Willy Week continues to do great work in exposing the government public relations juggernaut that is draining the Portland area's tax coffers dry while poisoning impressionable minds with bureaucratic propaganda. But in its listing today of flacks at the Port of Portland, it left out Tom Imeson, the ultimate Goldschmidt crony, who when last heard from was raking in a good load of cash as the Port's "director of public affairs." That's a p.r. job, isn't it? At least a good part of the time.
The fact that Imeson didn't make the WW roster shows that if anything, the numbers of flacks and amounts of salary portrayed in the weekly's series understate the problem. And it remains to be seen what is going to be done about it. Certainly at a minimum, candidates for public office ought to start hearing questions and comments about it at every turn. Government in these parts has devolved to a constant and expensive flow of hot air, with little or no substance.
Comments (9)
As the author of the WW article, I can say that we debated whether to include Imes in the list. But we ruled early on to limit it to people who spend most of their work hours actually providing information to the public. As one of eight directors at the Port, Imes is pretty far removed from that task, although his title is "public affairs director."
The answer to most problems seems to be "more PR" (see earlier post about the Central East Side). This is clearly a case of "if all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail".
In some organizations the director (or manager) of public affairs is a person who heads up the lobbying function i.e. his/her focus is on influencing legislators rather than the general public. This may be the case with Imeson. But whichever role he's playing, it's a total waste of hard-earned taxpayer money.
In 2004, the Salem Statesman Journal in a series of articles accused Tom Imeson of numerous instances of influence peddling in the Kulongoski administration. The editorial that concluded the series described what it called the "Goldschmidt-Imeson-Kulongoski web" as, "It's enough to make Oregonians sick to their stomachs about state government."
Of course, that didn't stop Bill Wyatt from hiring Imeson at the Port of Portland, or Kitzhaber from appointing him as his transition chief.
James,
Left off the list of City of Portland PR staff are Jimmy Brown, the Portland Water Bureau's lead PR guy and a childhood friend of Randy Leonard.
A friend of Ty Kovatch's wife who was hired into a PR position at the Water Bureau is also not on the list(can't think of her name at the moment, but WW reported on her hiring.)
I would guess that their combined salaries would add close to another couple hundred thousand to the City total.
It's getting to the point that when one local government employee picks up a shovel and digs one shovel full then 129 different government PR flakes sends out a press release glamorizing the feat-that's part of the job anyway.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Willy Week continues to do great work in exposing the government public relations juggernaut that is draining the Portland area's tax coffers dry while poisoning impressionable minds with bureaucratic propaganda. But in its listing today of flacks at the Port of Portland, it left out Tom Imeson, the ultimate Goldschmidt crony, who when last heard from was raking in a good load of cash as the Port's "director of public affairs." That's a p.r. job, isn't it? At least a good part of the time.
Comments (9)
As the author of the WW article, I can say that we debated whether to include Imes in the list. But we ruled early on to limit it to people who spend most of their work hours actually providing information to the public. As one of eight directors at the Port, Imes is pretty far removed from that task, although his title is "public affairs director."
But for the curious: Imes' salary is $194,610.
Posted by James Pitkin | May 25, 2011 5:23 PM
They also left out Trimet's Carolyn Young at $160k, although maybe her "communications" is supposedly internal rather than external.
Posted by AL M | May 25, 2011 5:24 PM
The answer to most problems seems to be "more PR" (see earlier post about the Central East Side). This is clearly a case of "if all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail".
Posted by John | May 25, 2011 5:49 PM
In some organizations the director (or manager) of public affairs is a person who heads up the lobbying function i.e. his/her focus is on influencing legislators rather than the general public. This may be the case with Imeson. But whichever role he's playing, it's a total waste of hard-earned taxpayer money.
Posted by Ickabod | May 25, 2011 6:08 PM
The answer to most problems seems to be "more PR"
Only when you want to camoflage the fact that you're really not doing anything on the taxpayer's dime.
Steve's Corollary - More PR = Less actual work-product
Posted by Steve | May 25, 2011 6:57 PM
In 2004, the Salem Statesman Journal in a series of articles accused Tom Imeson of numerous instances of influence peddling in the Kulongoski administration. The editorial that concluded the series described what it called the "Goldschmidt-Imeson-Kulongoski web" as, "It's enough to make Oregonians sick to their stomachs about state government."
Of course, that didn't stop Bill Wyatt from hiring Imeson at the Port of Portland, or Kitzhaber from appointing him as his transition chief.
Posted by Fred Leonhardt | May 25, 2011 7:18 PM
Hasn't Imeson been the Goldschmidt replacement?
Posted by Ben | May 25, 2011 7:32 PM
James,
Left off the list of City of Portland PR staff are Jimmy Brown, the Portland Water Bureau's lead PR guy and a childhood friend of Randy Leonard.
A friend of Ty Kovatch's wife who was hired into a PR position at the Water Bureau is also not on the list(can't think of her name at the moment, but WW reported on her hiring.)
I would guess that their combined salaries would add close to another couple hundred thousand to the City total.
Posted by f.jones | May 26, 2011 9:39 AM
It's getting to the point that when one local government employee picks up a shovel and digs one shovel full then 129 different government PR flakes sends out a press release glamorizing the feat-that's part of the job anyway.
Posted by lw | May 26, 2011 10:18 AM