Fruit baskets, flowers, appliances, gift cards?

I can't wait to see the pile of sex toys and slop buckets. Now the city taxpayer will pay for Beta testing.

Since when does going from elected official to lobbyist bring a "serious pay cut?"

Since spring/summer '11 when Adams decided to not run for Mayor, he's become manic and without a lot of restraint. By the end of this year he'll be advocating the city take over all means of production from businesses that have gotten in bed with him and his crew.

A product endorsement from him would be the kiss of death.

I can't wait for the city to follow the lead of a certain former Dallas weekly newspaper movie and music critic, where staffers will call up to demand freebies and incentives, and then slam the manufacturer or supplier because the freebies weren't enough. "I'm sorry, but that scrap bin sample didn't come with dinner gift certificates for four and toys for my kids. How can you expect to get a contract when you're so cheap?"

Alternately, I wouldn't be surprised if this was a deliberate plan to find employment for Sam's horde after he's gone. Send in a sample, have it rejected, and then have the rejector call up and say "You need help with getting your products considered by the city? Well, I offer reasonable consulting services on that subject, and I take Visa and American Express." Hey, it's no different from the number of magazines and weekly newspapers that hint that getting a "Best of" award might be facilitated by buying a full-page ad, right?

The city has previously acted as an early adopter on a case-by-case basis, Ruiz added, listing the local company Audioname as one example. The Portland firm created a web application that allows users to record and share their names through email and social networks, teaching others the appropriate pronunciation.

Sam: My name is Sam Adams.

Audioname Website: Your name is Douche Bag.

At first it seems like one of Sam Adams' scams ... But it turns out its just plain weird.

Bottom line: If you want the city to consider using your product, you might get a look-see if you submit a proposal not exceeding 8 pages.

Send your RFI Requests to: a graduate [with a] certificate in real estate development at Portland State University—and has worked in real estate finance, community development, and as an attorney in private practice.

I can't get over the feeling that hipsters and the creative class believe that in order for a business to do well or for the economy to improve all you have to do is market its product or service. When the word brand was turned into the verb, branding, it was all downhill. Marketing departments grew and all sorts of brochures, guides, citizen outreach and related knick-knacks to promote one's own agency or NGO seemed to start popping up everywhere.

Even the greenies who SAY they are against turning trees into paper are guilty of a huge portion of paper waste. Saying it comes from recycled pulp does nothing to keep it from being spewed out in the first place. And the pencils! And aerators! And recyclable grocery bags, and note pads and magnets, and events, and and - you just can't get away from the stuff.

Clearly Mayor Sam has fallen prey to his own hype and thinks branding his town and their products is all that needs to be done to promote a business climate in Pdx. Have people been too nice to him? Is he delusional? Where do all these day-dreamers and users come from? In the end, if they can't imagine why they were hired and don't know how to run a city, this gives them focus and a source of never-ending projects to stay employed.

If the brain donors at city hall had made a professional effort to sell this garbage thing, they might have made it work. As it is, they continue being dilettante snake oil salesmen on this.

Shouldn't the city attorny's office be telling this idiot that this is certainly not ethical or legal; reeking of favoritism...oh wait a minute the ass has already done this and gotten away with this on more than one occasion.

This was a good one from the comments at OLive:

Home Depot, Lowe's: quick, send the mayor some bags of blacktop cold patch for the potholes to try out.

293 days left!
We would be better off if the Mayor just took one long vacation before his term is up.
Along with all this busy work, he is unfortunately handing out as many perks as he can.
What is the status of that PSU area URA?

As a local manufacturer, I value user evaluation of a new product.

Unfortunately I prefer sane people to advise me, not unrealistic fools blinded by political correctness and the green agenda.

Chapter 1.03 Code of Ethics-City of Portland

B. City officials ensure public respect by avoiding even the appearance of impropriety.

G. City officials do not give the appearance of impropriety or personal gain by accepting personal gifts.

I fail to see how accepting items to "Test" and evaluate is within the realm of what we elected these bozos to accomplish. There is no way that this should be allowed nor should have been posited in the first place. How does the city think we get into these embarrasments like the parking meter fiasco? How closely related this is to graft? Oh I was just evaluating how the coins and bills slip easily into this slot over here in my wallet.

Does any of this really make a difference? Will the next mayor or mayorette be any better/different than Sammy or for that matter any of the other past Portland mayors for the last 3 decades? No! The bottom of the barrel just keeps getting deeper and more pungent but that's where the brain dead Portland voter continues to scrape.

Teresa, thanks for digging up the city code section covering this. I was also thinking there was something in our state codes limiting "gifts" to public employees.

I sure hope the fix to this blatant grab for freebies is not the creation of a new department that solicits, receives, catalogs, tracks the reviews, and then returns said items back to the vendor. Otherwise, the staffers will simply be tempted to take the products home when they are done with the reviews.

And why stop with products - how about services, food, and drink?

Where are the city and state auditors or legal advisors on this scheme?

Clinamen: What is the status of that PSU area URA?

It's referred to as the "Education URA", and on Wednesday, May 9, the Portland City Councilors will pretend to listen to public testimony at a 2:00 p.m. meeting in Council Chambers.

More fraud, waste and abuse.
I do purchasing where I work. I don't need to solicit samples to play with we can find what we need just fine without opening the process to the illusion of graft and kickbacks.

The fact Mayor Sam is making this plea only proves his ethics are questionable..
As if we needed more proof.

Clinamen, the PSU/OHSU Education URA is recently being touted by Sam and staff to the press that the District will be a job generator like SoWhat with its bio-tech jobs. Not kidding. Look for it in our local papers soon. It will generate research, education jobs at the expense of $180 Million URA TIF dollars plus all the other taxpayer millions.

So, like the sales job that Sam used with Vera's help, Research is the magic word like Biotech. The lynchpin. But there's not one bona fide biotech job in SoWhat.

Sam is calling urine analysis at the labs in the OHSU Health Club building as biotech jobs. All that SoWhat has generated is when OHSU moved a new biotech endeavor to Florida.

Max & Clinamen
Just recieved a "love note" from PDC via USPS inviting the property owner at our address to attend not only the Education URA on May 9th but also something April 4th at 9:30 AM in Council Chambers called the "Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative"....sounds like something is "a foot" to make the neighborhood less prosperous. Oh well looks like all six districts are on the east side....