want to explore something interesting? try Lisa Libby's actual work experience, and her role in hiring Ruiz.

I've been mulling new nicknames for Sam in light of his recent, er, admissions.

I have lit on Sam the Tramp.

I spoke with Amy Stevens, one of the mayors public advocates, last Thursday, when I asked for Sam Adams resignation. I expressed a number of reasons why I wanted the mayor to step down. Ms. Stevens was especially defensive when I explained my disgust with the Amy Ruiz hire. She went on at length about Ruiz's "other qualifications," you know, enthusiasm and the like. Ms. Stevens job title should be reversed..........
"Mayor's advocate to the public."

Are all these people on his staff? Or are some of these people in the bureaus. If they're all staff, it's a heck of a lot of people.

You noticed?

Anyone want to bet if half these people were eliminated from the public payroll, that noone would notice?

cue city hall witch hunt for leaker to bojack.org in 3... 2... 1...

Four people working on "Education". Interesting since public education is not under the purview of the City of Portland. And I thought PPS had too many administrators.

Having 34 (now 33) people on staff is just part of his stimulus package. He's creating green jobs! Sure, they don't produce anything but shoddy YouTube videos, and crap policy papers (PDF of course, or it wouldn't be green!) outlining where to shove streetcars where no one wants them (Jim Karlock joke here), and finding new and exciting ways to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on "linchpins" and "shovel-ready" pork; but it's 33 people getting paid so that they can prop up the latté and condo sectors of the economy!

IT'S ALL PART OF THE RECOVERY PLAN!

Too much at the end? Sorry.

I wouldn't be calling YouTube videos or PDF documents exactly green.

It takes a digital video camera to take the YouTube video and those suckers usually run on some sort of battery using a volatile compound of some sort. Those have to be charged from an outlet and eventually disposed of. Both negatives on being "green".

And those PDFs are created on a computer hooked a juice sucking monitor of some sort. Burn some coal out at Boardman to run all of those at City hall.

My suggestion if City Hall really wants to be green...carve everything in stone. At least they won't be able to delete it...

Managers, Advisors, and Coordinators. Just out of curiosity, speaking as someone who was lucky to escape with my life from a group full of those titles, exactly how much does the City of Portland pay these people to play computer solitaire and wank off to porn all day?

exactly how much does the City of Portland pay these people to play computer solitaire and wank off to porn all day?

now now, almost 70% of those on the list are women, many with limited experience related to their position. isn't that interesting?

It would seem that Mr. Lister's insights into the nature of the "political patronage system" that form the current commissioners' staff positions may indeed bear some scrutiny.

At the same time, I would be reluctant to hamstring a council member given our current government structure: as executives, legislators, and quasi-judicial functionaries, the five commissioners of this town do have a tremendous amount going on.

From the relatively small amount of knowledge I have of the bureaus, it would seem that all have been relatively functional of late, with the sole exception of Transportation.

I wonder who runs that one?

Lisa Libby has a master's degree in urban planning, and many years of experience in government. She was his chief liaison to BES when Adams was commissioner of that bureau. She's qualified. Try again.

General Burnside,
The Bureau Head of the Portland Department of Transportation is Sue Keil, a lifelong Republican and Conservative. Sue is a friend of mine and she has been doing a great job.

Lisa Libby has a master's degree in urban planning, and many years of experience in government. She was his chief liaison to BES when Adams was commissioner of that bureau. She's qualified. Try again.

she doesn't have "many years" of experience, unless you count what amounts to a 2 1/2 year admin job coordinating grants and shuffling paperwork at BES. BES is not "government experience", by a long shot, any more than "Meter Reader" is a government job. City Repair isn't "government experience" either.

a MURP degree doesn't automatically "qualify" you for the type of job she's got, either, given the abundant pool of people with specific experience in the area dying to get the job. MURPS are a dime a dozen in Portland. many of them have significant experience in shaping, creating government policy. Libby had NONE.

let's get real. Adams is legenday for surrounding himself with giddy yes-men (or, in truth, mostly yes-women) and placing them in wronlgy named roles like "policy director".

she's not qualified. try again.

