The Oregonian has posted an article concerning what it calls "angry" e-mails from Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard to the Portland Police Bureau:

Portland Commissioner Randy Leonard, who gets all worked up about duct tape and has successfully convinced the council to ban its use to reserve viewing spots at the annual Grand Floral Parade, was incensed when police this week said they weren't going to cite anyone who violated the new rule.

So Leonard did what Leonard does: He fired off several angry e-mails Tuesday to the police chief and to the police spokesman, Sgt. Brian Schmautz.

"Your reported comments were consistent with what we have come to expect from the police bureau on this and other issues, and I am disappointed that the bureau consistently appears to lack the capacity to think and operate outside of the scope of its own interests,'' Leonard wrote to police spokesman Sgt. Brian Schmautz at 11:54 a.m. Tuesday.

Leonard cc'd his comments to Chief Rosie Sizer. He even dug up and resent to Sizer a nearly six-month-old e-mail he had written to her regarding another pet peeve he had with officers reportedly questioning his and his fellow council members' decisions on an unrelated matter.

On Tuesday, Leonard resent to the chief his Dec. 21, 2007, e-mail, which had the subject line: "Police Bureau's Policy on Questioning Council Directives." In that e-mail, Leonard wrote that he had heard that officers in North Precinct, including Jim Ferraris, the precinct's commander at the time, were telling community members that the council had erred in eliminating the city's drug-free zones and were urging community members to contact the commissioners to reconsider their votes.

No big surprise, right? Well, Leonard didn't like it.

In his December e-mail, Leonard noted he also happened to be exchanging e-mails with residents of the Argay Terrace neighborhood, who he said were being told by police that prostitution was out of hand in their area because the council eliminated the prostitution- free zone as well.

"In the Fire Bureau, if any employee took public positions that were directly contrary to the council or the fire administration the consequences would be swift, severe and certain,'' Leonard, a former Portland fire union president, wrote to the police chief. "I am baffled at what can only be described as a culture at the Police Bureau where it is apparently accepted that everyone from Commanders to the PIO are allowed to publicly take issue with the city council's various official positions.''

Leonard is right.  It's a mistake to dismiss his concerns as "angry."  He's passionate and for a good reason.  The council made a sound decision in repealing the drug-free zones.  Not only were they ineffective in fighting crime but the zones ignored basic constitutional rights.  Politicians ought to be passionate about such things.

The council ought to also be passionate about making sure that they - the elected leaders of the city - set policy and not bureau employees.  We didn't elected Jim Ferraris to anything.