She had some strong defenders in our comments section over the past week, but when the most recent Tribal Council votes were counted, Transportation Sue was gone. Portland City Transportation Office Director Sue Keil was the fifth bureau chief bounced from the island on Survivor Portland City Hall: Bureaucracy Edition. The vote was close -- 21 percent for Transportation Sue, 17 percent for Linda (City Attorney Linda Meng), and 15 percent for Eloise (Regional Arts and Culture Council Director Eloise Damrosch).
Be that as it may, Transportation Sue's road to the title of Ultimate Survivor has hit the cosmic speed bump, her torch has been snuffed out, and she's to leave the island immediately. Go by aerial tram [rim shot]!
Which brings us to Tribal Council No. 6, in which readers will vote another one of the city bureau directors out of the picture. Do it for any reason, or for no reason, but do it just once a day, please. We'll keep at this, every city workday, until only one bureaucrat survives. None of the remaining players was mentioned by Nigel Jaquiss, Phil Stanford, or Randy Gragg in the media yesterday, and so no one has immunity today.
If you need a better picture of the players up for a vote, remember that photos of the entire cast (except one camera-shy member), and links to each of their bureaus, are here. Good luck to all the remaining players:
Comments (6)
My vote is for Linda Meng inspired by this article last week. Instead of figuring out how to do justice to these two ladies as Fireman Randy did in one of his good moments, admit the City had a problem, and not punish the messengers of that problem, the City chose to use its power and endless resources to further torment these two women instead of fixing the problem.
Council will pay $470,000 to settle discrimination suit
Portland - Commissioner Randy Leonard says city bureau rules weren't enforced consistently
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
ANNA GRIFFIN
The Oregonian
Reversing their decision a year ago to appeal, Portland City Council members will agree this week to pay $470,000 to settle a racial discrimination suit filed by two code enforcement officers who were chastised for spending too much time together.
Lisa Washington and Roxie Granville, both African Americans, sued the city five years ago alleging that supervisors in the Bureau of Development Services chastised them for being seen out of the office together.
The lawsuit dated to a 1997 incident in which a co-worker spotted them walking together during a break. A supervisor told the women that they were "being seen together too much" and cited bureau policy against such fraternization. In their lawsuit, the women say no policy existed at the time. A policy requiring all employees to notify a supervisor when they go into the field was drafted in 2001, but the women say it was enforced only against them.
City lawyers said that supervisors talked to the women about their job performance but denied that it was because they were seen together too often.
A federal jury sided with the women last June, and a judge awarded them more than $50,000 each in damages and other costs. In September, the City Council voted to appeal at the recommendation of city attorneys.
Yet less than a year later, Commissioner Randy Leonard says it's time for the city to accept some responsibility. Leonard oversees the Bureau of Development Services.
"After some examination, it became clear that the Bureau of Development Services was not enforcing their rules consistently," he said. "What they did in regards to these women looked different because it was different . . . We don't have bureau managers who discriminate. But the bureau has not done a good job of enforcing the rules. We're going to be a better organization as a result of this."
City Council members will vote on the settlement Wednesday. As part of the agreement, Granville will receive $300,000 and will leave city government. Washington will get $170,000 and will stay in the bureau.
"She's very valued here," Leonard said.
The settlement costs include attorney fees, back pay and medical bills.
Anna Griffin: 503-294-5988; annagriffin@news.oregonian.com.
Does ONI do anything useful? Maybe it should be called the "agency in support of NIMBYs" When I called Amalia recently I had to listen to her voice mail in English, then in Spanish before I could leave a message. Two weeks later an ONI employee contacted me. Action on my complaint (illegal campaign signs on City property): Zero. Amalia goes, then downsize this agency.
One of the problems with this version of survivor is that the bureau directors don't make bureau policy; the commissioners do. If you vote a director off the island because they're bad managers, fine. If you vote them off because of bad policy, then they are simply fall guys for the commissioner in charge. This of course is how it works in real life. When there's a big snafu in a bureau, the commissioner takes responsibility and then fires the director.
Does ONI do anything useful? Maybe it should be called the "agency in support of NIMBYs"...
Well, that's one interpretation, I suppose. I would argue, though, it is the City agency that is in most supportive of the neighborhoods, and getting them a place at the table in city governance.
