Thanks for the update, BoJack. I didn't think any votes remained outside of Multnomah (excepting Lane county which wouldn't affect Metro). I thought there might be another 6k to be counted in Mult. County, and I had heard over the news there would be a final run between midnight and 2 am. I was getting a Stacey win if there were more than 3k to be counted, and all in Multnomah. But if Washington and Clackamas still have more than Mult than it looks like Hughes by more than the present 200 plus votes.

One of the positives for me of the general election are the defeat of the TriMet bond measure which I lettered to the editor against (maybe this fiscally inept outfit might actually pull back on excessive cost agreements now, and maybe even fail to launch the exorbitantly expensive Portland (milwaukee) lightrail boondoggle. Blumenauer might be able to pull some more federal money for this project in the lame duck, put there's a lot on the plate for the lame duck session. After this session, there could be some serious cutbacks on these types of federal driven projects. Portland cityhall you might find the financial screws tightening on you. The federal gravey train keeping the city afloat might not be stoping in the city very often anymore for quite awhile.

I am glad to see the "voter owned election" program coming to a conclusion, hopefully. Hopefully, the savings on not having to feed local politicians will feed through to ever so slightly lower water and sewer bills. Have to push for a one for one reduction in this funding on water and sewer bills. Don't think cityhall will act unless pushed.

I noted that for the Oregon governor's race, the votes cast for the Constitution and Libertarian candidates altogether totaled 2.69% of votes cast - or about 3X the margin that Kitzhaber ended up with over Dudley. I doubt that any significant percentage of these came out of blue ranks.

Kitzhaber owes this election to these voters.

As a former waiter, I was personally offended by Dudley's pandering to his base by complaining about how much waiters make. Chris, that was a worse shot than any of your freethrows.

It also proved just how unskilled you were as a politician. The way it's done is you pretend you're for the working class and then kiss them off later after you're elected.

But thanks for running. Take some time off to decompress. Maybe get together with some of your rich buddies and go out for dinner. Just don't expect the waiter to be too into it.

Great comment Bill!

So right Bill. As a current bartender, I took great offense at his statements. I also have to say, from chit chat I heard around the bar, I believe those comments to have been Duds' downfall. Even the dyed-in-the-wool Republicans (of the working class variety, admittedly) found fault with that stance.

You guys were misled by false and misleading advertising: you get what you deserve.

Well if you read the article in the big "O", it was reported the comment by Dudley was edited and the first part of his statement was left on the cutting room floor, where he said "restaurant owners are the ones who think waitresses make too much money"
http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2010/10/dudley_kitzhaber_once_again_fi.html

"The way it's done is you pretend you're for the working class and then kiss them off later after you're elected."

Kinda' like Kitz is gonna do. I see 4 more years of looking the other way from him. Don't take this as an endorsement from Dudley, just an acknowledgment Kitz knows how to paly the game better.

Besides, getting the girlfriend gigs is gonna take a lot of his time.

Dudley was speaking to the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association. The Oregonian writes, "it is reasonable to think Dudley was agreeing with a questioner who expressed unhappiness about the minimum wage."
But if you think his entire answer helps him, be my guest:

[Questioner]: Alright, thanks again Chris for coming. Um, my question comes back to labor and labor costs. Um, I’ve noticed that our state tends to have a very high minimum wage and uh I think that’s difficult for our businesses but I think it uh, it also attracts uh people from other states to come to our state and take our jobs away from our kids and uh and those that might need them. I think it attracts the wrong end of the labor pool to our state uh and they tend to stay here and uh – uh I uh I – I’m concerned about that, I’m interested to know what your – if you share that philosophy and if you have any idea what – what you would do about that or if you want to address that issue.

