Two veterans of the “Mean Girls” era in Multnomah County politics say they won’t run for City Commissioner Erik Sten’s soon-to-be-vacant seat.
Current MultCo Commissioner Maria Rojo de Steffey (top photo) and her ex-colleague, former Commissioner Serena Cruz Walsh (bottom photo), both say they’re not tempted to throw their names into the race for a seat on the all-white-male City Council.
Rojo de Steffey’s announcement came as a surprise. Incensed by the City Council’s backing down on the Cesar Chavez Boulevard renaming, Rojo de Steffey told a reporter just five weeks ago she was “99.9 percent” set on running for the open seat created by City Commissioner Sam Adams’s run for mayor. And certainly a second open seat — with Sten’s resignation — would have made a run by Rojo de Steffey that much easier.
But in a news release today, Rojo de Steffey said she’s sticking by her decision last July to retire from politics and spend more time with her family when her current term on the county board is up Dec. 31, 2008.
“During the intense period when the Cesar Chavez decision was being considered, I temporarily lost sight of the reasons why I wanted to leave public service. However, over the holidays I regained my sanity,” the news release says. “Therefore, I will not run for election to any office.”
Reached at home this afternoon, Cruz Walsh—who once worked for Sten at City Hall and would be considered a front-runner for his seat—told WWire that she’s too busy to run for office. What’s keeping her busy? A new family construction business she started with her husband and a four-month-old daughter.
“I’ve got other things going on at this point, but I’m happy for Erik,” Cruz Walsh says.
Rojo de Steffey, Cruz Walsh and County Commissioner Lisa Naito were dubbed “The Mean Girls” during the height of their spat with former County Chair Diane Linn in 2006.
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Cruz and Rojo de Steffey are making a good call. I had the experience of being booed at by 1600 people at Candidates gone Wild. That was not fun, but it was nothing compared to what would happen to these "mean girls" if they jumped into the city council fray.
Dave, you got that right. Nick Fish isn’t going to get a smooth free ride either.
Richard Ellmyer
Community activist leading the campaign to stop all potentially new public housing (means test + government subsidy + rental agreement) in the Portsmouth neighborhood, especially the following:
1. Hacienda CDC public housing project on N. Newell Street
2. The recently decommissioned Sharff Army Reserve Center
3. The former John Ball School site
4. The recently closed Clarendon School site
Standards for Equitable Distribution of Public Housing Resolution author and project champion
Writer/Publisher – HAP Watchers commentary – Published on the Internet (http://www.goodgrowthnw.org) and distributed to thousands of readers interested in public housing policy in Multnomah County. To Subscribe: HAP-Watchers-on@goodgrowthnw.org
President, MacSolutions Inc. – A Macintosh computer consulting business providing web hosting for artists and very small businesses. Located in Portsmouth, the neighborhood with the second highest concentration of public housing clients, 30% and rising, within HAP’s Multnomah county jurisdiction of 117 neighborhoods.
Richard, you seem to have delusions of relevance.
Mr. Ellmyer,
Everything after your name sounds like a candidate for Sophomore Student Council puffing up his resume. You include that stuff with every post you make on every website.
Stop embarassing yourself and burning up bandwidth.
BTW, I actually agree with much of what you have written about the problems with HAP. Unfortunately, the inclusion of your life history makes you come off like a nutcase crank.
Might want to think about that. Perceptions and all, eh what?
Chris, Bruce,
Don’t speak truth to crazy. It only makes the delusions worse.
Good point, Pedro. My apologies. I forgot it can be like feeding tha animals at the zoo….increasing expectations and all.
WW missed the third Mean Girl – Lisa Naito who is termed out as a MultCo commish.
Some folks say Naito is waiting for Mike Schrunk to kick the bucket so she can run for DA. But what does a former state legislator who is term limited do in the "Mean Time?"
Note to the commissioners: This is a win/win situation. You’re sick of public office, we’re sick of you.
All 3 of these primadonas were in it to spite Chair Diane Linn(yes, "WERE" – Cmmsrs Rojo and Naito are just biding their time now). It looked like Cmmsr Rojo toyed with the idea of getting in the faces of the City white guys, reminiscent of her battles with Chair Diane. We’re all better off without the mean girls in politics.
Kudos to the Bruce, great line on the endless flood of Ellmeyer rants – Delusions of Relevance.