The Oregonian today called on Portland Mayor Sam Adams to resign. It doesn't often happen that I agree with The O's editorial board but this time I'm with them 100%. Here is part of what the paper had to say:
In January, Adams admitted lying to voters in the 2008 mayor's election about the Breedlove matter. This, in itself, should have been cause for Adams to resign. It remains so, regardless of what Kroger's investigation shows or whether someone launches a recall effort against Adams.
Since January, Adams has launched or rekindled several major city initiatives -- including the eastside streetcar -- which received $75 million in federal funding this week -- the hotly debated soccer-baseball-Memorial Coliseum proposal and the plan to build a convention center hotel.
These ideas must be evaluated on their own merits. Something isn't a bad idea just because Sam Adams thinks it's a good one. But the shadow of the Breedlove matter falls on everything connected with the mayor and undercuts his capacity to be effective for the city in these and other arenas.
Past mayors have played prominent roles in shaping the city's schools. Adams made the high school dropout rate a centerpiece of his election campaign, but because of the nature of the Breedlove accusations and how he has handled them, he cannot and has not played any role since in addressing the problem. It's tough to succeed when critics can easily win over the public by casting doubt on Adams' motives, when outside groups consider changing their plans for fear of being pulled into a scandal and where other political leaders practically do somersaults in order not to be photographed with Portland's mayor.
Any number of people in Portland now believe that Adams will be done for as mayor as soon as Kroger's investigators present their findings, or as soon as someone mounts a recall campaign.
But, really, he was done for the moment he decided to win the last election with a lie. In January, we thought the right course would soon be evident to Adams. It was not. Now it is only clearer. Adams should resign.
Send your own message to the mayor. Tell him to finally put the city before his own interests and resign. Mayor Adams can be reached at [email protected].
