News and Culture » City Hall

Police Union Plans No-Confidence Vote on Saltzman and Sizer

James Pitkin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:13:58 +0000

The Portland Police Association today announced plans to hold a no-confidence vote next week on Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Chief Rosie Sizer after the two leaders yesterday disciplined Officer Chris Humphreys.

The union board representing rank-and-file officers today unanimously agreed to put the no-confidence vote to its 900 members, according to a news release (PDF).

“Leadership of the Police Bureau at the hands of Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Chief Sizer has failed Officer Chris Humphreys and our entire membership,” the news release quotes Sgt. Scott Westerman (see photo), the union president, as saying.

“The events of the last few weeks have shown that Dan Saltzman cares more about politics than he does for the lives and families of police officers,” the Westerman quote continues. “Likewise, Chief Sizer’s failure to stand by the officers of this bureau when they have done absolutely nothing wrong and are being used as political pawns is deplorable.”

Humphreys was involved in a Nov. 14 incident on an East Portland MAX platform where Humphreys shot a 12-year-old girl with a beanbag gun. The girl was resisting arrest and tussling with another officer, Aaron Dauchy.

The cops also plan a rally to support Humphreys and collect ballots in the no-confidence vote on Tuesday, according to the news release. The date and time of the rally will be announced Monday.

Rather than listing the PPA office as a contact, the news release gives a phone number for Shannon Berg with Gallatin Public Affairs, a PR firm the union hired earlier this fall. For what it’s worth, the firm’s roster includes former Mayor Vera Katz.

The Fabulous Life of Mayor Sam Adams

Beth Slovic — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:26:13 +0000

Mayor Sam Adams will be on vacation all next week. But his last day of work this week is a particularly busy one.

Friday’s agenda includes “desk work,” “Facebook next steps” and the “reindeer nose-lighting ceremony.” On his last day of work before vacation, Adams is also scheduled to attend the groundbreaking ceremony on the Resource Access Center and consider the East Portland “action plan.”

Mayor Adams All “Atwitter” About Lincoln High

Beth Slovic — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:04:56 +0000

Mayor Sam Adams is weighing in on Portland Public Schools’ high school redesign process. Judging from the emails I’m now getting from anxious parents about the upcoming changes, he may want to be careful what he Tweets.

Here’s the mayor’s latest:

David Wynde is a two-term school board member.

Dick Spies is a former Lincoln High parent from Group Mackenzie Architects. Lincoln, Portland’s only downtown high school, has 1394 students this year, 50 fewer students than it had in 2004.

For perspective: In 2008, Grant High had 1,553 students.

“Made in Oregon” Sign Will Light Up Portland Friday

Beth Slovic — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:35:54 +0000

Rudolph lives! The “Made in Oregon” sign will be turned back on this Friday around 4:30 pm. The red nose, too. And to those of you who’ve seen it glowing over the Willamette River in recent days, you were not hallucinating. (It was being serviced for the big day, the sign’s owner says.)

Updated: City Council To Consider “Fall Bump”

Beth Slovic — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:24:05 +0000

Portland City Council will be talking about the “fall bump” — budget monitoring process — at its meeting tomorrow morning.

Here’s the one-sentence summary of what to expect: Revenue has not kept up exactly with financial expectations (to the tune of about $1.5 million), so bureaus that depend on general fund dollars are taking small hits. The list of cuts is below. And the whole document is posted here [PDF].

At 10:30 am, council will also consider changing the zoning code to allow additional office space at PGE Park. This proposed change is designed to accommodate renovations to support Major League Soccer in 2011.

Updated at 12:30 pm: Adams once again pulled the zoning code discussion from the agenda. It’s set over until Dec. 2.

Photo of City Council last week

Sam Adams’ Deal With Parking “Don” Dick Singer

Beth Slovic — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:30:50 +0000

The Northwest Examiner, WW’s neighborhood broadsheet, has a detailed account of the deal Mayor Sam Adams recently struck with commercial property owner Dick Singer, who has long wanted to build a parking garage off Northwest 23rd Avenue.

