Portland sign crusade being run out of Water Bureau
A concerned reader writes:
I keep waiting for you to post about [Portland city commissioner] Randy [Leonard] creating a position in the Water Bureau for somebody to inspect/regulate/enforce sign size regulations. I heard just a brief blip about it over the weekend on the radio, then nothing more.Supposedly the fines this person imposes are going to pay for her time. But why is the work being done out of the Water Bureau? The mission creep over there is breathtaking. Given the astronomical increases in the city's water rates, should the folks in that bureau be gallivanting around on the Admiral's latest pet peeve? It's almost as bad as them getting involved with citywide biodiesel rules, playing landlord to the Rose Festival, running builder demonstration projects, and doing all the other fun stuff that he dreams up for them on weekends.The sign inspector positions have historically been [in the] BDS [Bureau of Development Services], until the two women filling the slots were laid off a year or two ago. Since then, nobody’s been enforcing/regulating signs, until now. Obviously, signs have nothing to do with the Water Bureau. However, the woman now appointed to the role is a good friend of Randy’s.... being a friend of Randy’s, she’s untouchable.
| Posted at 9:48 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (17)
Because that is the bureau from which we are all getting hosed...
Posted by Ralph | March 2, 2011 10:25 AM
I am sure Randy is able to dream this stuff up any day of the week.
Posted by none | March 2, 2011 10:31 AM
We really need to sue. Maybe we can start a fund of small contributions from Portland citizens to pay legal fees. The thing is that there is not much reward for attorneys to pursue these things on their own.
Posted by Snards | March 2, 2011 10:45 AM
Let us all remember that Randy is a bully. When he finds out who is funding any opposition to him, those folks will find themselves the victims of his thuggery in the form of increased and expensive fire inspections, BDS violations and anything else he can conceive.
It will take some nervy folks who are well funded to oppose him. As long as Randy has the support of the development weasels the rest of us are pretty stuck.
If I were younger, or dumber, I might take on the fight. However when you have lived more days than you will live, your enthusiasm for confrontation diminishes....unfortunately.
Posted by portland native | March 2, 2011 11:02 AM
I read today that we are the eighth rudest city in the world. No root causes identified.
Maybe Randy Leonard and Sam Adams have made us so rude. Really, how else to react to their nepotism, cronyism, pettiness, and sheer, bald-faced, corruption and incompetence? Who wouldn't be grumpy?
http://engineering.foursquare.com/2011/02/28/how-we-found-the-rudest-cities-in-the-world-analytics-foursquare/
Posted by gaye harris | March 2, 2011 11:05 AM
English-speaking world, that is. I was wondering about that. Somehow, I think it would become more interesting once you study rudeness in places like Beijing and Bilbao.
Posted by gaye harris | March 2, 2011 11:10 AM
Nothing new, Randy placed more than a dozen BDS employees in the Water Bureau several years ago when BDS ran short of funds. Some of them perform Water Bureau work, but several of them perform functions that are part of the BDS mission. Randy also has a full time staff person on the Water Bureau payroll, and we know all about his use of Water funds to pay for loos, parks, Rose Festival building improvements, etc.
Randy knows that no one will stop him, so he will continue to place his friends in the Water Bureau and use Water funds for his pet programs and projects for as long as he is in charge. Rate payers will continue to be fleeced, a few will complain, but Randy knows he can ride out any storm.
Posted by Mick Farr | March 2, 2011 11:48 AM
"The mission creep over there is breathtaking. Given the astronomical increases in the city's water rates"
Mr Bog - You've never heard of back'n'fill?
a) Determine unmet need for enforcement
b) Hire one person to enforce and note greivous offenders
c) Proclaim the level of corruption this employee found is amazing
d) Use that as justification to hire many more
e) Raise price of city service to cover new employees
f) Go home at night with smile thinking of how many people you have now added under your feet.
Posted by Steve | March 2, 2011 3:38 PM
Greetings, it is mentioned that the "mission creep" under Leonard is breathtaking.
Does anyone have data on this? Something like how much of funding comes from add-on amendments.
Which commissioner would our funding-by-amendment champ?
Posted by Joe Meyer | March 2, 2011 3:41 PM
Yeah, these Commissioners may be champs!
But the people are chumps for putting up with it.
Posted by Starbuck | March 2, 2011 4:09 PM
Hmmmm....
http://www.portlandonline.com/mayor/index.cfm?c=49278&a=339869
Posted by none | March 2, 2011 5:06 PM
Randy has been busy with signs since he saw IKEA's and went ballistic. Maybe he should work on keeping mercury from getting into the Columbia wellfield from the well pump near Blue Lake.
Posted by Dean G. | March 2, 2011 5:33 PM
Good link none. Right now I'm to tired to try to look past all the double speak, smoke clouds and mirrors to figure out who's getting the shaft and who got rewarded. Certainly has an interesting oder.
Posted by dman | March 2, 2011 5:34 PM
none's link means that Commissioner Saltzman has told Mayor Adams that he won't run against Mayor Adams in 2012.
Posted by Isaac Laquedem | March 2, 2011 7:15 PM
This is just great. Portland's new motto -- Mission: Creep
Go by submarine!
Posted by Mojo | March 3, 2011 7:52 AM
Is Randy trying to make himself a modern day Robert Moses, except without actually building useful infrastructure?
Posted by MachineShedFred | March 3, 2011 8:03 AM
Dean G.:...Maybe he should work on keeping mercury from getting into the Columbia wellfield from the well pump near Blue Lake.
Would like to know more about that?
Posted by watching for our children | March 3, 2011 9:15 PM