An interesting new chapter in commissioners Dan Saltzman and Randy Leonard’s “bromance” this morning: The battle of the Half-Staff vs. the Half-Cocked.
Up first at City Hall was Saltzman’s flag-lowering resolution [PDF] to honor Portland children who die as a result of violence.
It didn’t get the warmest reception. Commissioner Nick Fish questioned the wisdom of lowering Portland’s flag for one group, knowing that tragedy strikes many groups — including the homeless and victims of domestic abuse — whose members might want Portland’s flags lowered to honor them. Fish called himself “old-fashioned” in wanting to honor the current traditions of flag-lowering. “It’s a big deal when you talk about lowering our flag,” he said, before adding he thought there needed to be additional discussion.
Commissioner Amanda Fritz pointed out that the city flag is tethered to the state flag outside the Oregon Convention Center but that the city doesn’t have the authority to lower the state flag. She also wondered aloud about the impact of lowering the city’s flags on the judicial outcomes for the perpetrators of the alleged crimes.
Next up was Leonard’s “bright” idea to condemn the “Made in Oregon” sign in order to bring it under the city’s control — a move that has been widely criticized. (The University of Oregon has pushed for changes to the iconic sign to reflect its presence in Portland, and Leonard was hoping to stop them.)
Saltzman was the first to ask questions about how the city would pay for the condemnation and asked to offer an amendment that would specify no general fund dollars would pay for what he called a “frivolous” move.
He was followed by Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury, who said she supported Leonard’s efforts to preserve the sign’s current symbolism.
Eighteen people are signed up to testify. We here at WW are on the edge of our seats waiting to know how this turns out. We’ll update you later.
Economy who? – We’re just going to sweat the insignificant stuff I guess.