Wearing my hat as a neighborhood person and activist --versus my hat as government functionary-- I'm very impressed, and appreciative, of the support they provide.
I can't speak to the specifics of your complaint, Don, but an election issue would have been better directed to the City's election officer in the Auditor's Office, which ONI'S information line would most likely have directed you to immediately if you'd called their 503-823-4000 information number, a great resource for getting citizens to the right place in city and county government.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (6)
My vote is for Linda Meng inspired by this article last week. Instead of figuring out how to do justice to these two ladies as Fireman Randy did in one of his good moments, admit the City had a problem, and not punish the messengers of that problem, the City chose to use its power and endless resources to further torment these two women instead of fixing the problem.
Council will pay $470,000 to settle discrimination suit
Portland - Commissioner Randy Leonard says city bureau rules weren't enforced consistently
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
ANNA GRIFFIN
The Oregonian
Reversing their decision a year ago to appeal, Portland City Council members will agree this week to pay $470,000 to settle a racial discrimination suit filed by two code enforcement officers who were chastised for spending too much time together.
Lisa Washington and Roxie Granville, both African Americans, sued the city five years ago alleging that supervisors in the Bureau of Development Services chastised them for being seen out of the office together.
The lawsuit dated to a 1997 incident in which a co-worker spotted them walking together during a break. A supervisor told the women that they were "being seen together too much" and cited bureau policy against such fraternization. In their lawsuit, the women say no policy existed at the time. A policy requiring all employees to notify a supervisor when they go into the field was drafted in 2001, but the women say it was enforced only against them.
City lawyers said that supervisors talked to the women about their job performance but denied that it was because they were seen together too often.
A federal jury sided with the women last June, and a judge awarded them more than $50,000 each in damages and other costs. In September, the City Council voted to appeal at the recommendation of city attorneys.
Yet less than a year later, Commissioner Randy Leonard says it's time for the city to accept some responsibility. Leonard oversees the Bureau of Development Services.
"After some examination, it became clear that the Bureau of Development Services was not enforcing their rules consistently," he said. "What they did in regards to these women looked different because it was different . . . We don't have bureau managers who discriminate. But the bureau has not done a good job of enforcing the rules. We're going to be a better organization as a result of this."
City Council members will vote on the settlement Wednesday. As part of the agreement, Granville will receive $300,000 and will leave city government. Washington will get $170,000 and will stay in the bureau.
"She's very valued here," Leonard said.
The settlement costs include attorney fees, back pay and medical bills.
Anna Griffin: 503-294-5988; annagriffin@news.oregonian.com.
©2007 The Oregonian
Posted by John Capradoe | May 8, 2007 6:36 AM
Does ONI do anything useful? Maybe it should be called the "agency in support of NIMBYs" When I called Amalia recently I had to listen to her voice mail in English, then in Spanish before I could leave a message. Two weeks later an ONI employee contacted me. Action on my complaint (illegal campaign signs on City property): Zero. Amalia goes, then downsize this agency.
Posted by Don | May 8, 2007 9:39 AM
One of the problems with this version of survivor is that the bureau directors don't make bureau policy; the commissioners do. If you vote a director off the island because they're bad managers, fine. If you vote them off because of bad policy, then they are simply fall guys for the commissioner in charge. This of course is how it works in real life. When there's a big snafu in a bureau, the commissioner takes responsibility and then fires the director.
Posted by Dave Lister | May 8, 2007 11:44 AM
Sounds like coaching professional sports.
Posted by Jack Bog | May 8, 2007 11:56 AM
Sounds like coaching professional sports.
Except the pay's not quite as good.
Posted by Miles | May 8, 2007 12:04 PM
Does ONI do anything useful? Maybe it should be called the "agency in support of NIMBYs"...
Well, that's one interpretation, I suppose. I would argue, though, it is the City agency that is in most supportive of the neighborhoods, and getting them a place at the table in city governance.
Wearing my hat as a neighborhood person and activist --versus my hat as government functionary-- I'm very impressed, and appreciative, of the support they provide.
I can't speak to the specifics of your complaint, Don, but an election issue would have been better directed to the City's election officer in the Auditor's Office, which ONI'S information line would most likely have directed you to immediately if you'd called their 503-823-4000 information number, a great resource for getting citizens to the right place in city and county government.
Posted by Frank Dufay | May 9, 2007 2:22 AM