Sam Adams had to return the Prius because he's now a "Post Ass"...

May I suggest that not only does it need to be fumigated, but the upholstery should also be steam cleaned. Even then I would still find it awful icky to sit in that car.

My thoughts exactly! John Benton.

Portland waits a year and a half after an accident to repair the damage?

"several other dings and dents from other occasions"

No pattern there at all.

$8K for dents and dings? The repair shop must have a "connection" in City Hall.

Well, those cars have been known to combust....perfect: Liar, liar, car on fire!

Drive it like it's publicly owned!

What about insurance? $8,000 seems high.

Why does the mayor need his own city car?

DD: I'm sure the city -- as with most large organizations -- is "self-insured." If you are big enough you can have your own risk pool and cut out the profit to the middleman. Good sense.

Wait, what? The car isn't covered under an insurance policy?

I would think he would want to take the street car...or Max… or the bus. He sure seems to think the rest of us should. That $8000 would buy a lot of all-day tickets.

Yes ride the bus. That's what they want the rest of us to do. Trimet is so damn good no one at city hall should have their own car or parking spot for the own they drive from home.

So Sam the Sham gets us again. Only $8K this time, but rolling snowballs can get bigger.
I wonder what Nutsy would have cost us?

Why does the mayor need his own city car

Why does much of the city need a car?

I understand firemen needing their trucks. I understand the street crews and the water/sewer crews needing their trucks and equipment. And even police officers need a vehicle (albeit not always a high powered Crown Victoria).

But the Mayor? The "Planning and Sustainability" department? What's wrong with the bus, like the rest of us?

There's a LOT of City of Portland cars (including some with California plates) in the basement of the Planning & Sustainability Building on 4th Avenue...the vast majority of those cars sit around and do nothing, while there's a bus stop at the front door, a Streetcar stop around the corner, more bus stops a block over in any direction, and MAX just one or two blocks away.

The $8,000 is a phantom - The city has its own body shop that did the repairs and billed the mayors' budget. No money really changes hands...it is an accounting line entry. City Fleet charges every Bureau for vehicle maintainence and they charge alot...but that's another story.

The City also doesn't have any insurance. It just pays its claims out of budget funds.

Did they take this out?

How many gallons of Purell you can pour into a Prius? Likely not enough.

This car was originally purchased for and driven by mayor Tom Potter. I drive by city hall every day as I drop my wife off to work across the street. I remember how Mr. Green Jeans Mayor Potter had his own private parking place literally just past the sidewalk at his office door. The Prius (also known as Pious by some) would be in your face on the sidewalk where the little people could observe it every day.
Prior to mayor Tom, Vera's wheels consisted of an unmarked but obvious PPB Crown Victoria parked in the same spot, piloted by a sworn officer. The city hall royals have their perks. Meanwhile, street parking for the pleebs gets scarcer and more costly.

“the 2005 city-owned gold Prius that Adams was driving near City Hall that June afternoon looked a little worse for the wear, with a big scratch from the crash that matched several other dings and dents from other occasions.”

Obviously Sammyboy’s driving skills are as bad as his money handling/budgeting skills. Remember the crash where he totaled his own pickup passing on the right. The closer he got to the end of his term, it seemed the more he was driving everywhere all while directing others to get out of their cars and use alternatives. With Sammyboy not driving a City owned vehicle, the City’s insurance rates should go down. And yes, definitely the interior should be fumigates, thoroughly cleaned and then be sealed with a scotch guard like treatment to seal over what may be left in the interior fibers.

I don't know if Sam had a police driver for some trips, but yes, Vera's car was in the private spot by the door. At $8000 a dent, her driver=body guard probably saved the city his salary many a month.
The parking spot looks like it was carved out of the City Hall landscape, which means Vera did not cost the city any parking meter revenue in that high-demand area.
Slightly off: Anyone know how many E-plated Priuses the city has?

I believe Randy always insisted on a sedan chair.

I hope they take it to Leif's so all the clips holding the car together get replaced.

I work two blocks from City Hall and take walks a few days a week. That same Prius has been parked underneath the westside portico every time I've walked by the building since Mayor Char-lie took office.

From a cursory look at it as I've walked by, the outside looks showroom new.