I think it's very important that the driving stuff not distract from what a giant D-bag Jefferson Smith is on his own in so many other areas. That would be a shame.

This driving record could actually help him because his suck-up followers are spinning it as, "He's an awesome guy with one little bitsy problem", and that plays better than the truth: That he's a mess. A violent, reckless, irresponsible loser.
Max Brumm, who got to know him during the campaign, thinks he may be a sociopath, and if you go down the old checklist it reads like Jeffy's bio. Even the creepy way he goes back to the "best heckles" in his interview about the driving, speaks of a man who could possible be missing a normal range of human feelings. He seemed quite jovial and uncaring about the violence in that one too. Violence he admitted being into going back to college.

My favorite spin came from this group called Bike Walk Vote. In their earlier endorsement of Jeffy one of them said, "Jefferson Smith has the vision and leadership that will help us get to the future where all Portlanders can safely and comfortably walk, bike and use transit to get where they need to go.”

I mean here they represent people who could actually die if someone like Jeffy barreled through their neighborhood at 40mph, right? This group actually represents the people out there walking and biking on the streets that Jeffy is driving on.

On and by the way, if they did get hit on their bike, and were riding in an ambulance, Jeffy might refuse to yield to the emergency vehicle as he did back in 2003.

So this is a case of a group spinning against their own group. If they're not careful, they will blow out a spin muscle. They could even spin their way into another dimension. Supporting Jeffy could take them through a wormhole into a multi-verse of B.S.

Let's face it: The only vehicle we don't have to worry about Jefferson Smith driving is the Mars Rover.

So to the voters of Portland, I say take a little time and ponder how shaky the driving record is, but don't let it be the defining negative about this clown.

This guy has so many more problems to give, that it would be unfair if we focused on just one.

We need to refocus on the issues, and boy, does Jeffy have issues.

From the comments: "The campaign staff for Portland mayoral candidate Jefferson Smith released the following copy of his driving record and infractions to KGW Wednesday":

· 6/6/1993 - Improper Left Turn
· 10/25/1993 - Suspension - Failure to pay fine (rescinded)
· 6/27/1994 - Speeding - 95 in 55
· 3/17/1995 - Failure to renew vehicle registration
· 3/28/1995 - Failure to pay fee
· 3/28/1995 - Failure to deliver vehicle documents on transfer
· 4/2/1995 - Speeding - 69 in 45
· 5/17/1995 - Speeding - 80 in 65
· 6/19/1995 - Improvement Letter - Step 1 driver improvement letter
· 9/9/1995 - Suspension - Failure to attend hearing (rescinded before going into effect)
· 10/22/1995 - Speeding - 80 in 55
· 5/30/1996 - Improvement Letter - Warning - step 2 driver improvement course
· 7/20/2002 - Speeding - 52 in 35
· 12/30/2002 - 12/31/2002 - Suspension - Failure to attend hearing
· 1/28/2003 - Failure to carry proof of insurance
· 1/28/2003 - Speeding - 75 in 50
· 9/13/2003 - Failure to yield to an emergency vehicle
· 12/19/2003 - Adult driver improvement restriction - Based on 3 moving violations within an 18 month period, driving privileges restricted for 30 days to prohibit driving between midnight and 5 a.m. except to and from, or for, employment.
· 1/4/2004 to 4/6/2004 - Suspension - Failure to attend hearing
· 3/24/2004 - Driving while suspended
· 4/6/2004 - License reinstated
· 4/8/2004 - Improper right turn
· 6/29/2004 - Suspension - Driver suspended for 30 days (vacated)
· 7/9/2004 - Suspension - Driver suspended for 30 days based on receiving 4 or more driver improvement violations within the 24 month period preceding the date of record review under the driver improvement program (reinstated 6/20/2006)
· 7/15/2004 - Suspension - Driver suspended for 30 days based on receiving 4 or more driver improvement violations within the 24 month period preceding the date of record review under the driver improvement program (reinstated 6/20/2006)
· 9/1/2004 - Suspension - Failure to appear in hearing
· 9/7/2004 - Suspension - Failure to appear in hearing
· 6/20/2006 - License reinstated
· 1/11/2009 - Speeding - 40 in 25
· 3/31/2009 - Failure to obey traffic control device
· 1/12/2010 - Improper display of validating stickers & failure to carry proof of insurance
· 5/14/2010 to 1/20/2011 - Suspension - Failure to pay fine
· 8/20/2010 - Car stolen
· 8/25/2010 - Fine paid
· 1/20/2011 - License reinstated

Improper = 3 times.

Failure = 14 times!

Let the Portland voter add one more: "Failure to become Mayor."

I wonder what his record was while Living in Washington DC, New York and Massachusetts?

I think there was a stint in Los Angeles as well.

Max Brumm, who got to know him during the campaign, thinks he may be a sociopath, and if you go down the old checklist it reads like Jeffy's bio. Even the creepy way he goes back to the "best heckles" in his interview about the driving, speaks of a man who could possible be missing a normal range of human feelings.

Wow. Portland certainly couldn't have a mayor who seems to need to quickly scan the room before reacting, so he can display the proper emotion required.

