First stop, Gerding Edlen.

Wtf with the weird construction with saying she "earned a paycheck" as a psychiatric nurse? What does that add to " worked" or even "was a"?

If we talk about people at the O who " earned a paycheck" for writing, is that like the little air quotes meaning we can't bring ourselves to call them writers?

Amanda has been quietly smoozing with the phony wine and cheese limo-loving environmental groups. The ones whose mission statements sound "green" and healthy but do nothing more than their City of Portland board member masters tell them to do. Silence on Hayden Island? OK. Unneeded UV for our drinking water? OK. Quite a nice gig for Amanda city cash goes to the ones supporting elections, in more ways than one.

Watch carefully who donates to Fritz's campaign. It won't be a "grassroots" campaign fund, and she's already made contacts about donations. Like I've always said, she's desperate to hang on to the job. Like Fish, there's never been any real doubt that she'd run.

Fritz in a sentence? Often well-intended, but utterly unqualified and untalented for the job. Her frequent "my work as a psychiatric nurse" claims to related experience have always drawn puzzled looks from everyone I know.

Fritz in a sentence? Often well-intended, but utterly unqualified and untalented for the job.

Care to define what makes someone qualified and talented enough to serve? Would a petulant former union pit bull and pension double-dipper be qualified? Would a smart but erratic former mayor's aide? How about the taciturn scion of an old-money Portland family?

Not to defend Fritz, who has been good on some issues, disappointing on others, and not terribly effective overall (but neither has the other rookie, Fish). I just think if we're going to wait around for a Kennedyesque or Churchillian figure to sweep into office and make our little burg Athens of the west we're going to be waiting a very long time.

"What does 'earning a paycheck as a psychiatric nurse' have to do with the job?"

Have these people not noticed who else is on the council?

I think mad skillz in psychiatric care is a definite plus. She might be able to even talk to the inpatients at City Hall.

Amanda Fritz, "We can't afford to NOT build Milwaukie Light Rail".

FAIL

Care to define what makes someone qualified and talented enough to serve?

The qualities and talent aren't easy to put on a resume. It's not a "job" that can easily be "applied" for. But generally? Experience that's related to what you're claiming expertise enough to be paid six figures to do. Being "passionate" about public service isn't the primary quality--though it should be a given.

Fundamentally, someone should at least be able to state their principles, to stand by them, and to work for *all* people they represent and to be able to consider the long-term impact to people and environment. Like you said, none of the current crop meet even the most basic criteria.

Fritz shows weekly that she lacks the experience and talent to make hard, far-reaching decisions. Instead, she substitutes "research" and requests for "more information", which has the style of experience and vision but not the substance.

I just think if we're going to wait around for a Kennedyesque or Churchillian figure to sweep into office and make our little burg Athens of the west we're going to be waiting a very long time.

One of the worst, most pathetic excuses I hear is the one you made--that somehow, we should be happy with what we have, since (insert extreme alternative here) isn't realistic.

"Fritz, ... called the campaign process and raising money "soul destroying."

So that now she is starting the campaign process and raising money we can be correct in saying her soul has been/will be destroyed.

We don't need Kennedy or Churchill. We need someone with some basic common sense and the ability to say,"NO" once in a while.
Knowledge of basic 8th grade math would be a plus, as would a Will Rodgers or Mark Twain sense of humor and delivery.

Paid six figures?

Do you know what the Por5tland City Council salaries are?

Or are you counting the numbers after the decimal point?

for *all* people they represent and to be able to consider the long-term impact to people and environment.

A nice idea in the abstract, and I don't really disagree with you. Unfortunately, most constituents don't pay any attention to politics (us wonks on this blog excepted, of course), and a leader with the best possible ideas and traits is useless if he/she can't get elected. Being able to get elected and being able to govern sadly do not always go hand in hand. And plenty of people with the smarts to govern don't have the stomach for campaigning. Which is why we get such disappointing results-leaders with big egos and thick skins beholden to the special interests (in these parts, developers and labor unions) who can bring in the money and/or votes. It's a terrible way of running things, although anyone who wants to be governed by an enlightened, technocratic elite is always free to move to China.

There are some promising leaders out there (Alvin Alley and Ted Wheeler--now that he's stopped flirting with the dark side--come to mind), but there are only so many of them and there are plenty of elected positions to fill. In the meantime we have to work with what we're given by engaging in the process and holding our solons accountable for their actions or working to get them voted out of office. I did not say we should be happy about this, only that we have to make the best of a flawed system run and supported by flawed people (i.e., all of us).

Randy and Dan took the last pay increase in 2009; Nurse Amanda and Nick Fish did not, neither did Sam. They all get roughly 100 grand a year, grove or take a couple of thou. The salaries are more than double the median income for most Portlanders.
How about selecting 5 individuals at random and letting those people run the city for 6 months? Could things be any worse?

In general, all kinds of people are qualified to serve on a city council.

But NONE of our current crop is qualified to be the hands-on manager of a bureau. Because they generally have no professional experience in the specific field the bureau is concerned with, and they generally have no experiencing managing an organization of any size.

That's why in the corporate world, the directors aren't chosen through an election. They're chosen based on whether or not they can run a department. And in good companies, they're promoted from within as often as possible. In other words, they've spent years doing the jobs they will be managing.

Commissioners make $102,294 a year, Nonny. Just in salary alone. Looks like six figures to me.

Portland Native:How about selecting 5 individuals at random and letting those people run the city for 6 months? Could things be any worse?

Throughout the years at council hearings, often have noticed that those prepared citizens with testimony have better information and knowledge of a situation than the royal five on their perches!

There are many in our city who would be better...and we need to wake up to support them and vote for them. Do not vote for the "anointed" ones by the "insider game" we have had here far too long.

My point exactly, clinamen!

List from Friends of Safe Drinking Water ad page 4 - April 2011 SE Examiner:

Public health problems with covered storage tanks:

Carcinogenic gases end up in homes, schools, and businesses

Death from Salmonella, unvented toxic gases

Rubberized asphalt coatings contain carcinogens from petro chemicals that may leach into water

Covering encourages nitrification and toxins

Future costs - $800 million with debt

Future water rate hikes +85% over next 5 years

Sydney,
You brought up environmental groups.
Wonder what those in the Coalition for a Livable Future think about Amanda going along with Leonard on the water and storage tanks?

I like her phrasing:

"As a former psychiatric nurse, now with two years' experience inside City government"

"Randy and Dan took the last pay increase in 2009"

Don't forget Randy gets $50K/yr from PFDR for life. Then he'll qualify for PERS (one of two people in the state) also. All thanks to his/Minnis' end-around when they were in the legislature.

The fireman also says he is entitled to the pay raise because he saves the taxpayers money by running his bureaus so well.
Not IMO, but what do I know? I am but a lowly taxpayer!

Amanda Fritz goes along with Leonard on the water and covering reservoirs.

FAIL

I am disappointed that as a “nurse” she would substitute pure water for water tainted by chemicals to counter the negative effects of underground storage systems not to mention left over effects that can’t be mitigated as radon.

If you all want my vote, you pull the plug on the entire enterprise as mandated by people in influential positions generating a regulation forcing compliance (LT2) and when EPA comes after us which they probably won't (think teabaggers wanting to do away with EPA) we say:"Make Me!"

All it takes is guts. Got any?

Guts?

The only guts they have is,
G ive
U p
T he
S ucker's -

- money$$

Tsetse, good comment but they are addicted to it to feed their insecure egos.

Flying around city hall is tiring
vibes are bad
weekend time to rejuvenate