Buttering up Sam the Tram (Jack Bog's Blog)

Detail, east Portland photo, courtesy Miles Hochstein / Portland Ground.

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on March 12, 2008 2:58 AM. The previous post in this blog was 2 OLD 2 TXT (+ PDX). The next post in this blog is There oughta be a treaty against this. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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« 2 OLD 2 TXT (+ PDX) | Main | There oughta be a treaty against this »

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Buttering up Sam the Tram

Sometimes one wonders what to make of the odd priorities of the City of Portland's transportation bureau. There's no mystery, however, about this one that's recently come to light.

Posted at 2:58 AM | Permalink

Comments (8)

Tram Boy says it wasn't his idea. And if Sam says so, it could be true.

You're not going to ask the future mayor for a sworn affidavit, are you?

Where's the trust? How do you expect Sam to lead us to greenie righteousness and progressive low carbon footprint living if you won't believe he is honest and truthful?

Posted by Mister Tee | March 12, 2008 7:00 AM

Come on guys thanks to Portland voters Bureau heads no longer have civil service protection. She is an at will political appointee. What do you think is going to be her first priority, the public good?

Greg C

Posted by Greg C | March 12, 2008 7:22 AM

"i used my job to publicly promote my boss's career, so i could get a raise."

now that's quality civic leadership.

Posted by ecohuman.com | March 12, 2008 9:22 AM

Speaking of trams, looks like one east coast city without any real problems to address is considering a new tram: http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.gondola12mar12,0,256421.story.

Having relocated to Baltimore after 8 years in Portland, I've often remarked that, although the two cities are about the same size, there's not much more that the cities share. Now they may have a tram boondoggle in common. For all of the dysfunction of the city government here, however, at least the Baltimore tram would be privately funded.

Posted by Tim | March 12, 2008 9:38 AM

Greg C, the problem is even worse now. Bureau heads have been at-will for some time, but one of the charter reforms last year extended that designation down two or three layers into upper management. You can expect a lot of more of this in the future. Thanks, Portland voters!

Posted by Miles | March 12, 2008 1:31 PM

Miles,

I agree 100%. The last I heard they hadn't finished the list yet but included in the proposal to be made a political appointee was the City Treasurer who manages millions in Portland's debt. These guys who think that Portland has been corrupt in the past haven't seen real corruption yet.

I know there has been political pressure in the past for the Treasurer to invest the money only with the "right" people. but thanks to civil service protection he has been able to go tell them to stuff themselves. Once the Mayor can fire an honest Treasurer and appoint whoever he feels in there you have the recipe for a San Diego style bankruptcy. Boy were the people stupid to vote in that Charter change.

Greg C

Posted by Greg C | March 12, 2008 5:53 PM

"Boy were the people stupid to vote in that Charter change.

Greg C"

And that was exactly what Tom Potter intended with his "charter reform" crap. People are infinitely more stupid now than they were when Teddy Roosevelt was promoting civil service reform a century ago.

Posted by gen. Ambrose Burnside, Ret. | March 12, 2008 6:26 PM

So Sam the Tram claims "it wasn't my idea" that his staff promotes his image and candidacy-"I'm good, I've done nothing wrong, I didn't know." But when someone polls to see how Sho might fare if he ran against Sam, without Sho knowing, well then that Sho is a criminal.

Sho should file a formal complaint or legal action against Sam for misuse of public funds in promoting his candidacy. It is his bureau that he micro-manages.

Posted by Jerry | March 12, 2008 7:22 PM

In Vino Veritas

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