A local entrepreneur who operates “sustainability focused” bike tours and who founded a successful web hosting business has just announced his candidacy for mayor.
26 year-old Slav Davidzon sent an email to supporters this morning announcing his candidacy that said in part,
“Portland needs a mayor who has the vision and courage to take the bold steps towards true sustainability and social justice.”
Davidzon runs the Sustainable Energy in Motion bike tours under his Common Circle, Inc. company and has also found success as president and founder of Thinkhost, a web hosting services company he started in 1999 (when he was only 16) that “supports positive social change” and is “powered by the wind and sun”.
Thinkhost currently donates webhosting to several local non-profits including those wild and crazy bike funnists at Shift.
Regarding bikes, Davidzon states that he plans to limit one-fifth of Portland’s streets to public transit, bikes, and pedestrian traffic. He would also subsidize public transit and make it free for everyone.
A look into my comment archives shows that Davidzon has been outspoken about his positions on many bike issues.
Reacting to a post about a legislative bill (which did not pass) to install official memorial signs at sites of fallen cyclists, Davidzon wrote:
“This is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen…Not only will it scare people from biking…it is also a ridiculous waste of money and resources that accomplishes absolutely nothing.”
After I wrote about the non-profit Community Cycling Center getting robbed and ransacked, Davidzon called for the Bike Gallery (whose owner Jay Graves used to sit on their Board of Directors) to donate. He wrote,
“The Bike Gallery is the largest bike dealer in Portland…This means that the demand on them to support the community should be far higher than those on any smaller bike shop.
I take serious disagreement with anyone who suggests that corporate giving ought to be seen only as a gracious act, rather than something to be demanded. After all, Bike Gallery would be not exist without the community.”
In response to my recent interview with City Commissioner Sam Adams, Davidzon wrote:
“May I ask why you didn’t ask Sam Adams about the failure of police to enforce existing laws? Surely he has some level of influence over the mayor, who is the chief of police…At the end of the day, it is action and action alone that matters to saving lives.
…Mr. Adams has the power to make a real difference, but no real will to do so, and this article clearly outlines that.”
Davidzon becomes the tenth Portlander to run for mayor (see all of them here). For more on Davidzon’s platform and campaign, check out OurPortland.org and/or download his announcement press release (PDF).
[DISCLAIMER: Davidzon has paid for advertising for his bike tours on this site in the past.]
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is this the same guy responsible for all the spam email and robot phone calls i\’ve received regarding the Sustainable Energy in Motion bike tour?
i like the bikey platform but…
SAM FOR MAYOR!
SAM FOR MAYOR!!
Wow! Finally, someone touching the real issues!
Can\’t wait to hear more about it!
SAM FOR MAYOR!!!
While Davidson may have some good ideas, that isn\’t the same as someone who has proven themselves capable of getting things done. Sam has proven himself over, and over again.
I\’m all for shooting for the moon, but perhaps some of these candidates for mayor should run for city council where they could cut their political teeth and THEN run for mayor.
A run for mayor by someone with no political experience strikes me as a statement and call for attention rather than a well-planned attempt at getting things done.
I remember Slav\’s comments about the BG helping out the CCC quite well, and while I don\’t disagree with the sentiment of his main point, I found his approach to be unnecessarily hostile and devoid of even the most basic elements of diplomacy. He thought that shaming BG right out of the gate was the way to go, rather than dealing with them as people of good faith who could be convinced by reason, rather than being threatened to comply.
The notion of sending this philosophy to City Hall makes me shudder.
Agreed.
Appreicate the green focus of his message.
But what I want out of my Mayor, in my city, is a resume of relevevant experience longer than the Seattle to Portland bikeride, and a similarly long proven track record of getting things done.
Can you guys stop shouting \”Sam For Mayor\”? You sound like a bunch of sheep; \”Ave Caesar\”, \”Heil Hitler\”…
Sam Adams proved that he can talk pretty well, and make good alliances. Obviously, with the power and position he had as a Commissioner, he could have done much more. I agree that he doesn\’t really have the will, and his double-speech proves that.
Now, \”sustainability\” is not something that makes certain trend products at New Seasons more expensive, it\’s an urgent necessity. Finally, someone is talking about it in a realistic way.
In my opinion, it is a waste of time supporting career politicians that never address real issues, like Sam Adams does.
Now, will you kids shut up and listen to what the new guy has to say?
Those shouting for Sam to be mayor should read the cover story of today\’s Willamette Week –>>
Done Deal
Unless one of these 12 Portlanders challenges Sam Adams for mayor:
http://wweek.com/editorial/3403/10034/
I\’m about to sit down and read it myself!
