Portland Police Association President Scott Westerman emailed Mayor Sam Adams last night to both apologize to the mayor while strengthening the call from his union of 900-plus members for the mayor to resign. In his message to Adams, Westerman cited sections of the city code he thinks Adams has violated.
In public comments, Westerman has also talked about the appearance of a double standard — that police officers who have lied have gotten significant discipline while Adams, who is responsible for assigning the police bureau who helps control the bureau’s budget, isn’t held to the same standards.
The examples Westerman cites: in 2006 former chief Derrick Foxworth was demoted for a series of salacious emails with a civilian police employee that city commissioners, including Adams, found undercut his credibility.
More recently, Police Chief Rosie Sizer fired officer Christina Nelson last year after determining Nelson lied to city benefits administrators about what type of surgery she’d had.
Here’s the email Westerman sent Adams last night:
Subject: Apology
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:09:00 -0800
From: Scott Westerman
Organization: Portland Police AssociationTo: Adams, Sam
CC: tomm@ci.portland.or.usSam,
I am writing to you to apologize for immediately calling for your resignation without first attempting to have a conversation with you. The PPA’s approach was a reaction to the press conference. I actually expected you to take that opportunity to step down for the benefit of Portland. When that didn’t occur, we became vocal in our position. Having said that, I
want to reiterate that this apology is only for not attempting to contact you first and in no way diminishes our opinion that you need to resign immediately for the benefit of Portland.The PPA’s position is based on a number of factors that I think you need to seriously consider in making your decision. As a sitting commissioner, mayoral candidate, and sitting mayor, you violated several rules in the City’s code of ethics which were adopted while you were Mayor Katz’s chief of staff. Specifically, from the City’s web page:
1.03.020 (1) The City’s powers and resources are to be used for the benefit of the public rather than any official’s personal benefit. To function effectively, the City needs the public’s respect and confidence that its power will be used on behalf of the community as a whole. In this
context, improper acts are doubly wrong: a selfish decision is not only wrong in itself, but also wrong because it violates the public’s trust in government.By likely utilizing either city funds, or campaign funds, you have acknowledged that you employed Mark Weiner to assist you in the cover up of your relationship and your continuous lies to the citizens and employees of Portland.
1.03.020 (2) Ensure public respect by avoiding even the appearance of impropriety. Public service requires a continual effort to overcome cynical attitudes and suspicions about the people in government. For example, conduct which could appear dishonest to a reasonable observer will undermine the public trust even if the conduct is not illegal.
In this case, by trying to cover up your involvement, you acknowledge the impropriety (and appearance of it). In addition, your lies to the citizens and employees of Portland were dishonest, and have undermined the public trust even if the conduct is deemed not to have been illegal.
1.03.040 (3) Campaigns for election allow the voters to make an informed choice on appropriate criteria. Elections offer the ultimate accountability for City officials. Therefore, candidates should strive for respectful and accurate discourse on important issues. To protect freedom of speech and of the press, Oregon law does not prohibit ethically questionable actions such as untrue statements, unkept promises, or deliberate deception. Nevertheless, such actions are unethical. It is also not ethical to focus a campaign on trivial matters or on the kind of negative exchanges that make voters conclude, “A plague on both your houses.
You readily acknowledge that you covered up your inappropriate relationship to fool the voters so they would not consider the issue of an alleged inappropriate relationship in casting their vote. Moreover, you didn’t have the faith in Portlanders to trust you, and deliberately
deceived the voters in order to win the election.1.03.050 (D) Officials avoid discreditable personal conduct and are personally honest.
Not only were you personally dishonest, you were professionally dishonest
as well when you sent out an official letter to the citizens and employees
of Portland denying any inappropriate relationship, yet acknowledged during
your press conference that it was in fact inappropriate.As the mayor of Portland, you are responsible for all serious discipline. Even if you delegate that responsibility to someone else, it is still you that sets the example. There is no way for you to get around the glaring double standard you present when you discipline any employee that has accepted their responsibility, and seeks forgiveness rather than discipline. This is not a precedent anyone wants. Yet, if you stay, that is exactly the precedent you will be setting.
