"Wouldn't it be great if a real skeptic of condo towers and streetcars -- somebody not in the pocket of the Goldschmidt rent-seekers -- took Liberty's place instead?"
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I agree. Having served in a public role, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemie, but somebody needs to do it. Preferably somebody who was not a yes-man (or -woman).

What Portland needs is a group of skeptics who are so feed up that they ain't gonna take it anymore. Maybe a liberal/prog/Demo version of the T-party revolt. I suggest a well known Tax Law Prof, but....

I think the rebellion in Clackamas County is going to disrupt the status quo and lead to big changes.
With Robert Liberty leaving there's another opportunity to steer the region towards more sanity.
An exception to the club should be appointed to the Metro Council.
It's been a disaster having quintuplets and all things unanimous with no diverse viewpoints represented.

A Bob Stacey or Jonathan Nicholas would be insulting to the many people and communities disastisfied with Metro.

But that's OK for BlueOregon.
They think it would be a big boost to have Stacey there.
http://www.blueoregon.com/2011/01/metro-robert-liberty-announces-resignation-stacey-expresses-interest/#comments

Let's face reality. The Metro ideas about corridors, centers, developing UGB expansions, WES, MAX and Transit Oriented Development have not worked out so well.

Metro's CFO Michael Jordan declared last summer that the Green Line was built in the wrong place and that they needed new ideas on how to more effectively invest tax dollars to truly trigger private investment.
No kidding.
Consider this. Interstate MAX should never have been built because it will never get the full Monty of Vancouver buy in. By nearly everyone's hindsight WES was a big mistake. The Green Line was built in the wrong place and now the $1.7 Billion Milwaukie Light Rail is about to be the biggest blunder yet.

If the Metro council consists only those who think we need more of the same how can we possibly expect anything different?

We need a genuine rogue on the Metro Council to jar loose the momentum to repeat the past.

If Bob Stacey fills the Liberty spot on the council it might as well be a council of 5 Sam Adams like it is now.

And that's Creepy.

Stop leaning on excuses. Demand a rogue for Metro and help Clackamas County's Rebellion.

I'm still wondering why the City of Portland only contributes to 1/3rd of the Oregon-side metro population (1/4th if you count Clark County, who doesn't have a horse in the Metro race) -- however looking at Metro's district map two districts are primarily Portland, and two other districts include parts of Portland.

Someone should force Metro to redraw the map so that Portland gets two votes - PERIOD. East Multnomah County gets one vote, Clackamas and Washington each get one vote, plus another district split between the two for Tualatin, Wilsonville, West Linn, Lake Oswego, and Tigard.

"Liberty's leaving! Stacey might take his place...."

I think that move from elation to dispair just about gave me whiplash.

I think its funny that some here seem to think that Liberty is somehow not lefty enough. Different perceptions I guess.

Re: "a 'green' gig at the U of O":

"The role of executive director is a new position for the three-year-old program [Sustainable Cities Initiative]. Duties will focus on building key relationships with state and federal policy makers and others to grow the program that integrates research, education, service and public outreach around issues of sustainable city design."
http://uonews.uoregon.edu/archive/news-release/2011/1/uo’s-sustainable-cities-program-hires-executive-director

Neither the narrow coverage linked nor this unlinked puff from WW's Nigel Jaquiss mentions Mr Liberty's ardent promotion of the Milwaukie Light Rail:
http://blogs.wweek.com/news/2011/01/03/robert-liberty-resigning-from-metro-successor-could-be-bob-stacey/#comments

Why not have a special election? The seat doesn't belong to Mr. Liberty or the Metro Board any more than Obama's Senate seat belonged to Blago.

It's a violation of the public trust to have an election, and a loser, and then appoint the loser to the Metro board anyway.

Liberty is a "player"; he might have been a good land use lawyer were it not for that ambition. Now it's all about who, not what he knows.

Five years ago or so, I wrote a grant proposal competing for metro funds to spay and neuter community cats. I was basically told before hand that my proposal was good, but that our non-profit had no chance of being considered, since Robert Liberty was a friend of Mike Oswald's at Multnomah County Animal Control and we weren't favored.

There is really no chance of honesty and fair dealing in Portland problem solving; higher education is now being oppressed by the good old dogma.

People outside of Oregon should be looking a little deeper. Federal law has contributed to the revitalization of many central cities. Oregon is
"special" mostly in the sense that under-handed and organized crime dealings are not often recognized for what they are. For the propaganda.

With Bragdon and Liberty both gone, I'd like to see else someone who will take a skeptical view of the Columbia River Crossing mega-project. I can see the need, but the 12-lane crossing at $4 BILLION gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I'm scared #$%#less by the Brookings economist's report ( http://www.plaidpantry.com/CRC_Financial_Analysis_by_Impresa_Inc.pdf ) making a plausible case that proposed CRC costs could go way higher. (Even a 10% overrun would cost more than the whole Sellwood Bridge project.)

That's why I voted for Stacey in November even though on other issues I like Hughes fine. It's clear there will in fact be a huge project, and I'm pretty much OK with that, but I would like to see somebody who will at least ask some hard questions about cost and design and get them discussed publicly.

But I agree with Mister Tee... whoever it is, I don't see why the public can't vote on it, if there's more than a year left in the term.

Tom Cox would be a decent choice.

Somebody better check up on Stacy's conduct over at 1,000 creeps before he is appointed to anything

"Tom Cox would be a decent choice."

I don't believe that Tom lives in the district. Perhaps Dave Lister does.

Stacey is horrible and no different than the other Metro councilors who would spend $4 Billion on a light rail only CRC.

Progress would mean removal of them all. Not adding another clone to the mix.

But wait......

blueoregon loves Mr Liberty. And they want Stacy appt'd to his seat.

(Puke)