When Portland Mayor Tom Potter announced that he was embarking on a survey of all the city's residents to develop a long-range "vision" for the city, it sort of made sense. Many chief executives embark on such quests early in their tenures. If nothing else, they send off signals that the new chief will adopt an agenda responsive to the wishes of his or her constituents.

As time went on, however, "Vision PDX" started to stray into some pretty goofy territory. Suddenly it became a place for the city to get all PC about multi-culturalism -- so much so that the questionnaire was translated into all manner of languages. Laotian, traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, the list went on and on. I was in favor of gathering input from these communities, but producing complete translations of the questionnaire seemed a little over-the-top.

Then came the ceremonial tossing of the survey results, substituting what the planning bureaucrats wished people had said. When the survey came back with lots of criticism of the city's current direction, the results were quickly swept under the rug, and a new vision announced. As best I can tell, it is as follows:

Portland's Vision for 2030:

Shaped by the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland connects people and nature to create an international model of equity and sustainability. We are a city of communities. Our distinct neighborhoods and vibrant downtown are safe, energizing civic and cultural spaces. Our diverse population, innovative businesses and forward-thinking leaders work together to ensure livability for all.

Well, the "vision quest" goes on, and now we're back to multi-culturalism. Today the city invites people to a series of "world cafés" that it's going to be putting on. And of course, the invitations have to be printed in all sorts of languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Somali, French, Vietnamese...

The stated goal of the cafés is to discuss creation of a permanent "multicultural Community Gathering Center,... a space for cross cultural collaboration, community organizing and leadership development.... The Center would be a place for Portland's diverse communities to gather, interact and communicate."

Now, I'm as open to multi-culturalism as the next guy, and I'm even willing to watch the city spend some money on this. I don't want to be there the day the Arabs and the Israelis have a frank discussion, but hey, it's all good. Your poor, your tired, your hungry, etc.

However, to link this somehow to the "vision" that the average Portlander said he or she wanted on that survey seems like quite a stretch. To my uninformed eye, this is just another example of how public opinion in Portland counts only when the public tells the politicians and bureaucrats what they already wanted to hear. And if it doesn't, they just do what they want, and act as though that's what the public told them, anyway.