If that’s true, why should he expect different treatment after he not only admitted it, but admitted he lied and asked other to lie for him?

I appreciate everyone’s view, it is just not mine. I don’t find what he did to be all that bad. Admitting to it would have been political suicide. Look PDX is cool with being gay, they don’t want to hear about gay sex. And this whole thing about him giving gays a bad name…look our community does a good job of that themselves. We all know how it works…Gay men, I can’t speak for women still live in the free love era. Let’s stop acting like it doesn’t happen. If you want there to be a different view, then start a movement, don’t hang the mayor out to dry. If anything he did a good job of protecting the city from that image for a long time. Now reality is what it is. Like I said, we are all a part of this community. Let’s stop acting like we don’t know what happens. Especially when you are single.

Bottom line: If you support Sam Adams, you support ABUSE OF POLITICAL POWER.

Bryan
GRW Editor

To me, this entire situation has been looked at from the wrong angle by so many who have posted here, and elsewhere.

It’s not about the sex. It’s only partially about the lies. It’s about Sam’s judgement and how he’s willing to treat people to achieve his own personal goals.

It’s about Sam’s willingness to attack Bob Ball for his quiet questioning about this whole thing back in 2007. It’s about how Sam’s response to Ball’s truth-seeking was used to eliminate a potential political rival. The Oregonian’s editorial says Sam “launched an all-out public relations assault against the man.” (http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/01/sam_adams_and_his_fight_with_t.html)

It’s about Sam’s willingness to ask others to front for him knowing they were standing up to defend a lie.

It’s about Sam’s potentially hiring a reporter to silence them from bringing his lies to the light of day.

It’s about Sam’s use of any means necessary to achieve his goals – political power, even if his political goals are for good.

It’s about his Machiavellian approach to politics and people.

These are the reasons that Sam is no good for Portland. These are the reasons so many people feel let down by him. These are the reasons he should resign.

During Sam’s run for Mayor, I was solicited to give $5 to Sho Dozono’s publicly-financed campaign against Sam. The person who approached me had been a staffer In Vera Katz’s Mayoral office working under Sam as Chief of Staff. I was told that of the 12 staff who worked for Sam in Vera’s office, 11 were helping with Sho’s campaign against Sam. To me that’s telling. How you treat people matters.

Sam hasn’t apologized to Bob Ball for thrashing him and his political future.

Sam’s approach to politics, just as it was in this situation, is bare-knuckled self-interest. But this is not Chicago. In the Portland I live in, or want to live in, it’s just as important how you do things, how you treat people, as what you accomplish. Sam just doesn’t see it that way.