Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Oregon Politics: Charlie Hales, Amanda Fritz, Kate Brown

Friday, January 30, 2015

Every Friday, GoLocalPDX breaks down who's rising and who's falling in the world of Oregon politics. Check out who made the lists this week.

HOT:

Mayor Charlie Hales

If you were one of the few able to spend the money for a golden ticket, you too can hear the Mayor give his State of the City Address in person at the posh Sentinel Hotel over lunch Friday. If not, you can catch it on OPB tonight. The Mayor should be riding high into this address, yet recent topics dog him. From the Portland street fee to his recent suggestion he might shake up Portland’s bureaus, the Mayor has his work cut out for him in this speech. City Hall insiders were rankled by the latter, finding out the news of a potential reshuffle, not from his office, but from the media. Let’s hope he gave his colleagues a preview of his speech if he is planning to announce any major initiatives.

BOLI Commissioner Brad Avakian

This week the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) Commissioner Brad Avakian announced two major settlements. This position, the least known of the five statewide elected offices in Oregon, is low profile yet plays a substantial role in protecting Oregonians civil rights – especially in housing and the workplace.

In the first case, Commissioner Avakian announced that Daimler Trucks North America agreed to a $2.4 million settlement because workers at their Swan Island plant “endured racial slurs, threats of violence and assaults.” The settlement also included a handful of non-monetary items in an effort to protect employees from future discrimination.

The second case stemmed from the owner of an apartment complex in Lake Oswego and the expectation that landlords should provide a reasonable accommodation to a disabled resident. James Calogridis had requested a disabled parking space in the complex. He did not receive one and slipped and fell in the parking lot. He died several days later. Under the agreement, Prometheus Real Estate Group will pay a total of $475,000.

Unfortunately, rumors that Commissioner Avakian also debuted a new Armani wardrobe this week could not be confirmed by press time.

Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz

While she had previously indicated plans to leave the council when her current term expires in 2016, Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz announced her plans to run for a third term this week.

Commissioner Fritz spent the final night of her husband’s life last September at a neighborhood association meeting (which I happened to be Chairing), making the case for voting to support funding for a Portland parks levy. Less than 12 hours after the conclusion of that meeting, Dr. Steven Fritz’ renowned Zentra crashed and took his life. Amanda is the last true citizen in City Hall. I didn’t know Dr. Fritz, yet I cannot imagine him looking down and not having a smile on his face, because in the face of great tragedy, Amanda refused to give up and instead doubled down.

Legislative Staff

New lobbyists are advised above all else to be honest. Rule number two is to be nice to staff. You wouldn’t think that a reminder would be needed for either of these but, you know, human nature. While some staff come and go, there are some veteran staffers that have been around for years and have become fixtures in Salem. You always hear the legislators’ names but you rarely hear the staff names: Folks like Logan Gilles, Alan Fleishman and Annette Rose, just to name a few. These people are the ones that make sure the trains run on time in Salem.

At the end of the day once the citizens and lobbyists have gone home, it’s often the staff with the last word in the legislator’s ear. Don’t forget that. With Oregon’s lack of a anti-nepotism law, that staffer may well be the legislator’s daughter, nephew, or even spouse (though none of the above are in that category nor have any of them been a source for this column. Hint hint).

NOT:

Kathleen Mazzocco

Kathleen Mazzocco tops our Not list this week. After the last week’s post about the Zidell family’s interest in Lents and disinterest in affordable housing in South Waterfront, Mazzocco saw fit to correct my piece. Fair enough. I inaccurately suggested they were under an obligation to build some level of affordable housing in exchange for their near $30 million public subsidy. She made it crystal clear they are under no obligation and, it seems, they have no interest.

Wait… but that is not all. She both attempted to correct my reference to the Zidell family, citing they are ZRZ Realty and had no interest in developing one of Portland’s least successful urban renewal areas (Lents). With 20 years in the PR business, I cannot easily give her a pass for being so wrong in her correction. I wasn’t talking about one corporate entity. Her correction was in itself fraught with errors, including suggesting the Zidell family had no interest in Lents. The Portland Business Journal reported on January 9th, a proposal had indeed been submitted (it has since been announced it was not selected to move forward).

Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown

Seriously, Secretary Brown? A letter in defense of Comcast solidifying their ham-handed customer service monopoly on our personal entertainment is bad enough. I don’t think it matters it was ghost written by their lobbyists. The excuse of “everyone else is doing it” isn’t going to fly with frustrated cable subscribers when the gubernatorial race comes around.

