Wade Nkrumah, a spokesman for Mayor Sam Adams, announced this morning he has resigned his job.
Nkrumah, an openly gay man and former long-time reporter for The Oregonian, said he told Adams last night of his decision, which takes effect immediately. Nkrumah described the reaction of the mayor as “obviously very disappointed.”
Nkrumah’s resignation less than a month into Adams’ term is the first public resignation by a staff person in Adams’ office since the mayor admitted last week to lying about his sexual relationship with 18-year-old Beau Breedlove. Nkrumah offered no comment on the reasons for his resignation.
(Photo of Nkrumah courtesy of KATU)
UPDATE: Tom Miller, Adams’ chief of staff, wrote in an email responding to a request for comment on Nkrumah’s resignation from the job (a post that paid $80,000 a year at a time when unemployment is climbing) that “My office policy is to not comment on personnel matters.”
- Former Mayoral Spokesman Wade Nkrumah Files Notice of Tort Claim Against Mayor Sam Adams and City Wade Nkru
- Adams’ Admission Reaction: The Reason Sam Adams’ Spokesman Resigned WW has le
- Ex-Spokesman For Mayor Sam Adams Files Lawsuit (Updated with response) Wade Nkru
- Adams’ Admission Reaction: Nkrumah Was Not Adams’ First Staffer to Leave When Sam
- Beau Breedlove Tells KGW That Mayor Sam Adams Lied About What Happened And That He’s Mad About It (UPDATED with comment from Adams’ spokesman) Beau Bree
Here we go. At least his staff can be honest with themselves.
An appropriate yet financially courageous decision, Mr Nkrumah. There is better work for you, even in these hard times.
Did Ms Bottomly know this yesterday, hence omit this relationship with the O from her blog, noted elsewhere in WW?
Perhaps Our Own Private Nixon will offer the job of spin and weave to Steve Duin, who last week obtained the intimate meeting that Randy was not granted?
My guess is this will not be the end of the fall out. This is an unfortunate situation to say the least.
Does Amy Ruiz have a fraction of the integrity that Wade does?
i feel sorry for wade, who is a decent guy and was a fine reporter. will amy ruiz be next?
Well, it looks like at least a member of Sam’s staff has seen the light…I wonder how many others are contemplating leaving Sam…
I wonder if Amy Ruiz who has no clue about her new "job" will resign ???
Bets are on.
Anyone notice that the third person in the photo on oregonlive.com appears to be Amy Ruiz? Interesting.
Good observation Anon. I think it is, when she was still reporting, back in November. Adam’s body language looks like that of a little boy telling Santa what he wants for Christmas. Knowing what we know know, and if it is Amy interviewing Sam, it looks like an awkward exchange is taking place. Perhaps he’s talking so intently about the Amanda Fritz campaign, hoping to God Amy doesn’t bring up any Breedlove questions… this time! A month or so later, she’s his staffer with no education or experience in planning and sustainablity, one of the most important issues in his agenda. "There. That solves that problem! Let’s move on!", says Sam. By the way, it will interesting to see if Mr. Nkrumah divulges his real reasons for leaving.
Oh my god, is that INTEGRITY I see? I didn’t know if we’d ever see it again coming out of our city hall.
I suppose it’s no one’s business but in the context of this scandal obviously many immediately wonder if Adams and Wade had ever consummated his hiring.
With his making out in City Hall men’s rooms, just how much of a sleazy tramp is Sam Adams anyway?
Next up at Portland City Council: Circus Circus Circus
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Join the Mayor
Valiant move Mr. Nkrumah. I’m sorry to have to mention Tom Miller’s name in my compliments to you, but would someone please explain to me how Miller, when asked for comments on Mr. Nkrumah’s resignation, responded with it not being his policy to comment on "personal matters". I’m operating under the impression that this is not a personal matter but a public one, being that I’m assuming Mr. Nakurma was paid by the tax payers of Portland, and in a government to serve the people of Portland. Is that how Sam’s Team thinks of themselves, an entity separate from the city, while reaping the wages and benefits courtesy of the tax payers.
Haha. I’m glad the quality of comments on WW is on par with the quality of its journalism.
"Personnel" and "personal," in this world, at least, are not the same thing.
Continue witch hunt.
Gotta be hard working as a press secretary for a boss who expects you to lie on his behalf.
Thanks for telling us that he is "Openly gay" like does he parade around the office like it is scandals?
I included that he is "openly gay" because some of the criticism about our reporting
I plaudit Mr. Nkrumah’s decision, as it personally takes a fair amount of guts to bow out given the financial climate in which we must currently exist within. Frankly, it speaks volumes about his personal character, and highlights the lack of it with our former Mayor (say former because as of 7/1, the recall can take place, and thus am thinking it is proper to not recognize his temporary "administration"), who should have stepped down from the onset of these revelations.
Finally some light coming from city hall, thank you for setting a good example, Wade Nkrumah, you rock! My bile level is coming down a bit, thank you.
Finally someone got it right…congratulations on having a backbone Wade. Best wishes. Portland is a sinkhole regardless of what the glossy magazines print.