Dave and Gen. Burnside, I find the qualifications of Shoshone Oppenheim as Transportation Policy Manager as one the most suspect. She plays a strong role in PR work on all Transportation issues of the city and region. Check her qualifications out.

Come on, a master's degree in urban planning and years of experience with a government agency called the "Bureau of Environmental Services" doesn't qualify one for a position called "planning and sustainability adviser"? Methinks you ask too much.

And meter readers ARE government employees. I wouldn't call them experienced in the inner workings of PDOT, but you can't seriously be arguing that they aren't paid from the public trough.

You sound like you have a personal axe to grind. I think all this inpugning the character of everyone associated with Adams is a more than a little bit silly. Save it for the people who deserve it.

Grant, are you writing about Ponder as your "Bureau of Environmental Services" post suggests or about Oppenheim?

Neither. Re-read my first comment (this being my third). If it's not obvious who I am referring to, then I really can't help you.

Hard to imagine that Catherine Ciarlo is in charge of transportation policy. She has no educational background in transportation. But hiring her does a great job of satisfying the bicycle lobby and pushes their agenda forward.

Methinks you ask too much.

methinks you have a strange view of what "experience" means.

And meter readers ARE government employees

let's hire them to be "Senior Policy Advisors" then, shall we? which is my point, "Grant".

You sound like you have a personal axe to grind.

you, on the other hand, sound like an entirely impartial observer. good grief.

I think all this inpugning the character of everyone associated with Adams is a more than a little bit silly. Save it for the people who deserve it.

you meant impugning. and I think all this impugning the character of everyone who thinks Adams is a narcissistic a**hole who surrounds himself with ineffectiveness is more than a little bit silly. why don't *you* save the high-mindedness for people who deserve it--like Adams?

My suggestion if City Hall really wants to be green...carve everything in stone. At least they won't be able to delete it...

Heh, that is the funniest quip o' the day on here, for sure.

I think all this inpugning the character of everyone associated with Adams is a more than a little bit silly.

You're right - we should trust Sam's judgement on their qualifications.

Wait - is "...Sam's judgement..." an oxymoron?

...not that I mean to inpugn Sam's character by saying that...

Wait is "...Sam's character..." an oxymoron?

Dear me!

After several decades of working on planning issues here in Portland, I've noticed a sharp decline especially in the last decade of Commissioner's aids qualifications.

Qualifications is more than an associate degree, political science degree while being a senior aid on Transportation, Planning, Sustainability.

Far too often one's degree (if that is a good measurement) is far from the hired position's requirements. Qualifications is more than a one, two year experience working in the media in some fashion-unless we are going to buy into the theory that everything is media oriented.

Many times I've been in hearings, on committees where 26 year olds with little life, job, inter-related field experiences are exhibited; but they are the ones setting the "agenda", running the meetings, giving presentation on what little they know of.

Public officials in this town need to start setting a higher standard for their staffs and bureaus, and not just about sex.

Can one say: "bloated"?

To clarify, I meant Sue Keil's boss.

Kimberly Schneider - Economic Development Director

Hey, this person was writing grants for susbsistence farmers in Africa before this gig. Maybe Adams knows something about where our economy is going?

Most of these jobs are cronies and hangers on. If you think Randy Leonard is any different, good luck.

General,
Keil reports directly to the Transportation Commissioner, currently Sam Adams.

Does anybody out there know how many were on Potter's staff? I don't think it was anywhere near this many.

That is the insinuation I was trying to make! I am not a fan of his transportation priorities, living as I do in an unpaved neighborhood sans sidewalks, somewhat near the aforementioned rutted mess that used to be Sandy Blvd.

Sam Adams + package + stimulus.

How appropriate.

General,
Ditto. And I'm willing to bet that Keil is just as frustrated with Sam's street car obsession as we are. But the commissioners set policy.

Ms Keil does seem to have a little more spring in her step the past few days.