Why, someone at his table asked, was the city about to add fluoride to drinking water? What about health concerns? Adams jumped in, asking questions, challenging assertions and spouting statistics. Within 12 hours, Adams would cast the final vote approving fluoride.
"He was definitely into it," said Jessica Moskovitz, a former campaign manager for Mayor-elect Charlie Hales who saw the episode from nearby. "I thought it was great that my mayor was staying up late, arguing policy in a bar."
The September scene reflects what many Portlanders saw in Adams when they enthusiastically elected him mayor in 2008: hip enough to be at Beech Street Parlor, smart enough to have fluoride facts at the tip of his tongue, and wonkish enough to share them over late-night drinks. Perhaps he would be Portland's next great mayor, another Neil Goldschmidt without the later scandal.
But it also reflects the Adams they got: Like much else in his term, the vote on fluoride turned divisive and messy. And scandal was right on Adams' heels.
Just three weeks into his term, Adams -- the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city -- was cornered into admitting he lied about his relationship with a teenage Beau Breedlove. He survived a state criminal investigation and two recall attempts. But his reputation was so damaged that he made the all-but-unprecedented decision last year not to seek a second term.
And yet through sheer will and hard work, Adams rammed through an ambitious priority list, easily eclipsing the record of predecessor Tom Potter. The scandal forced Adams to adapt, to become more collaborative and reliant on others.
Instead of moving into the spacious corner office in the mayor's third-floor suite, Adams opted for a tiny room near staff cubicles to be closer to the action. From his time as Katz's enforcer and deal-finder, Adams learned the importance of being a regular in city commissioners' second-floor offices. He continued making the rounds even after he began calling the shots. He found a particular ally in Commissioner Randy Leonard, the two of them almost always voting in lockstep.
And he became the first mayor in decades to hand off responsibility for the Police Bureau to a city commissioner, Dan Saltzman, a move that drew heavy criticism. His rationale? Adams wanted more time to focus on creating jobs and improving education, vitally important but largely out of the mayor's control.
Adams' tenure may be best known for his many, many plans. On economic development. On biking. On climate change. On the future of the city. Those plans helped guide decisions to cut a special redevelopment loan to retain wind-energy company Vestas, eliminate plastic bags at retail stores, end weekly trash pickup in lieu of curbside composting, and nearly double the miles of dedicated bike boulevards to almost 60.
Adams worked with Commissioner Amanda Fritz to create the Office of Equity, especially meaningful to a gay man who grew up poor on the Oregon coast. During planning, officials sponsored five "leadership dialogues" where participants shared stories of disparity.
"People were astonished," Fritz said. Each time, "people were expecting Sam to show up for the intro and leave. He stayed the whole day."
Adams created a green initiative that increased utility rates but paid for land purchases, invasive-species removal and curbside bioswales.
"His accomplishments probably stand alone in terms of the breadth and complexity in the work he's done for the environment," said Bob Sallinger, conservation director for the Audubon Society of Portland.
Adams also hopped flights to New York (where he wooed apparel company H&M without an appointment), Chicago (to persuade owners of Pioneer Place to hold tight), San Jose (to win SoloPower expansion plans) and Spain (to get Iberdrola Renewables to keep its North American headquarters in Portland).
"He'll definitely press and say, 'It's important to us,'" said Scott Andrews, the city's urban renewal chairman, recalling a conversation Adams had with the CEO of Saks Fifth Avenue. "And when the answer is, 'I can't do it,' the question is, 'Why can't you do it?'"
Although Adams didn't hit his long-stated goal to cut Portland's high school dropout rate in half, he did steer money toward education.
His scholarship program sent hundreds of students to community college, although it gained notoriety when he proposed -- then backed off -- a funding plan that would have tapped the city's water and sewer ratepayers. This spring, he bailed out Portland Public Schools, persuading the City Council to give the district $5 million even though city bureaus faced cuts of their own. In November, voters passed a $12 million annual tax that Adams championed to pay for arts teachers and programs.
"Sam figured out how, as mayor, to harness the community in supporting success in the classroom," Portland schools Superintendent Carole Smith said.
Last month, Adams drew a standing ovation from hundreds of education advocates gathered at Concordia University. When he ascended a stage to accept a large plaque, Adams' voice broke as he said, "Thank you, all."
Although polling shows that Portlanders have warmed to Adams, more than 40 percent of voters still have negative feelings. That's the highest level veteran pollster Tim Hibbitts said he can remember for a Portland politician.
"There is no way that I'd vote for him in any election, now or in the future," said John Acree, a 42-year-old Northwest Portlander, reflecting a common sentiment. "He hasn't proven that he is worthwhile of my trust and my respect."
Commissioner Nick Fish isn't shy about saying that Adams' scandal created a "lost year" that "damaged our ability to do the people's work." Fish said he had "volcanic" conversations with Adams this year over his lack of support for Adams' ultimately doomed project, the $62 million Oregon Sustainability Center.
At City Council meetings, Adams would coordinate lengthy presentations with glowing commentary for his projects but was prone to grill those who testified in opposition. He would sometimes lecture reporters who asked a question he didn't like. Asked about his desire to cut Sellwood Bridge costs but hang onto his streetcar visions, he snapped, "I'm the decider on whether or not I am getting what I asked for, not you!"
Adams created advisory groups to develop a plan for the Rose Quarter, to add a downtown urban renewal district, bring parking meters to Northwest Portland and annex West Hayden Island. In each instance, the process imploded. So Adams maneuvered behind the scenes to strike deals where he could, West Hayden Island being a glaring exception.
"At the end of the day, Portland right now is a great city, and Sam played a role in that," said Multnomah County Chairman Jeff Cogen, who considered a run for mayor and butted heads with Adams over urban renewal and Sellwood Bridge funding. "Some of the contributions were positive, some less so. It's a complex job. He's a complex person."
No comments:
Post a Comment