As a freelance comedy writer - about to start writing for TV again - I had a fresh, rested brain, all ready to go. That is until I read the Democracy Reform Oregon report on the Sho poll. Already hurt by the lame pun in the Willamette Week headline, I hesitated to read on, but the Thompson analysis beckoned. Sometimes I think I hate myself a little in these matters. I made it to what I would call the money line: "It appears that state law is clear..." My brain is now stale again, and 3 months of rejuvenation is out the window.
I should point out that I oppose the Sam Adams candidacy based on my opinion that he's a foolish, grand-standing egomaniac. If he should get lost in the woods, all we would have to do to rescue him, is set up a TV camera nearby, and he would appear shortly. I base this opinion on what happened when I suggested on the Portland Freelancer blog, that the city council demonstrate the safety of the tram emergency system. The idea made Phil Stanford's column and Sam went for it. I felt seeing a city commissioner descending 150 feet down a rope, did nothing to convince the citizens of Portland that the tram plan was wise. Instead, it seemed more like a stunt designed once again to get Sam on TV - no matter what the occasion. You know...like when he worked a day in all those jobs. You might have seen that on TV, too. Personally, I thought we hired him to fix our roads and stuff - not to tend bar or flip burgers on TV. But enough about him.
Could it be that the Sho poll was designed to explore his chances if he became a candidate? If the numbers were terrible he wouldn't have become one. I don't think he would have given a speech that day ending his run. There was no run. The money for the poll was already spent when he decided to run, so I have no problem with him not seeing this as a contribution.
Incidentally, the Thompson report goes on and on about a mistake the state Elections Division made in this matter, so once that happened I think Sho is off the hook. I mean if they're going to screw up, a first-time candidate can make a technical mistake, if that even happened.
Look, here's what started this whole thing: The poll happened to call Nigel Jaquiss. I mean he's a great reporter, but this is a reach as a scoop, isn't it? It's not exactly meeting Deep Throat in a parking garage. He got a polling phone call. I get those too. That's what set this in motion.
Meanwhile, all it's really done is get Sho's name out there even more, so it doesn't even make sense from a pro-Sam Adams point of view, which the WW clearly has - I don't care how many shots of Sam in a dunce cap/traffic cone they run.
On a personal level, I have to avoid these stories. There's enough going on right now that I don't need to numb my brain with something this mundane and smalltime. My advice to the city: Get over it.
And to the Willamette Week: Please, "Not Sho Fast" with the lame puns. I'm trying to work here.

Poor Bruce.

He's run for every office in every election in memory. He ought to pay for a permanent page in the voter's pamphlet... kind of like having your name on the booth in your favorite restaurant.

Last I heard he was going to run for city council, although he hadn't decided which seat. He wants to "clear his name" over his near indictment on election fraud by uncovering all the loopholes in VOE. Emilie Boyles claimed that he was the "godfather" on the Golovan-Boyles_Tate affair, but I got news for you.

He ain't that smart.

Stones. Glass. Houses.

Memo to Sho:

Do as Bruce says, not as he does.

Harold Stassen comes to mind.

Unfortunately for Sho, I think the non-story is going to have legs.

No, I expect this story is going to vanish. But considering that Dozono is running on the basis of his supposed business acumen and overall community-mindedness, doesn't it seem likely that the stuff about his dubious decisions as a trustee for his late friend's son--making loans to his own businesses, say--is going to be revisited?

We seem to have one candidate (Adams) with no qualms at all about opening the public purse for his own pet projects, and another (Dozono) whose business savvy is actually questionable. I would pick Dozono just for a new face, but beyond that, it's hard to see exactly why he's such a great choice.