Anthony Johnson

When the Oregon legislature convenes on Monday, the implementation of Measure 91, legalizing recreational marijuana, will be front and center. Legalization champion and Chief Sponsor of the ballot measure, Anthony Johnson, should be the preeminent voice in Salem as legislators begin their work. To date, he is not registered as a lobbyist, according to the Oregon Ethics Commission website.

Oregon Candidates and Their Biggest Donors

In Nov. GoLocalPDX reported: Oregon is one of only five states in the country with no limits on campaign contributions and it’s reflective in the hundreds of thousands of dollars that poured into statewide candidates' pockets this election cycle.

As voters complete their ballots by Election Day on Nov. 4, they might want to take note of who gave candidates the most money and who might have their ear if they’re elected. From Nike Chairman Phil Knight’s $250,000 donation to Gov. John Kitzhaber to a $33,000 individual contribution for state senate candidate Dave Dotterer, it’s clear big money is a player this election season.

“It (limitless campaign contributions) creates a breeding ground for corruption,” said Daniel Weiner, counsel in the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.

READ MORE

GMO Labeling, Measure 92 Goes Down

Oregon voters have rejected a statewide ballot measure that would have required the labeling of foods that contain genetically modified ingredients, according initial projections that came in Nov 4.

With 94 percent of the votes in, the measure is failing with a 51 percent to 49 percent margin.

Opposition to Measure 92 received more financial contributions and spent more money than any other political campaign in Oregon’s 2014 election, raising over $17 million and spending a total of $20.6 million.

The final tallies came in closer and triggered an automatic recount, but in the end the measure failed by only 800 votes.

READ MORE

Prev Next

5

Hayes Scandal Could Implode Kitzhaber’s Campaign

In Oct, GoLocalPDX asked local political experts if the emerging Cylvia Hayes scandal might impact Kitzhaber’s political fortunes:

If the scandal over Cylvia Hayes, Gov. John Kitzhaber’s fiancee, continues to unfold, even with a locked-in-place electorate like Oregon’s race for governor, political tides could shift, political experts say.
“Kitzhaber’s going to be in trouble,” said Bob Moore, owner of Moore Information, an opinion research group that conducts political polling. “Here’s somebody that calls herself the first lady of Oregon. It’s like, ‘c’mon, you have to be above reproach.'

"You’re embarrassing the governor, for one thing, and is the governor paying attention?”

READ MORE

Prev Next

4

Kitzhaber Does Not List Hayes on Financial Disclosures

In Oct, GoLocalPDX revealed that Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber didn't list his fiancee Cylvia Hayes in a 2013 ethics document that required him to name lobbyists he had a relationship with.

In a Statement of Economic Interests document obtained by GoLocalPDX and filed with the Oregon Ethics Commission, Kitzhaber stated that his household received income from two companies, Energy Foundation and Resource Media, that had contracted with Hayes' consulting firm E3 Strategies.

But under a section that required him to disclose “any compensated lobbyist who was associated with a business with which you or a member or your household was associated during 2013” Kitzhaber simply put “N/A” or not applicable.

READ MORE

Prev Next

3

Recreational Marijuana Legalized in Ore.

Voters passed Measure 91, making Oregon the third state to legalize and tax marijuana for recreational use on Nov.4.

Yes on 91 volunteer Martha Duff said, "Tonight Oregon won a great victory, decades in the making."

Supporters of the measure held a Portland party on election night evening to celebrate the new law. While a number of attendees were from the Portland area, some supporters made the journey from out-of-state to witness, what they called, history in the making.

READ MORE

Prev Next

2

"Oregon First Lady" Role is Legal Fiction

GoLocalPDX reported in Oct that a “state ethics investigation into the actions of Cylvia Hayes will be complicated by the fact that her role as a public official and as “First Lady” of Oregon is nowhere to be found in Oregon State law.”

After the state GOP filed an ethics complaint, Cylvia Hayes will be the focus of an ethics investigation to determine if she, as First Lady, broke rules governing the behavior of a public official. The problem is, there’s no such thing as a “First Lady” under Oregon state law.

“There’s no such thing if you look it up in the statutes,” said Christopher Shortell, an Associate Professor of Political Science at PSU’s Mark O. Hatfield School of Government.

READ MORE

Prev Next

1

Biden Lauds Oregon Senator Who Resigned Amid Sexual Harassment Claims

During a speech to women on Sept 19, US Vice President Joe Biden praised former U.S. Senator Bob Packwood, the Oregon Senator who resigned in 1995 amid numerous accusations of sexual harassment.

During a Democratic National Committee's Women’s Leadership Forum meeting, Vice President Biden held up Packwood as an example of Republicans who previously championed issues now mostly favored by Democrats, such as raising the minimum wage.

READ MORE