It has been a wild 14 months with two Sam Adams Recall drives with the second one failing today. No conspiracies need to be found for the shortcomings as recalls seldom succeed, the public is more forgiving than people give them credit for, the public accepted Adams’ apology, felt he paid a public price and considered him worth keeping. That would be the best pro-Adams point.
To see the other side you can read below the recall founder’s take on the whole episode that he posted on his website.
Dear Portlanders,
From Citizen Recall.org
Thank you for your support over the past year in a movement that demands to bring open, transparent and accountable local government back to our city.
The bottom line is we simply can not recall the first “openly gay mayor” for lying, no matter how many gay men he had to bring down with him. Though, please know that Sam Adams is the one that sold out the GLBTQ community to solely protect himself. The recall has never been about taking away the hard earned rights of anyone, only about holding elected officials accountable.
Through the recalls, the veil has been removed, that has for too long obscured the dysfunction of how we, as citizens, are systematically manipulated in elections.
Firstly, a specific political consultant employed by Sam Adams, Randy Leonard, Dan Saltzman, John Kroger, Kate Brown, John Kitzhaber… is now public knowledge and we as citizens must no longer allow him to control us.
Second and most importantly, the re-election campaign of Sam Adams started today with the end of this recall, we can not allow the misinformation and rewriting of history to happen. We need your dedication to remember and continue to educate and promote civic involvement.
The first thing you can do happens in just 10 days by turning over your ballot and voting in the Portland City Council races against the incumbants.
It is really that simple.
In the first recall Mary Volm put herself and her professional reputation on the line to stand up for truth:
” We are currently in a void of leadership at the City,” said Volm. “I bring strength, understanding and inspirational leadership to the City. I’ve been a connected part of this City and not all politicians lie. We need a leader with integrity…someone who listens to all, no matter how harsh the message.”
This mayor doesn’t listen.
More so the Oregonian has said that:
“Mary Volm, a dynamic City Hall veteran with intricate knowledge of the city…”
I personal implore you to turn over your ballot and mark a vote for Mary Volm, for this is a vote to elect someone on city council that will stand up to Sam Adams.
There are so many people to thank (please forgive me if I do not mention you all)…
Theresa McGuire for begin there day in and day out for both recalls!
Avel Gordly for her words of wisdom and inspiration. Beau Breedlove for his growth and courage. Joe, Neola, Gaye, Roy, every single business who was a collection site and most of all each person that signed a petition.
We do not end here, today, Sam has not won through lies and deception.
We have a database of 50,000 voters and 1,000 volunteers who want Adams out of office.
We are in the top 5 Google searches of ‘Sam Adams Portland’.
Here is our plan:
If you are a city council or mayoral candidate running against Sam Adams, Randy Lenoard or Amanda Fritz in 2012 and are vocal against their support of lying to get elected, we will support you with the above resources… and more.
Until then, please tell your friends to turn over their ballot that they receive in 10 days and make sure they vote in the Portland City council races.
Do not vote for the incumbents who supported Sam Adams.
Vote (and volunteer) for Mary Volm for seat #3 and not for the incumbent in Seat #2.
Together we will make our government better, one vote at a time,
PS: Sam, here are a few songs I dedicate to you… in 2012, you are going down and you will take Mark Weiner with you.
Dear media, the dedicated songs above are from a punk-rock mantra in which the bands express angst from being exploited, please Google the lyrics and read them. I am sure you can relate as Sam Adams and Mark Weiner exploited your professional reputation for their personal gain, please do not forget this in this election and in 2012. We need you to be the watchdogs of Democracy.