[Dudley]: Well it’s not a – it’s a – I agree with you on – on – on that issue. Um it’s one that is very difficult to ex – it takes time to explain so that people understand why you’re talking with – with having the highest minimum wage in the country uh negatively impacts the state, um it’s something that I, from an economic standpoint, I understand and you talk to restaurants, restaurants will say listen, we’ve got less employees than we would otherwise because of this and it doesn’t make sense that our – our waitresses are getting tips plus the highest minimum wage in the country where our – those in the back – there’s a dispri-disproportionate amount of compensation, there’s so many negative issues with it that I think need to be addressed. Um so it’s something I’m – I’m not going to make a forefront campaign issue on it because I think it’s something – it’s a hot button that people don’t really understand, um but at some point I’m – I’m well aware of the issue and I’m also concerned about with – with – I’m very concerned in our state that we have unemployment rate uh between ages 18 and I think it’s 22 it might be 24 of 35 percent in our state. And in minority population it’s above 50 and what I get concerned about is if you don’t learn how to work it gets harder and harder to get in the workforce and so I think it’s very conc- that – that’s one area I would like to tackle first is to at least get a training wage going um to get people so that they at least have the opportunity to work and I think – think we’re really hurting our future by – by not doing so. [Dudley Campaign Event, 9/9/10]

Whatever you say Bill. I'll bet you ten bucks that he never tips less than 20% from now on.

The Kitz/Kulongoski/Roberts/Goldschmidt record is not one that I admire. They (hand in hand with the losers the CoP) have failed to make "investments" in freeways, roads, and bridges in exchange for greater investment in more public employees and insider boondoggles. When corruption is discovered, it is rarely prosecuted. Tri-Met's board was appointed by these Governors: the Meth Rail and Tweaker Trolleys don't haul freight, and they don't enhance the quality of life for the vast majority who pay the business and property taxes.

Instead of Milwaukie Light rail, they could buy brand new Natural Gas powered buses and double the fleet at Tri-Met, and still be money ahead. Instead, they will continue cutting bus service in deference to the construction mafia that benefits from Light Rail.

"have failed to make "investments" in freeways, roads, and bridges"

Don't forget John's recovery plan - Borrow more money and weatherize schools!!!

Four more years of double digit unemployment and economic malaise !!! Note to deadbeat lib hipsters... your schtick is will not last forever....

Sigh, waiters. Their gripe isn't with any one party really but the tax collectors/gov as a whole. A bit OT here but I'd be more than happy to sign petitions and donate time/money to reform the tax laws on tips and get wait staff paid minimum wage or better instead of the idiotic system as it is now.

Just to stop snooty waiters from seemingly upping the "default" tip rate every 5-10 years. I firmly believe some waitstaff like the current system though. On the whole the only one who has deserved/earned a good tip from me in the food industry has been my local pizza delivery folks.

Any thoughts on the growth rate in income of the top 1 or 2% as opposed to the lower 95% who've gone backwards over the last decade or so?
Of course not. That would be class warfare with socialist tendencies. And it's fine when that wealth is used for corporate welfare or to buy off politicians in order to funnel trillions from the future to Wall Street. As soon as the election was over the Fed announced another huge injection of cash that they created out of thin air and that we pay foreign bankers interest on for the right to borrow our own currency. But that's not a problem at all. It's this damn minimum wage that's ruining everything.
Just because you don't like waiters doesn't mean you have to order up a big plate of stupid.

Don't forget John's recovery plan - Borrow more money and weatherize schools!!!

I have a feeling the newly divided legislature won't go for $2.5 billion in new spending to put in weather stripping.

Yeah. Whatever Bill.

LOL! Sounds like something my 16-year-old says when confronted with proof of the truth.

Look, as has been written here and a lot of other places, Kitzhaber certainly would not have been my choice for the D's nomination. My comment (and I presume Bill's too) was not an endorsement for Kitz, but an observation as to one reason why I - and a lot of other people I overheard at my place of business - chose not to vote for Dudley.

FYI- we are not all twits who are easily misled by sound-bite, 30 second spots on the boob tube. When you read the entire transcript -as Bill has kindly reprinted above - Duds was obviously agreeing with "restaurant owners" as well as claiming that this issue is too complicated for most to understand.

Uh JS, waitstaff - and every one in Oregon and states that don't have the tip credit laws makes at least minimum wage. Sounds like it's you who doesn't understand the "idiotic system as it is now."

And what part of the tax law on tips would you reform? And why?

I pay 8% off the top on my SALES as a tax on tips I allegedly receive. That's 8% whether or not I actually get tipped and regardless of the size of the tip. Do you want more?