Yeah, I agree with tonyt, this guy really showed himself with the way he handled the whole Bike Gallery thing…
Tiago,
No, I won\’t \”shut up\” (how polite) because I HAVE listened to Slav on this site for quite a while now, and while his intentions may seem good, he needs to master some Politics 101 (asking people is better than telling them) before he\’s ready for anything even remotely as demanding as mayor.
But yes, it might be better to cool the \”Sam for Mayor.\” Make him fight for out votes, not take them for granted.
He doesn\’t want a memorial for those who have died? Lame.
SAM FOR MAYOR.
I once had the displeasure of being on the receiving end of this guy\’s \”politicking.\” He thought my organization should be bending over backwards to support his bike tour and was shockingly rude and pushy about it. I really did not appreciate his entitled attitude, nor his disrespect for my time or my organization\’s other work. He does not speak for me, or plenty of others in the bike community who have told me about similar experiences.
\”I take serious disagreement with anyone who suggests that corporate giving ought to be seen only as a gracious act, rather than something to be demanded. After all, Bike Gallery would be not exist without the community.” Slav Davidzon
Something to be demanded? That\’s a very radical position, and I doubt that it would go over very well with a broad segment of the population. You can get attention with statements like that, but not necessarily good attention.
This guy, Slav Davidzon doesn\’t sound like a serious contender for mayor. He\’s got about as good a chance of being elected as I do.
It\’s a real shame that someone with so much energy – who\’s sincere and earnest about making the world a better place – is about as diplomatic as John Bolton (but with inexperience and naivetee to boot).
If this weren\’t such an important cause, the spectacle of Mr. Davidson\’s previous comments might be amusing.
As far as being around the bike community, Slav is not new. As Jonathan points out he has a lot opinions and has been outspoken about many issues.
While I don\’t know Slav personally, and have only been around him once on a one-day bicycle tour with city repair. I have been aware of his tours, have read his emails on shift, and was part of his spam campaign mentioned by the first post I had to ask three times to be taken off. While his aggressive tactics may work in getting his tours filled, the experience of dealing with him and reading emails he\’s posted to shift have showed some insight to his character.(I\’m sure you can find these emails, archived on the shift list)
I would really love to hear from someone who has had a good experience either on the Sustainablilty in Motion tours or in one-on-one interactions with Slav, because so far with my impressions, and the red flags, I\’d prefer he stick to his tours, that I can make a choice Not to sign up for.
I\’m not trying to personally attack Slav in this post, I\’m just a little concerned that his platform may seem really great and persuasive, but his character (as I see it so far) may not be right for the job.
I think there already is a demand on business to support the community, it\’s called taxes. I\’m sure that Bike Gallery is paying more taxes than smaller bike shops in the area. Not to mention the number of people they employ and pay which in turn supports other retailers in the community.
This is a candidate with one plank in their election platform and it\’s a pretty narrow one at that.
Lieutenant Kruger for Mayor!
Is there anyone out there who has ever been on a \”Sustainablilty in Motion\” bike tour? Anyone know of anyone who\’s been on one? I\’ve lived and biked in Portland for 11 years, and I\’ve yet to meet anyone who\’s been on one of Slav\’s tours. I\’d like to talk to a few folks who have been on one.
What were they like? Well organized? Safe? Good routes? Where did you stay overnights? Who did the cooking? What was the food like? Was it a good value? How would you rate Slav as a tour leader? How would you rate your overall experience? Would you recommend this tour to others?
Anyone?
WATZIG 4 MAYOR! Anybody with the guts to put foot in mouth, in PUBLIC, got my support!
Let the battle of the bike billboards on PDX streets BEGIN!
DOWN WITH BIKE LANES!
Just so everyone knows, even though we don\’t really have any sway over the mayor (as recent events can attest to), and we don\’t have real control over the Portland Police Bureau, our office is doing everything in our power to get the police to change the way they have been/are doing business re: cyclist rights and the enforcement of traffic rules. (Actually, our chief of staff is meeting with Rosie Sizer as we speak.)
While we have limited clout on this one, we are nonetheless pulling out all of the stops. We just need to do so in a thoughtful manner so we don\’t step on toes or ruffle feathers unnecessarily as we work in Bureaus that are not under our administration. We intend to be effective on this and actually get the job done, so we are acting carefully and methodically. While our behind-the-scenes work might not be headline-grabbing, don\’t think it isn\’t happening.