Or a mayor who, absent those social cues, seems to freeze up like a deer in the headlights.

Such a mayor might express inappropriate juvenile impulses and lash out like a child at people who criticize him for such impulses.

Such a mayor might feel he's in way over his head managing a city, and express that nagging insecurity by surrounding himself with yes-men and yes-women who fawn over him and praise him for, oh, just saying, posing with a bicycle helmet or a farmers' market stand.

Such a mayor might look like a terrified but defiant 12-year-old when called to such grown-up responsibilities as appearing before City Council.

Such a mayor might seem incredibly uncomfortable in any off-the-cuff situation, preferring to hide behind, oh, you know, social media.

Such a mayor may be completely psychologically hollow at the core.

Thank goodness Portland would never make the mistake of electing a mayor like that.

Jefferson is getting more attractive. here's why:
1. Hales gave us the failed, money wasting streetcar and will continue his rape of the taxpayer.

2. Hopefully Smith, will self destruct as bad as Sammy, and make the city unable to carry out any more of their crackpot schemes such as condo bunkers, sustainability, smart growth, bike lanes, green anything, toy trains masquerading as real transportation, urban renewal, climate control.

A totally crippled government might (hopefully) get back to providing water & sewer, enough police to stop the gangs and filling the pot holes

But I dream .

Thanks
JK

The other good thing would be that Hales would probably drop out of sight if he lost. But I can't pull the trigger on Nutsy. Write in LVGV.

I think the days of these projects are almost over. The economic collapse articles continue on, and they make sense, especially if there's a war with Iran. (likely)

If Jeffy wins we live with him for the rest of our lives. If Charlie wins, we get an adult who could be hamstrung by economic realities that weren't there last time.

The global economy is clearly worse than we thought. Some of England's Royal Family don't even have clothes to wear, and are forced to walk around naked.

"Hopefully Smith, will self destruct as bad as Sammy, and make the city unable to carry out any more of their crackpot schemes such as condo bunkers, sustainability, smart growth, bike lanes, green anything, toy trains masquerading as real transportation, urban renewal, climate control."

I dont know. As we're seeing with Sam, once you're not beholden to a reelection, the crazy really comes out.

Not sure why you would bag on the Oregonian for this one. If Smith would have been forthcoming, it's one story. But since he half-truthed, it keeps coming out in bits. They have a responsibility to see it through.

This is a tough one. Do you vote for the liar who wants to bankrupt the city, or the spoiled brat whack job?

I guess I lean towards voting in the spoiled brat whacko on the grounds that he will most likely be less effective. Everyone will just laugh and ignore him.

Gridlock is the best possible outcome for the city. A few years of gridlock might allow the economy to heal on its own.

I wonder if the traffic ticket debacle might be just the opening salvo leading up to an “October surprise”.

I'll probably go with the write-in option even though it's spitting in the wind, but if I had to choose between a nutcase and a liar I'd take the liar everytime. At least they are predictable.

After all these well founded comments, it boils down to voting for the candidate that will utterly fail after elected, and most likely would fail a recall.

The primary, the candidates we had, the campaigns they ran, and the failure of our media didn't produce a reasonable choice for November.

So vote for the the candidate that we can best recall and try again. That's likely Smith. But I'll be writing in LaVonne. By the way can LaVonne or LVGV be copyrighted or employ some other legal device that Secretary of State Brown would accept as a valid name for LaVonne.

I think the model that more closely fits is "nutcase liar" compared to "adult liar".

I do agree on the predictable part. Jeffy's got brains so he's quite capable of coming up with a scheme that's very devious. Fortunately, it has to pass through the vast screwed-up parts of his brain on the way out, and that makes it easier to spot.

Several pro-Jefferson comments I've read say that the commenter never met the man, but... Well, I have and watched his speeches online. I was really surprised at what a jerk he was. I mean I'm a progressive. I certainly didn't have a bias against him going in as he would later claim. The knowledge of what a mess Jeffy is, has actually been a burden for me.

It's like an unwanted civic duty to try and prevent a huge mistake. I'm not enjoying this. I no more want to be called to write about Jefferson Smith, than I want to be called to jury duty.

Look, if you don't talk with him in person just read the email he sent to the players about the suspension from sports for violent behavior. Just read the last couple of lines:

"I am emailing each of the guys whose email address I have. I recognize y'all have built a special space. If my time and your will permits, I'll honor that space and culture. Cheers, JS"

Can't you see what an overbearing loser this guy is?

Bill McDonald:

40 mph? More like 80 mph, assuming his hybrid car will go that fast.

In the BlueOregon thread on the subject of Smith's driving record, someone asked if it was too late to mount a write-in campaign for Eileen Brady. Kari Chisholm replied: "Yes. In a runoff election, you can't write-in anyone."

This appears to be in direct contradiction to your campaign to write-in Ms. Griffin-Valade. What's the deal?

If that's what he said, then Kari's got it wrong. There is a space for write-ins in every election in Oregon. The write-in votes for any particular candidate are not counted unless the total number of write-ins exceeds the number votes for either or both of the two listed candidates.

http://www.oregonvotes.org/doc/publications/elec_law_summary.pdf#page=17