Write in LaVonne Griffin-Valade for mayor of Portland
We've tried and tried, but can't come around to holding our nose and voting for either Char-Lie Hales or Jeffer-Sten Smith in the Portland mayoral election. They're both truly awful candidates who will bring the city further down the road to fiscal disaster and trashed livability.
But yesterday an alert reader said something in a comment here that actually sounds good: Write in Lavonne Griffin-Valade, the city auditor. Griffin-Valade and her staff have been doing a pretty good job pointing out much of the folly of the Sam Rand Twins. They've reported the fact that the city is borrowing its way into insolvency. They've criticized the loosey-goosey accounting shenanigans at the Portland Development Commission. They've called the water bureau out for its mission creep ways and its cozy relationships with consultants. They've blown the whistle on overtime abuses in the fire bureau.
In other words, Griffin-Valade has quickly learned a lot about what's wrong at City Hall, and she hasn't been shy about speaking up to the Bully and his court jester. And so we think she'd make a good mayor. It's our plan to write her name in the blank in November.
Of course, getting a write-in campaign going for her won't be easy, as she's got three names to remember, and they're all easy to misspell. Not to mention the four capital letters in there. But right now, let's start with a first name: LaVonne for Mayor.
| Posted at 8:53 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (17)
I'm sure she appreciates the kind words, but may be less than comfortable acquiring a big red city hall target on her back.
Posted by gibby | June 29, 2012 9:17 AM
She's got a big red target already. I'm surprised that Sam the Scam hasn't zeroed out her budget.
Posted by Garage Wine | June 29, 2012 9:21 AM
That is a really good idea.
Posted by reader | June 29, 2012 9:58 AM
I'm in!
Posted by R1Ray | June 29, 2012 9:59 AM
Done!
Posted by Kent Mulder | June 29, 2012 10:08 AM
Hold on here! What happened to Fernandez? Out of sight out of mind because he didn't make the runoff?
Some kind of support we have for a substantial candidate.
Posted by Starbuck | June 29, 2012 10:37 AM
Scott will be back, I suspect. Just not in this election.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 29, 2012 10:38 AM
Genius! Much, much better than my solution which was to leave that portion of the ballot blank. If she gets even 10% of the vote it will send a strong message to whichever jerkwad wins in the end.
Posted by Usual Kevin | June 29, 2012 10:42 AM
Jack, don't count your chickens ....We don't know that he won't be back now. Give him the push he deserves if you all are serious about having a write-in. Scott isn't known for running away from a fight.
Posted by Starbuck | June 29, 2012 10:58 AM
Just this morning we were having a quiet discussion about which knucklehead to vote for this fall. Hales the efficient, sophisticated lying mayor who will do whatever he wants or Smith the impulsive, sophomoric, foolish mayor who will do whatever he wants.
Sorry Usual Kev, whichever candidate wins will *know* that he has a mandate from God Himself to take Portland and do whatever he wants. The only message will be that everyone else lost and that we can all bite a wall.
Posted by Concordbridge | June 29, 2012 11:09 AM
With a name like Concordbridge, I would have expected anything else but that response.
After all, the colonists were fighting the King, for god's sake! /s
Posted by Starbuck | June 29, 2012 11:18 AM
I've determined to write someone in for mayor.
At this point I have decided I'd rather sleep well at night.
Posted by tankfixer | June 29, 2012 11:23 AM
I like a Jack Bogdanski write in.
From Stump Town to Jack Town.
Posted by Do | June 29, 2012 11:26 AM
Thanks, Capt. Starbuck. Gen Washington was a master of retreat as well as a master of attack.
I think that a vote and perhaps active campaigning for Smith as the 'greater of two weevils' will run our lovely city to the brink so fast that even the nitwits might see the light.
Posted by Concordbridge | June 29, 2012 12:09 PM
I totally agree, Griffin-Valade would make a far better Mayor for Portland than either Chucky Cheeze or Baritone Smitty. However, the reality of the current process is that one of the latter two will become the top autocrat in Portland. In that Chucky appears to be ready to partner with, and give away the store to Homer; and that Smitty appears to be lining up Carla Axtman of Blue Socialism fame for one of his on-staff chief advisors, thereby controlling the volume of the ensemble; seriously, any thoughts on which one of these two is the lesser of two evils that is likely to the least amount of damage as Mayor.
Posted by TR | June 29, 2012 11:34 PM
They're both terrible. The only good thing about this election is that one of them is going to lose.
Smith will never get out of politics, because he's got a Wu-like unemployability about him. If Hales loses, he'll probably go back to shilling for the developers as a "planner." The key, I suppose, is to figure out which loser might leave town.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 29, 2012 11:56 PM
Spot on comment re Smith having a "Wu-like unemployability."
Wu, Smith, and also Adams.
All with that peculiar "unemployability", and having in common that "selling" themselves as a "product" to be elected and re elected is the only "accomplishment" they can offer. Other than being elected, none of them had or has any actual real world accomplishment.
Posted by Nonny Mouse | June 30, 2012 8:20 PM