-Roland Chlapowski,
Transportation Policy Director for Commissioner Sam Adams
It\’s all quite elementary, when you distill all the double talk, diatribe, dialogue and dissertation: Yode For Mayor. Say it with me.
Not impressed by Slav. he makes a lot of bold statements that we all know will not transpire. It shows he\’s an ameteur. Stick with your day job Slav!
Here\’s a little math exercise for y\’all.
25% of the right of way on Hawthorne Boulevard above 12th – the sidewalks – is already dedicated to pedestrians.
Another 25% of the right of way on Hawthorne Boulevard – the two outer lanes – is pretty much allocated to transit.
Another 22% of the right of way on Hawthorne Boulevard – the two curbside parking lanes – is dedicated to the storage of unused motor vehicles.
Fully 75% of the right of way on Hawthorne Boulevard is dedicated to motor vehicles in one way or another, the other 25% is already reserved for pedestrians.
Zero percent of the right of way on Hawthorne Boulevard is dedicated to bicycles and other human powered vehicles.
percentages, neat.
what does that have to do with whats-his-faces\’ mayoral campaign?
It\’s right there in the OP: Regarding bikes, Davidzon states that . He would also subsidize public transit and make it free for everyone.
I was merely pointing out that on a major throughfare like Hawthorne Blvd, 25% of the ROW is already dedicated to pedestrians, another 25% to transit, and 0% to bicyclists.
Oops, that didn\’t come out right. Here\’s the part that\’s important:
\”he plans to limit one-fifth of Portland’s streets to public transit, bikes, and pedestrian traffic\”
But BURR, he\’s saying \”limit.\” Really the only thing that is limited is the sidewalks (peds and bikes). The streets aren\’t limited to transit.
Are you essentially saying that it\’s mostly been done? I\’m trying to follow you.
I\’m running for Mayor, too.
My Platform:
1. 6\’ buffer zone around bicyclists and pedestrians in all directions within which motor vehicles may not enter. $500 fine for first violation; $750 for subsequent violations.
2. A jury finding of simple negligence causing injury to another on any public roadway results in 6 month suspension of any license required to operate a vehicle. 1 year suspension for subsequent offenses; permanent revocation if two offenses in less than 5 year period.
3. Driving with a license suspended because of causing injury to another due to negligence is a Felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison.
4. Traffic violations causing injury to another create a presumption of negligence.
5. $0.10 tax on all non-renewable fuel sold in City limits; $20 monthly tax for any single-occupancy motor vehicle entering downtown between hours of 7-9 am on weekdays. Proceeds fund engineering and driver education initiatives, as well as carbon dioxide and hazardous air pollutant abatement programs.
And that\’s just the bike/ped platform…Wait till you see rest!!
What would Mayor a.O. do in regards to the proposal to replace Oregon\’s per-gallon gas tax with a per-mile gas tax?
Jonathan — thank you for the post…
Folks…
This campaign is about expanding the range of dialogue; not about which candidate has the rosier cheeks. We live in what could well be a real democracy — yet our range of choices, our range of dialogue, the range of our democracy itself seems to be rapidly shrinking.
I am running because I firmly believe that the dialogue must be drastically expanded: we need to be talking about healthcare, about sustainability, about real vision. There is a huge gap between leadership and management, and while the other candidates may well be great managers, what this city needs is real leadership.
I am running because if the best our city council can do is debate what this or that street ought be named, that\’s a disgrace at a time when cyclists are being killed because of lack of basic infrastructure; when so many people are without healthcare; when our world is going to hell in a handbasket because those very same politicians refuse to take action on global warming; when our country is engaged in an immoral, illegal quagmire in Iraq.
Now is the time for real action, but that action will not happen without someone who is willing to stick his neck out and engage in dialogue about things that truly matter. Either we start looking towards making bold moves towards a sustainable world, or we\’re done — it is truly that simple.
I\’m known to be a controversial guy because I believe in innovation and taking risk; more importantly I believe in the power of speaking my mind, regardless of the consequences — for in doing so, I create spaces for others to do the same. I hope this campaign will achieve that goal.
My goal is to expand the range of the debate; to introduce issues like healthcare, car-free streets, solar energy cooperatives, and so many others into the debate. I believe that expanding that dialogue is worth sticking my own neck out; and I hope that many Portlanders will agree.
Remember — it is easy to oppose; far harder to create an alternative. We need vision, we need choices, we need people who are willing to stick their necks out for the things that matter most. With that, let the dialogue begin.