“Mayor Sam Adams and developer Richard Singer have a tentative agreement to postpone construction of Singer’s Irving Street Garage until parking meters can be installed in the Northwest District,” the story begins.

Now an update: Thursday’s City Council agenda contained an obscure item under “consent” that provides a footnote to that story (see below.) On Thursday, the council voted 5-0 to approve extending a land-use decision that affects Singer’s plans for building a parking garage on Northwest Irving Street. That vote is designed to give the city and neighborhood businesses time to develop a comprehensive parking plan for Northwest. Gwenn Baldwin, Singer’s City Hall lobbyist, told the Examiner her boss is prepared to wait one year but not necessarily until the parking plan is complete.

Juliet Hyams, president of the Northwest District Association, predicted the wait would lead to a “net improvement” in the area and had positive words for the mayor’s approach. “If we’re ever going to have a mayor who can apply appropriate policy to this, it’s Adams,” Hyams said.

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Leonard Ups Ante In Water Bureau Flap

Nigel Jaquiss — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:02:04 +0000

Commissioner Randy Leonard recently announced plans to arm the 19-member Water Bureau Security force.

Although Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Police Chief Rosie Sizer panned the idea, Leonard has said he’d like to move forward.

Leonard is now bringing in a trusted ally with strong law enforcement credentials into the Water Bureau. WW has learned that the commissioner has hired former Portland Police Commander Bill Sinnott to head the Water Bureau Security force. Before retiring from PPB in 2006, Sinnott ran the Traffic Divison.

More recently, Sinnott has played a management role in two initiatives closely associated with Leonard: the Service Coordination Team, which targets repeat offenders in Old Town and the Housing Interdiction Team, which targets dangerous properties.

Ty Kovatch, Leonard’s chief of staff, says Sinnott will take over his new duties in the next week or so.

photo courtesy of BikePortland

UPDATED: City Council to Consider PGE Park Re-Zoning Next Week

Beth Slovic — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:42:58 +0000

Portland City Council tomorrow morning will consider whether to change the zoning code to allow limited office space at PGE Park.

The proposed change is part of an effort to bring a sports medicine clinic, sponsored by Providence Health & Services, to the stadium to support Merritt Paulson’s new Major League Soccer team when it begins play in 2011. Here’s the ordinance [PDF].

Updated on Thursday around noon: Mayor Sam Adams this morning pulled the proposed ordinance, saying later he needed another week to deal with a number of outstanding issues surrounding the PGE Park remodel. One possible translation: forcing a public discussion on the zoning code this week might have raised questions about PGE Park that the mayor doesn’t want to address publicly right now.

The city’s pre-development agreement with Paulson expired in October, and a plan to sign a final agreement has been delayed until December or January. Meantime, Paulson’s deal with Beaverton to put his Triple-A baseball team in the Portland suburb collapsed, and no new deal has emerged besides a very tentative one in Vancouver.

City to Put Up Cesar Chavez Signs Next Month

Beth Slovic — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:11:02 +0000

Months of controversy over the renaming of 39th Avenue boil down to this simple fact: New street signs (like the one above) will be going up along the avenue starting next month. If you live on or near the street formerly known as 39th, adjust your directions accordingly for visitors.

Ed Garren Files for Saltzman’s Seat

Beth Slovic — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:02:45 +0000

Ed Garren, a family therapist who in 2008 ran unsuccessfully for former Commisioner Erik Sten’s seat, is gearing up for the May 2010 primary election.

This time the Hayden Island activist is running for the seat of Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who has said he will wait until January to make an official announcement about his candidacy. Garren filed his paperwork today, his mother’s 97th birthday. Garren says he’s running because voters deserve choices.

“I have nothing against Dan,” Garren says. “He’s a good guy.”

In 2008, Garren finished last in a five-candidate field with 4 percent of the vote. Nick Fish won with 61 percent.

The other candidate in the race so far is Spencer Burton.

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