Finally, in imposing discipline on then Chief Derrick Foxworth, you are quoted as saying something to the effect of, “When the situation deteriorates to being the subject of jokes, it’s time to step down.” While I won’t repeat the ever growing number of jokes out there that make a mockery of you personally and your mayoral position, I will ask that you follow your own advice in this matter. It has deteriorated to being the subject of jokes.
On a personal note, and something I have mentioned in every press conference I have given, I was looking forward to working with you. When you named Commissioner Saltzman the commissioner in charge of the Police Bureau, I thought that was a bold move and one that gave me inspiration and respect for your leadership. If this was a matter of ability, I do in fact
believe you had the potential to be a good mayor. However, I don’t believe you are being realistic in your ability to restore the public trust. Your actions in 2007 and your adamant denials to the other commissioners, the public, and every city employee combined with your continuing lies all the way through the end of last week have shattered any ability to garner
trust.With protests mounting on both sides of this issue, I think you can see that there is a division being created here that is not in the best interest of Portland. Please, for the benefit of Portland, consider resigning immediately. Don’t drag this issue on for months.
–
Scott WestermanPresident
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Tags: Follow-up, Sam Adams, Scott Westerman
Well put Ofc. Westerman, you speak for the vast majority of Portlanders, and Oregonians in general.
If the Mayor honestly wants Portland to be known anything other than a punchline on cable TV, or the subject of novelty T-shirts, he should display a minimal amount of moral courage and resign *now*.
Wow. That says it all. No extra comments from me.
I have seen in my personal experienc clear cut ethical violations carried out by Portland Police Officers that the Portland Police have systematically refused to investigate the truth of regarding, or demonstrate any sort of ethic of accountability or concern for proper conduct.
I have repeatedly contacted the Portland police about the incidents in question and always been turned away by the bueracratic machine.
Portland Police is not in any way a wholly corrupt organization but they have significant problems regarding accountability, discipline and regard for the truth of matters in situations involving misconduct by their officers.
The bottom line I think is that people who live in glass houses ought not to throw stones.
Regards,
Kyle O. Sullivan
Mr. Westerman,
My thanks in putting so professionally and succinctly what I assume that vast majority of Portlanders feel.
It is sad that the only leadership that is being exhibited here is from non-elected city employees such as yourself, as one would assume that this should be coming from our elected one (the rest of the waffling council). Personally believe that this takes a fair amount of courage on your part, and restores my confidence in your Bureau. – Wish more folks (fire bureau for instance) exhibited the same qualities that you have done here.
As Obama said in his inaguaral address, "this the the age of reponsibility". I think PDX needs to start clean. Adams should resign…this isn’t about "personal sex life" so much as it is ethics. He waged a campaign to smear someone and coached a young man to lie for him. I think the letter is clear, frank and Adams should resign.
Resignation would be a double-standard against Sam.
A police officer locally who engaged in a consensual relationship with an adult female cadet was disciplined, not fired.
The sex hysteria going on is because this is a gay man. Stop it, already.
Sam deserves some disciplinary procedure for breaking the rules. Great, let’s do that and move on to the important work that needs to be done.
This isn’t about Sam being gay. I would say to take your own advice and look past that. This is about Sam lying- and asking others to lie. It’s just straight up dishonesty and I am emberassed he was able to pull the wool over our faces.
If the officer engaged in a 12 month pattern of intentional deception about the relationship to his department, co-workers, and others in public, private speech and writings he *most certainly* would be fired.
The department recently fired a female officer for lying to take (authorized) medical time for an operation. I can’t remember what she claimed it was for, but it was actually for weight reduction surgery.
When this fact came to light the officer was fired. As always, if you lie to cover something the worst problem is lying about it.
Adams lying has destroyed his ability to supervise. He has to resign.
