Smoke signals from the Saltzman camp
Our operating premise these days about local politics is that Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen is still BFFs with his former employer, Portland city commissioner (former county commissioner) Dan Saltzman. And so when Cogen takes on Portland's colorful mayor in a scratch fight over the Sellwood Bridge, and people speculate whether Cogen is getting ready to run for mayor, we think it's just as likely that "Legend" Dan is the one who will be doing the running against the Big Creep. That would leave Saltzman's City Council seat open for Cogen, who would then give Saltzman's family's money two votes on the City Council instead of its current one.
Meanwhile, over at the county, Cogen's BFF Karol Collymore is running for the county commission. And although we hear that Saltzman's nominally remaining neutral in that race, against Ron Wyden's BFF Loretta Smith, that may be just a head fake. If we're right that Saltzman = Cogen, and that Cogen = Collymore, then Saltzman = Collymore. In any event, it's nice to see the Saltzman purse so well represented in government.
| Posted at 5:40 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (5)
I'm working on a song about Mayor Adams. It goes something like this: "The Old Gay Mayor, He Ain't What He Used To Be."
Posted by Peter Apanel | September 16, 2010 7:15 PM
I'm gonna steal that line, Peter.
I'm not sure about Jack's premise. Saltzman may not be the top dog in his relationship with Cogen. And Cogen is a way better candidate against Adams.
Though this bridge spat isn't so much a campaign ploy as it is Cogen defending the county's turf against Adams and the city.
Posted by Gil Johnson | September 16, 2010 8:56 PM
Cogen is a way better candidate against Adams.
I disagree. Saltzman is unbeatable. He's loaded, and can buy his way to the top if necessary -- but it probably won't be. He'll get all the benefit of his mother's connections, including a guaranteed endorsement from WW. And no other media outlet's going to endorse Adams.
The only person Saltzman can't beat is Fireman Randy. And unless Creepy announces that he's stepping down to spend more time with his interns, Randy won't run.
Posted by Jack Bog | September 16, 2010 9:02 PM
Randy has seen that his chance to run for governor has come and gone. The backlash against nutty "progressive" ideas, combined with Randy's sharp elbows and Stalinist aspirations have consigned him to city government.
The big question is will Mayor McCreepy run again. With his ego, his debt, and his lack of alternative job prospects (although his tweets suggest he wants to be director of the Q Center, every other twit is about the place), he must run for mayor again.
Posted by Garage Wine | September 17, 2010 7:38 AM
Randy has seen that his chance to run for governor has come and gone. The backlash against nutty "progressive" ideas, combined with Randy's sharp elbows and Stalinist aspirations have consigned him to city government.
Nobody's going to make the leap from Portland City Council to Governor. He'd have to go back to the legislature and run from there.
Posted by Dave J. | September 17, 2010 9:24 AM