Hey, he met the qualifications to work for Sam - young and gay. You expected something of substance?

What do you expect? He went to Reed... home of the communal bong.

So, let me see if I understand ...

Chlapowski was paid $50k a year to turn his 83-page thesis into a 158-page PowerPoint presentation?

That's what I thought.

So we have Amy Ruiz, in a $65,000 year job for which she admits she is not qualified. Jennifer Yocom, the new Arts & Culture Policy Directro, in a $65,000 year job for which she admits she is not completely qualified, although she argues that her previous experience in the as a communications specialist in the Office of Sustainable Development qualifies her, and now this young man, pulling in $50,000 year for I'm not sure what.

Jeez - I'd rather have Jersey-style "phantom positions" (those are kickbacks from mobbed-up politicians, west-coasters). Seems like that's much easier to explain and understand than paying serious money for this kind of hippy-trippy crap. All is not lost though - I bet that 50K paid to Mr. Chlapowski had a direct correlation to HIS happiness!

Maybe other people who applied for these positions will look into filing EEOC complaints.

I think you all are missing the point. The graphic is hard to read, but I think we need to put "systematic errors in predictions cause people to make decisions that fail to maximize happiness" in the light of grooming a 17 year old boy/adult to be able to have sex as soon as he is 18.
I was stumbling over the terms experientially optimal options and impulsivity, decision rules, lay rationalisum and belief bias until I asked Michael Phelps for a turn at the tube. Then it made all the sense in the world.

Portland is so lucky to have such enlightened people guiding it.

Who has the bag of Cheesits?

$50,000 a year to write a term paper? It should be pretty easy to find happiness somewhere in that equation.

Mayor Creepy says that the work of the city continues. Unfortunately the work of the city is now to help Sam survive the recall.
So look for more mysterious job assignments in City Hall. I'm just surprised Beau Breedlove wasn't hired to be the restroom attendant.

I'm sure glad Bush is gone.
Now all of the locals who were focused on Bush can pay more attention to the very flawed electeds we have around here.

Sam's 'liasion' with PDOT when he was a commissioner is another unqualified young gay man working at nothing on the public dime.

working at nothing on the public dime
is exactly right. And nauseating is also exactly right. It's absolutely indefensible.

Chlapowski has the aggressive self-confidence of somebody who has no idea how poorly educated and inexperienced he is. That presentation is a farce.

What's completely hilarious about it is that it is so obviously a technocrat's answer to the low IQ big enchilada techno-visionary-crat's question, "Why? Why? Why! Why don't they see how much better things will be for them in the high rise cube farms of my dreams!? How can they not know they are better off going by street car to sell books at Powell's for coffee money while couch surfing between part-time, seasonal, hourly gigs selling $8 hot dogs and $7 beers at the soccer game in the stadium that is my latest gift to them? How can they not not know how much better off they'll be with the next three generations taxed to the hilt to pay off a hotel full of minimum wage, part-time jobs while the boring old streets and bridges crumble? How can they not see how much better off they'll be under my vision? It just makes no sense!"

What Adams got for his money was an apologia for his condescension to the opinions of those of us who prize fiscal sustainability and preservation of the commons over new toys, middle class Cabrini Greens and give-aways to the private sector.

It is written in techno-academese with a high minded tone, but what it really says is, "Sam, it is OK to ignore anybody who doesn't agree with you! If they can't see the superiority of your vision, they are deluded. Speak kindly to them, but go ahead and create a world they don't want to live in, using their money to do it, while letting their boring old commons rot! It is fine to discount them! See, they are suffering from "impact bias", "projection bias", "distinction bias", "memory bias", "belief bias", "impulsivity", "lay rationalism", etc.

I think the technical term for this kind of governance is "royalism", and I think we already had a revolution to get rid of it. Clearly, Adams and his sycophants didn't get the memo on that.

What do you expect? He went to Reed... home of the communal bong.

Right. Like they don't have bongs or drugs at any other colleges anywhere.

I mean, seriously, if you want to criticize someone, do it on substance -- and there is so much in that story; I was wondering why it was taking Jack so long to get around to it -- not on whether the college meets your preconceived notions of a "quality" school or not. George W. was a Harvard and a Yale man, and as I recall, Monica Lewinsky graduated from a bastion of Presbyterian respectability: Lewis & Clark.

But yeah, this story just reeks of bad decisions piled one on top of another, no pun intended.

Does the mayor pay his staff in $3 bills?

From the Willy Week: "Chlapowski rose from being an unpaid intern in 2005 to being Adams’ $50,000-a-year senior policy adviser on transportation"

Unless i missed something, that isn't even the area of his expertise.

My dog wants a job with City Hall.

Sure they have bongs and drugs at other schools.. but not in the student union sanctioned by the administration. And at most other schools they don't get naked, paint themselves blue and drop acid... again, sanctioned by the administration.

"What Adams got for his money was an apologia for his condescension to the opinions of those of us who prize fiscal sustainability and preservation of the commons over new toys, middle class Cabrini Greens and give-aways to the private sector."

I bet he got more than that.

I can't believe that this hasn't risen to a higher level of public outrage. It is readily apparent from the circumstances of Chalpowski's hiring right through the utterly pathetic, pedantic, and sophomoric white paper power point, that this was a make work sham. I have no doubt that his current position researching "peak oil" is more of the same.

That my friends, when conducted at public expense, is fraud plain and simple.It should elict howls equal to earlier rants for Adams removal, but seems to have fallen flat.

When I open the paper this morning and see that council is going to consider raising parking rates again, seemingly oblivious to this latest example of fraud and waste, I wonder what is becoming of our city. Are we so apathetic, so willing to accept low and mid-level corruption by our electeds that we have become incapable of action based on our collective outrage.

Yes there is a waiting period for a recall to commence. But that doesn't mean that every Portlander who is disgusted by these recent revelations can't demand that the rest of the city council demand Adams step down to restore citizen confidence and viable city government. If enough people, a true groundswell, made there wishes known I am certain that at least Fish and Leonard would act. But only if they feel there own political viability is in jeopardy.

A final note to those that might appeal to one of the city commissioners only to be told that they are waiting for "due process" and the attorney general's investigation. Due process, in terms of determining guilty or culpability, is very relevant when someone stands accused and denies the truth of the allegations. This is not the case with Mayor Adams. He has admitted his guilt.

In light of his addmission the only relevant application of due process is a sober assesment of the damage that has been done to the effective administration of city government.

I think the comments all around the city and the bolgosphere speak for itself in that regard.

I don't get why this is laughable or unconnected to city business. There appears to be a pre-conception (that I don't share) that government supposed to be boring and useless and make people's lives miserable. If you expect this of government, why are you surprised when they deliver streetcars or the PDC? Why shouldn't citizen happiness be a PRIMARY concern of government (and law for that matter.) Government mostly guesses what people want, so actually THINKING should be commended.

So Mayor Potter spends $1.2 Million in his study to tell us nothing, but "citizens need to be happy". Then we have Mayor Sam spend $50K with Roland's study to tell us "money helps make you happy". Gosh, I feel happy now.

I don't get why this is laughable or unconnected to city business.
That line should be printed on Chlapowski's business cards.

Why do you guys put up with this?