What would Mayor a.O. do in regards to the proposal to replace Oregon\’s per-gallon gas tax with a per-mile gas tax?
Add a per ton carbon emissions tax.
But seriously, per mile encourages poor fuel efficiency. What do you think?
I think we should rise up and make our voices heard.
@ tonyt #27:
I agree that Slav\’s use of the term \’limit\’ is somewhat ambiguous. Does he mean that he wants to close 20% of the city\’s streets to motor vehicles (other than transit vehicles)? Or does he mean that he wants to dedicate 20% of the ROW space on all streets to transit and non-motorized users? Only Slav knows for sure.
My point is that a large amount of the right of way space on every street is already dedicated to pedestrians and, on transit streets, to transit vehicles.
At best, what cyclists can hope for is perhaps 10% of any street right of way dedicated to bicycles (that would be two 4-foot wide bike lanes in a 72-foot right of way); that\’s only half the amount of space typically dedicated to storage of unused vehicles (curbside parking). And, in many situations, no space at all is dedicated to bicyclists, who have to fend for themselves among the dominant motor vehicles.
Since the city appears to be trending away from providing bicycle infrastructure on major (or even secondary) arterials, I am pessimistic about the chances for significant change in this area any time soon; but I agree with Carl that many cyclists use arterial streets for the same reason motorists do – they provide direct routes to desirable commercial and other destinations which tend to be located on the arterials.
I think the city should be striving to make every street safe and accessible for bicyclists, and the streets that need the most work are not the quiet residential streets that serve as \’bike boulevards\’, but rather the arterials that cyclists must ride on to access commercial destinations throughout the city, to access the Willamette River Bridges, and to make connections where residential streets are not an option. This becomes even more essential if we are seeking to grow the number of cyclists from the 3 to 5% mode split of today to 10, 20 or even 40% mode split; more space must be set aside for cyclists on the arterial streets for this to ever become reality.
glad you\’re giving lesser-known crackpo… i mean candidates a platform here, but…
Sam for mayor!
Vlad,
\”I\’m known to be a controversial guy because I believe in innovation and taking risk.\”
No Vlad, you\’re known to be controversial because you\’re confrontational and rude. We have seen how your dialogue works here and many of us profoundly disagree with your methods.
You can call it speaking your mind if you like. But in my experience it is those who simply lack the most basic of social graces who often try to couch it in terms of a virtue of deliberate \”honesty\” or \”forthrightness.\” It is neither. It is self-delusion.
If you think that demanding money from a fellow citizen who has already contributed greatly to our cause is an effective way to enhance functional, long-term relationships, fine, knock yourself out. My vote, and it seems others too, will be that you do it on your own time, in your own business.
By the way, regarding that BG/CCC thread way back when, I asked you if you ever volunteered for the CCC and you never answered me. Seeing that you so easily demanded that others step up to help, I think it was a fair question.
TONYT FOR MAYOR!
Seriously, my admiration for tonyt grows with every post he makes. Nothing personal against Vlad, I don\’t know him, but tonyt\’s observations on \”honesty\” are spot on.
Anyway, before we anoint SAM as Mayor, does it bother anybody else that Mayors in this town seem to be unwilling or unable to reign in the Portland Police Bureau?
Sam was Vera Katz\’s Chief of Staff, and Vera is now co-chair of Sam\’s election campaign; as Mayor, Vera Katz (and Sam, as her Chief of Staff) stood by helplessly as the PPB shot one unarmed citizen after another. In what is an otherwise progressive town, we have a paramilitary police force that behaves more as an occupying army than a law enforcement agency. And the Mayor, as Police Commissioner, is the only elected official we can hold responsible for this state of affairs. When the Mayor, aka the Police Commissioner, allows the PPB to set the policy agenda, the Mayor is shirking the duties of the job. So before we anoint our next mayor, we should at least ask some hard questions about what policies our next Mayor will pursue as Police Commissioner.
All-
I have been on one of Slav\’s tours. Here is what I discovered:
1. His concept of the tours were great. We visited different perma-culture sites, off the grid households, land trusts and community co-ops where we did some community service projects (namely pulling weeds) and learned about each place. For the most part they were good (if you don\’t mind working in a garden in biking gear and biking shoes.)
2. The sites appeared to be selected based on interest and a free overnight place to pitch a bunch of tents. Remember the free bit.
3. The food was completely vegan. If this was your first attempt at a vegan diet I have a feeling you would never do it again. It appeared that cost was the major factor in determining the menu. We did all the cooking and cleaning along the way. Lots of quinoa and cauliflour, not much variety or taste. My guess was it was somewhere around 50 cents a head for each meal on the high end. People paid money for this!