WOW…that is what people in the military would call, "putting the rounds on target". Mr. Westerman drove the point home in his e-mail…and brings up that Adams may have done more things to cover up his lie, including using public funds.
Sam Adams…stop dragging this out and do the right thing – RESIGN NOW!
I support Sam, but I admit this is a well-reasoned indictment of Sam’s behavior. He has violated terms of the city code of ethics. Sam has acknowledged this and apologized. It doesn’t follow that the consequence of all such violations should be termination/resignation. Thought experiment: should all officials who can ever be shown to have lied, especially about sex, resign immediately? The code of ethics is an aspirational document, not a schedule of offenses and punishments.
And what type of consequences does Mr. Adams receive? How can he work with those under him (no pun intended) when he holds them to a separate standard? Mr. Adams has clearly violated the City of Portland’s standards of ethics…and yes, he does need to be terminated. He lied for months…and what about the people he has trashed…he shows no remorse for what he did to Bob Ball and stated he would not apologize to him. I don’t agree with you…he should be terminated because he has no conscience…he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar…literally, and finally had to come clean. No, I don’t think he needs another "chance". He needs to go.
This e mail is a powerful indictment of Adams.
Sioen:
There will be a few loonies that come out of the woodwork over Sam’s sexuality, but this isn’t a sex scandal.
This is a situation where Sam lied and performed a coverup to eliminate a political rival and win an election.
I don’t know how old you are, but I watched it all before on TV.
It was called Watergate.
"There will be a few loonies that come out of the woodwork over Sam’s sexuality"
Quite a lot of them, apparently!
So once again this just proves Portland Police hate gay people.
One of the silliest statements I have ever read on a public forum.
However, in the extremely unlikely event that you have proof of this ridiculous assertion, cite your source(s).
This is not about hating anyone. This is about a serial liar, who did not just lie one time, but systematically lied and encouraged others to lie on his behalf over a period of almost four years.
Anyone who is capable of lying to that degree simply has no place in any government.
Step down Sam. Do it today and get it over.
I agree with Dave Lister. This isn’t a sex scandal, at least not totally. If the intern was under the age of consent, then it is, sure. But that’s not the issue. Mr Adams lied; he got other people to lie. This is more in the nature of corruption than anything else. I think that may be par for Portland.
please don’t resign, Sam! We need you.
Scott Westerman is an effective writer. His email starts with an apology to soften the tone, and then, boom, he goes straight into some harsh (but reasonable) criticism.
To me, the most interesting phrase is “the glaring double standard you present” because Mr. Westerman doesn’t even agree that police officers should refrain from parking their patrol cars in front of a sign that plainly states, “Government Vehicles Prohibited.” My position that police officers have to obey the law is so controversial that these prosecutions have been criticized, sometimes through personal attacks, in five distinct issues of the Rap Sheet. While Mr. Westerman is thoughtfully analyzing Portlanders’ expectations for their government, he should think about the practices of some of his officers as well.
I love liberals. When cops violate the rules, "off with their head". When liberal politicians violate the rules the rules become "aspirational guidelines". I am reminded of the Clinton years when I would tell my feminist friends who supported Clinton. "We really like Clinton at the Police Bureau. It’s alright for the president to get serviced in his office. And our office is the police car. Whoppie!!"
is that the only photo you could find of sam – really?
Question A for Portland: can anything in a public figure’s life fall under the category "nobody’s business?"
If your answer is no, then don’t bother reading any further.
If your answer is yes, then you must ask yourself: What are a public figure’s options when a reporter threatens to publish something that is nobody’s business but still publicly damaging?
Anyone know where I can find some hot 17-year-olds who need mentoring?
What do you expect when you elect a pervert for mayor?
Sam Adams has set the standard and example for Portland. The message is that it is ok to hide behind lies and accuse others of the same in order to obtain what you want. He conveys disrespect for the citizens of Portland because of his unethical choices, his lies to the people in order to cover them up and now his refusal to resign. This situation isn’t about what Portland wants; It is about what Sam Adams wants.
Interesting..