grooming a little 17 year old high school girl for sexual activity would have been ran out of town. Look at Portland's economy, it's gangs, it's dropout rate, he has [nothing] to be proud of.
 @last boyscout Well almost Neil the Pedophile Child rapist Goldschmidt comes to mind.. The press did a good job of covering that up also...
 @gbudavid  @last boyscout Until they  did uncover it. All those weasels connected to City Hall or Goldschmidt *knew* what was going on and I think they should have been held responsible for collaberation in sex abuse of a minor. Hellheads.
The press also uncovered the Gore sex assault when the PBB took orders "from the top" (Sam Adams, brownnoser to the Democrats) to cover it up. Then they did a smear/lies campaign in the so-called re-investigation of the case to punish the victim for exposing them. Â Completely reprehensible. Six victims in six cities could not all be making it up when they didn't even know each other...