Then leave. Quick. Leave.
Oh-what’s that? You don’t live here? Then stay out.
Thanks for the spell check "hogBoss"
Don’t mention it. =)
Taking something out of context is one thing, but actually changing someone’s words to completely alter its meaning and support an unfounded rant? That’s great!
Wow! I know Wade and this is big. I did not know he was gay…so that is how "openly gay" he was..it just never came up. He has guts..to say the least.
Wow!
Thank you Wade, you are a light in a very dark City Hall. You are taking a very brave stand and Portland thanks you!!
Wade Nkrumah, I thank you for doing the right thing. It could not have been easy.
I didn’t know wade was gay?
As an example of the insidious cancer of distrust Adams has already spawned, I find myself "hoping" that Nkrumah, did this for all the right reasons.
I will, at present, assume so and applaud him for his courage and (unlike his former boss) his sense of honor.
Adams chief spokesman resigns? Can you blame him? Who would want to work for an admitted liar and someone who manipulates others to lie for him? How would a spokesman be able to go out in front of the public and represent the Mayor when he has no scruples about lying? At least Wade has some integrity which is much more than a lot of people in this town can say.
We should all follow Nkrumah’s example. Since when does as democracy forgive the immoralities, deceit and coercion and of its leaders? There is no context whatsoever that forgiveness is in order. OK, for get the deceit, the ruining of another candidate’s reputation when said candidate was potentially in the right (Sam is finally under criminal investigation for sex with a minor), and duping of an entire city with his "We are better than that" rallying call, Sam had a sexual relationship with someone and than told that person to deny it. Nobody does that unless they are married, ashamed, or for some other equally sleazy reason. Sam is sleazy, and Portland will be a blemish to the entire democratic process if he stays in office.
"I included that he is "openly gay" because some of the criticism about our reporting � and about the critics of Adams � has been that the motivation is homophobia. In this case, I thought it relevant that the person resigning from Adams’ office certainly could not be accused of that.
Sincerely,
Hank Stern"
Umm–I hate to be the one to bring this up, but, it is actually possible for a person to be gay and homophobic simultaneously. In fact, I would be willing to bet that it is more common than you are aware of.
he’s gay and now homophobic nooooooooooooooooo
Oh yeah….like Sam possibly, as he was the first one to bring up the word when this all came about in ‘07. He has ridden on the coat tails of being gay, yet he termed his actual behavior as a homophobic smear. Freudian, ya think?
Rally to ask Sam Adams to step down (again) this Friday Jan 30,2009 at 11:00am. Let your voice be heard!
I will get my friends ( the taxpayers)together and we will be their to voice our concern. Is there any way to put this message out to more people. Also is there anyway to get a bumper sticker made up that i can keep on my car for 6 months….
HossBoss…your point is taken. However, unfortunately Sam’s Chief of Staff owes it to the city of Portland to have something more to say than just "I may it a point not to comment on personnel matters. Oh really? It’s not like he’s the manager of a shoe store. He doesn’t get the luxury of not responding on a personnel matter.
I doubt very much that there is any homophobia at work here. Wade probably feels the same way any decent Jewish businessman or woman feels about the behavior of Bernie Madoff . . . mortified and betrayed.
Hats off and a salute to the N man. He gets it.
lae – go here for bumper stickers:
http://www.cafepress.com/SamMustGo
The also have 100% organic tee shirts – sustainable, unlike our mayor!
I understand why he might resign, but 80K a year is hard to walk away from when thechow lines are over flowing….
Obviously not that hard when you have higher standards, and were paying close attention to the President’s speeches last week.
Don’t wait for a recall! Pressure Sam to resign! Be at the City Council meeting tomorrow (Wed) at 8:30, details at http://www.notwithsam.com. You have the right to speak and question Sam!
Lying under oath is one thing, and President Clinton did not resign over that. Lying to a reporter about something that really isn’t anybody else’s business is not a valid reason to resign. Stay put, Mr. Adams. Portland needs someone like you.
Is Wade the Oregonian reporter who was also doing a story on Adams around the same time as Ruiz? Seems a bit like overkill to resign immediately without a two weeks notice or any indication that he was unhappy in the job. After all, he had only been in the highly paid position for a few weeks. Just coincidence that the timing was right after the Attorney General announced their investigation? Seems a bit odd.
Overkill? You didn’t hear Sam’s audiotapes on Beau’s almost rape? Where Sam glibly states that he "accused Vezina of attempting to rape" Beau. Wade was there, and if he didn’t vomit immediately after, he began writing his resignation instead. Mary, it’s difficult, but important to not sleep in class.
[...] present for the interview were Adams’ then-spokesman Wade Nkrumah (who resigned later that month) and Adams policy adviser Amy Ruiz, the Portland Mercury’s former City Hall [...]
[...] the job was “not what he signed up for in terms of stress.” Nkrumah says instead that he resigned from the spokesman’s job because the mayor had lied to him twice about Adams’ relationship with Beau [...]