Now that the Multnomah County DA's office has announced plans to investigate, perhaps the mayor will resign.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/01/portland_commissioner_leonard.html

I could possibly testify before Sam at a Council meeting and look him in the eye. I feel that if one cannot do that - it might be a good sign that he needs to go.

A smart reporter might detach him- or herself from the specific Breedlove angle and start tracking back the history on Randy Leonard's vociferous defenses of Adams over the last two years, and Adams' equally vociferous advocacy of putting Leonard - against all logic and public opinion - in charge of the Police Bureau.

Within 24 hours of what one might assume were furious phone calls from constituents, Leonard's reaction seems to have evolved from “I’m a little put off that this is considered newsworthy” to calling for an independent investigation. Quite a switch from the last two years of buddy-buddyism.

He knows it's over for Scoutmaster Sam. Just saving his own hide.

What are we talking about jack? As far as I can tell Sam lied about a sexual relationship. I watched the Oregonian interviews and as far as i can tell Sam likes the s***w. How did he cheat/steal? Maybe i don't understand. Are we just mad about the tram thing? Would this have happened if Bo or Sam were a woman?

I was willing to give Mr. Adams the benefit of the doubt. You know, that he met this young man, and later began an adult to adult relationship with him. Gay or straight, if that is the case, perhaps it's not a public matter.

But then, this interview was just painful to watch.

Insert 'heterosexual' for 'homosexual' relationship anywhere here - the result is the same. This 40-something man met a hot young MINOR (and the young man is really extraordinarily beautiful) and they began a 'pre-sexual' relationship [I'll leave it to the imagination and the sensibilities of this blog - but if you think all they did was hold hands before the big 18th birthday, I suspect that you're naive]. After said birthday they fulfill their relationship - again, depending upon what your definition of 'fulfill' is [to quote an icon].

If you put it in the context of an older man and a younger woman, it's called 'grooming'.

Here you have a young man just coming of age, by Adam's own admission confused about his coming out, seeking out an older gay man whom he admires - well, voila - a recipe for a sexual relationship that Sam Adams should have known was not a mature balanced exchange between consenting adults. He did it anyway. And because he lied about it - he knew that it was an unequal bargain.

So Neil Goldschmidt!

This isn't about being gay or straight. It's about taking advantage. I don't know if he should resign or not, but he has done great harm to the gay community (reinforcing awful stereotypes), the City and the State.

come on, shut up. Your city = NAMBLA + massive subsididies for former Bush administration refugees building badminton stadiums. You don't like it? Move to Tacoma.

How did he cheat/steal?

During the election campaign, when asked directly by the media whether he had had sex with Beau Breedlove, a teenager, he repeatedly and forcefully said no. If he had told the truth, he would not be mayor.

He also urged Breedlove to lie. If Breedlove had told the truth, Sam would not be mayor.

Adams stole the election -- plain and simple. And now he needs to give it back.

Your point is well taken.

My hangup with all of this is that it really would not be an issue if Sam hadn't gotten caught. Good, intelligent, competent people do stupid s**t all the time, and sleeping with a young (ok really young) person just seems like a negligible oversight to me. I've got fairly direct knowledge of this type of thing going on at LCLS and I dunno, i don't think its any of my business.

Lots of folks do this crap.

Some might say that Sam did Beau harm and that in itself is the issue. I think the answer there is who the heck knows. I myself had such a relationship with an older woman, and tell ya the truth I had fun and have never thought much about it.

I think this has more to do with Sam the Tram than Sam the Man.

You are in the minority on this one. He's done.

Jack, please forgive me for mentioning the “M” word, but they are reporting that Sam’s press conference was for “only for registered journalists”.

The public was barred! Imagine that - a “secret” press conference. Probably a blatant violation of Oregon’s open meeting laws. Unless they can have an open meeting that is only open to the press.

That alone should get someone tossed from office.

Thanks
JK

Wow, the Oregonian editorial board! That must have been pretty tough for Sammy. Just moves the Oregonian up one notch as the leading source for reliable news.

That whole "I didn't know he was 17" sounds a lot like she looked like she was 15 to me. Sam's done this plenty of times before, he seems to have poor impulse control.

In the land of the blind one-eyed men are kings.

"a “secret” press conference" that was shown live on TV and can be watched at will on the internet whenever you desire!!!! What you mean is that every loon wasn't allowed in to vent. That may have been fun but far from useful.

"Lots of folks do this crap."

Perhaps, but are you saying we should just ignore it, because everyone does it? So just keep the status quo and do nothing? I mean is everyone supposed to keep their 17-year-old boys away from Sam?

My biggest issue is that Sam chose to make this big long-winded "I am being smeared" statement to screw over Bob Ball, make it public and then hire some reporter as payoff. He opened the door, when he could have just shut up (his ego wouldn't allow that though.)

These revelations about the mayor may have been great news for some. Any CoP employee who likes to violate city rules and then lie about it now knows that he/she has no chance of ever being fired. Yahoo! It's a free for all!

