Our progressive, lying mayor

With competing rallies scheduled for today, the Sam Adams scandal is polarizing the city. Here is a sane proposal, it seems to me, suggested by a website calling for his recall. An election already is scheduled for May 19. So Adams announces his resignation effective May 18, a special election for mayor is added to the May 19 ballot, and Adams can or cannot be a candidate, as he wishes. In other words, let the citizens vote on whether or not they still trust him. I don't because he not only lied, he got the teenager to lie, he blatantly manipulated the situation to save his political ass. In this regard, I agree with the publisher of our gay newspaper:

Adams also reached out to the gay media, meeting with Marty Davis, the publisher of Just Out, to dispute the allegations. Davis believed Adams, and in the year that followed lauded his accomplishments both for the gay community — where he led efforts to build a gay and lesbian community center — and other initiatives to improve the city.

"The Pride of Portland," declared the cover of Just Out after Adams' May primary victory.

But this week, Davis said Adams should resign because the cover-up has undermined his credibility. "It was not a quick 'oops' cover-up type of thing," Davis said. "It was lying by design. It was the difference between manslaughter and murder. This was first-degree lying."

But others trust him. They seem to believe the ends (his progressive ideas) justify the means (lying manipulation to get into office). Let the majority win.

But something this sensible probably won't happen. I predict this will happen: there are enough progressive supporters still behind Adams that he'll hang on. This will solidify the opposition, who will petition to recall him. By a stupid Oregon law, this can't happen for six months, so in July there will be an expensive recall election, further polarizing the city, and whatever happens, the other side will hate it and feel betrayed, and so much for "the city that works."