And perhaps you don't realize it, but there isn't some "default" tip rate, set by snooty waiters or anyone else. Some of my best customers regularly leave me a 30% or more tip, most others give me much less or even nothing. That's real life. Tips are supposed to be for good service, if you tip a set rate regardless of the service you receive, you are a rube and do nothing to improve matters.

Believe me, I'd rather my coworkers who don't pull their weight weren't rewarded - and encouraged to stay around - by people tipping excessively for poor service because they are afraid of a "snooty" server.

On the whole the only one who has deserved/earned a good tip from me in the food industry has been my local pizza delivery folks.

Perhaps a change of venue is in order.

Bill, when Kitz was spending a lot of time eating in the restaurants in RiverPlace, like McCormick and Schmicks awhile back, he was known as not a big tipper by the wait staff. He was a 10% to 15% kind of guy, if he even picked up the tab.

I apologize for my tone in this thread. I'm not happy with the phrase, "a big plate of stupid."
There are waiters in this town who are nearly 80 years old. They're not still working because the money's too good to quit.

I'm late to this party, but I've always marveled at Oregon's pay structure for wait staff and bartenders. Back in the day, I worked in restaurants in other states where the minimimum wage ($3.35 at the time) was offset by a tip credit and, in some places, an additional meal credit and uniform allowance. As a result, you basically lived on tips alone. But that was ok, because you weren't taxed on anywhere near the actual amount of tips you received. It made for a pretty good hourly wage at the time.

Wait staff and bartenders aren't retiring rich, but in Oregon, they get a much sweeter deal than their counterparts elsewhere. Not sayin, just sayin'...

My comedian friend in Florida worked recently under a similar pay system and one of his checks from the restaurant where he worked came to 32 cents for 2 weeks. Maybe these waiters were paid that way out of a sense of fairness - or perhaps the restaurant owners were concerned that the waiters wouldn't be able to handle the extra money. I hate to be cynical but I don't think so.
I think it's all part of the transferral of wealth to the top. Just compare what CEOs make to an average worker then and now. I may be hypersensitive to numbers, but I detect a change.
If I were rich I wouldn't make a big deal out of this. At least Dudley had that figured out. Everything is trending up for the wealthy so they should just shut up and leave the waiters alone. Unless they want something like another bottle of champagne.

Bill, your point about the big picture, i.e, a large-scale wealth transfer is well taken. And I had some of those non-existent checks in my day too.

That said, Oregon's unemployment rate is higher than many other states, and our restaurants, along with other small businesses, are a significant source of jobs, especially at the entry level. While it may not resonate well with anyone working in the field, it's a legitimate issue to raise when you look around at other states.

To me, Oregon's pay structure for tipped employees falls in the same category as not being able to pump my own gas. It's unique, but there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason for it.

"I pay 8% off the top on my SALES as a tax on tips I allegedly receive. That's 8% whether or not I actually get tipped and regardless of the size of the tip. Do you want more?"

Sigh. Bartender you clearly didn't get my point and I apologize for not making it clearer. So if you are paying 8% in taxes based on your sales whether or not you get a tip, that is what I want to reform. Quite frankly, the state taxing tips is assinine. A tip is not a wage, its not part of your wage, its a gratuity. Much of this is cultural stupidity. My anger is that given laws like this taxing waitstaff (rather arbitrarily decided by government) we have servers who expect a tip, often a certain % and get upset when they don't get it. Heaven forfend I expect they work for it. Of course since big daddy government is sticking a gun to their head, I can understand their anger.

This is one of the problems with all levels of our government. We're taxing workers now on imputed income (much like the insanity in some child/spousal support laws). It creates all too much work for everyone involved all for the state to get that much more blood from the stone.

"I noted that for the Oregon governor's race, the votes cast for the Constitution and Libertarian candidates altogether totaled 2.69% of votes cast - or about 3X the margin that Kitzhaber ended up with over Dudley. I doubt that any significant percentage of these came out of blue ranks.

Kitzhaber owes this election to these voters."

And Rethuglicans can thank themselves for staying mum on instant runoff voting, which our state constitution already allows (calls it preference voting, it means the same thing -- you rank the candidates 1, 2, 3 ...).

The GOP loves it when the greens spoil a race that a D would win, so they should be sure to take all the time they need to fully enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that they could have won the Governor's race going away if only they weren't trying to ratf--k Dems all the time.