Another thing I find really amazing is that Portland has NO method for immediate succession for the office of Mayor.
What if "Grampy" had dropped dead?
Portland is almost a big city now. There should be some changes in the charter, if only for the sake of governance.
Oh yes...and Sam should go NOW!

I think Adams should resign. I don't care what he does in his personal life; I don't care about his sexual orientation. I do care that he not only lied, but encouraged someone else to lie and smeared the reputation of someone else in the process.

I think the age difference is distasteful, but legal - as far as we know. If Adams lied about some things, why not others? That's the whole point: he's proved himself unscrupulous and untrustworthy. Like Jack, I'm angry that we had to deal with this yesterday on a day that should have been nothing but joyful. Adams is an embarrassment to Portland and to the people who voted for him. I say, out with him.

Adams doesn't have the personal integrity to resign for lying and he's fortunate that under Oregon law a recall election can't be started for 6 months. He'll survive (absent evidence that he committed a crime) because the public and the press will be on to other things in 6 months but he's damaged goods. It's unfortunate what his actions have done to the image of City government, to the LBGT community and to his political opponent.

He lied about a sexual relationship.

So did Clinton.

If the kid was 17? Charge him with the crime and move on. If nothing happened prior to 17, then move on.

He is an openly gay man. He has sexual interests in other gay men.

People lie about sex all of the time -- those two commandments are often tied together.

Kulongoski lied too. Not about a sexual relationship that affects 2 people, but about the budget-shortfall not affecting schools.

This lie affects a lot more people than the denial of having sex with a legal consenting adult.

I think people don't like the fact that Sam is gay -- I think it is irrelevant.

John Stewart asked a guy on The Daily Show -- a great question... At what age did you decide to be heterosexual?

Biblicly, it says don't do it. It also says don't get divorced - lots of people do that.

This lie affects two people.

Kulongoski's lie affects many many more.

I don't like Sam's politics, either. George Bush - spend, spend, spend... But this lynching is not right.

In my view the fundamental issue continues to be that the he lied to get elected. He then proceeded to destroy Bob Ball, a potential contender. He waged a campaign of dirty tricks on Sho Dozono. He got elected.

If the truth had emerged during the primary it would have been a whole different ball game.

So in that light I agree with Jack. He stole the election.

I dont see this being about his sexual preference. Like others have said, its about lying and manipulating an election.

But, if everyone wants his sexuality to be irrelevant, he needs to stop using the "First Queer Mayor" title. Sam is the one making his personal life relevant.

My two cents' worth on a number of issues being discussed out there:

1) Whether or not it is a private matter (it is...or rather, was) is not the point, as I see it. The point is that the press learned of it, that they confronted him with the facts, and that he lied about it. This raises all sorts of questions about his credibility and his potentially being beholden to someone or some organization because of a lie.

(2) There is also the issue of his judgment in entering into a relationship, not with a person half his age--I don't really care too much about that--but with a person with whom he was in a mentor-mentee(?) relationship WHILE he was in an existing relationship with Mr. Zuckerman--clear violations of the trust that is built into both such relationships. As someone here wrote, it's also very Goldschmidty.

(3) Finally, as the Willamette Week touches on but doesn't answer, what are the detailed reasons for his hiring the former Portland Mercury reporter Amy Ruiz (one of two persons who covered the story) as his "advisor on sustainability and urban planning," an area in which she admittedly has no expertise? Without more information and given the above, it appears to be an attempt to muzzle further investigation. Read: cover-up.

(4) I also don't know about this whole "cheat and steal" thread. Dude lied, that's clear, but he also crushed Sho in the general--what 65%-35%? Would all of those people who proved the difference in his victory have changed their vote? Dubious, especially here in the PDR of Portland.

(5) Bonafide question: does all this merit his resigning? The consensus here and elsewhere seems to be yes. I think he probably will do so, but I am not sure I want him to do so. I can't explain that inconsistency in my thought.

If he had told the truth, he would have lost the election to Ball, Dozono, or who knows who else would have run against him. But he didn't. He lied.

I'm not convinced that if he hadn't just owned right up to it (i.e., said, yes, I had a relationship with this young person who was 18 at the time, it was poor judgment, but the rest of this is a distraction and an attempt to smear me and there's no story here) that he couldn't have defused the whole thing, moved past it and still gotten elected. I know you disagree, Jack, but there's a lot to be said for honesty and willingness to take one's lumps. We are so much more inclined to forgive when people accept responsibility (and don't tell lies to compound the wrong--a lesson that I, like most parents, keep trying to drum into my kids...) But watching this painful interview, it's clear that Sam still doesn't think setting the record straight and taking ownership were in order, because his fear of losing trumped everything. And that salient fact, along with his ongoing distorted view of the matter, is, to me, the real character failure here.

In the second video towards the end, Sam once again attacks Ball by saying that Ball himself had/has an issue with dating "young men". He is inferring that Ball's dates were "underage".

I wonder where this will lead. Is Sam making sure that Ball has no future politically, whether true or not? Especially since Sam, starting yesterday, is now beginning to see his near dismissal or resignation.

Character is lacking.... Resign and go away.