4. Speaking of vegan, there was a militant aggressive attitude toward those of us who wanted coffee or cream in our coffee. The lack of available coffee was not advertised prior to the ride and caught us by surprise. No \”company\” utensils or cups were allowed to touch coffee, cream or any meat product. Ever. I am not vegan, so maybe coffee is not allowed. But my guess is that Slav didn\’t want to pay for coffee.
5. No alcohol on the tour at all, even when out on the road outside of camp. Not a big deal, but I think the median age was somewhere near 45. We all appeared to be able to be mature about it. A cold beer after a long hot ride can be quite pleasant.
6. We got a lecture that milk was bad for us during orientation. I found that to be a bit bizarre, but it\’s nice to hear other people\’s opinions sometimes. Amusing at the very least. But for some reason the Tillamook Cheese factory was a stop on the tour. Somehow Slav must have gritted his teeth through that one.
7. A standard answer for any changes or requests that most mature adults would agree to were answered with \”No you can\’t, due to risk management.\” I am in the risk management business and I can tell you that instead what he meant was either \”No, that might cost me more money (like 75 cents).\”, \”No, that is inconvenient for me.\” or \”No, I am a control freak.\” Actually they all applied. Again, these were all simple requests that any normal adult would grant to their children that he was denying to paying \”clients.\”
8. One of our most dangerous legs was a 30 miler back into Portland through the city. Ever been on the 5 lane roads around Nike headquarters? That was typical. We were told it was all bike path. There might have been about .5 mile on a bike path. And no SAG support. Why not? Because they only had one SAG van and everyone on the staff needed to be back to help with the all day \”safety\” training for the oncoming tour. Who bore the weight of that risk? The riders, because it wasn\’t convenient for Slav to provide a SAG wagon. Most of us got lost on the way in, the directions were horrible and not a staff member in sight. I\’d say that the riders were managing the risk that day.
9. At night when we were sitting around the campfire you would think that this visionary leader would be interacting with his \”clients\” and talking about all his great ideas. What we got was a strange quiet little man who either disappeared, sat off to the side by himself or whispered to his staff who would repeat what his directions were. Very odd.
The bottom line of his sustainable tours: the concept is great. The management and actual application was horrible.
George, RE: #37—Looks to me like an EXCELLENT concept for a Woody Allen flick! Oh, I ALMOST forgot. Slav 4 Mayor!
With all these EXCELLENT candidates coming out of the woodworks, I don\’t feel so lonely anymore in Tulsa!
Draft Stan Kahn!
George, @ #37: Wow. Was it really that bad? Anyone else?
I also have been on one of Slav\’s bike tours and agree that the concept was great but the implementation was terrible.
The trip involved lots of biking and camping. I challenge whether Slav has much experience at either based on his decision-making during the tour.
Running a bike tour with limited cycling experience……running for mayor with limited (or no) political experience. A patterm maybe?
He talked a lot (to his clients – yes) about how things had to be done a certain way to limit his liability. However, the things he was concerned about were trivial in my opinion, and he was oblivious to real liability issues that his management decisions created.
If you are a very self-sufficient and experienced cyclist with a knack for keeping a positive attitude, then I would say you will probably be okay on one of his tours.
But if you are an inexperienced cyclist (and he advertises that his tours are suitable for inexperienced cyclists) you may be taking on a higher personal risk than you realize.
I wonder how all this would translate into his government leadership…..
Gandhi once said \”First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.\” Well I\’m glad to be in the laughing stage — I\’d be far more concerned about being ignored!
TonyT: my methods are without a doubt controversial, as I am incredibly aggressive at getting results — and make no mistake about it, I get results. At twenty-six I\’ve done more than most people do by the time they retire; and I am *tremendously* proud of my track record both in business and activism. No, I have not volunteered with CCC because at the time I did not feel that to be a particularly productive use of my time (although an offer of significant support *was* made). We all must choose avenues to support the social change movement in ways we each find most effective.
Look at the end of the day, if you are looking for the candidate with rosiest cheeks, go vote for any of the other candidates who will make carefully crafted statements meant to not \’ruffle feathers\’ and achieve little in terms of results while leading our world right off a cliff. But I think there are a lot of people in this town for whom the \’city that works\’ simply fails to do so. More importantly, this campaign is about bringing up issues that will not be addressed otherwise.
Sustainability, in all its many faces, must be at the forefront of the discussion. Universal healthcare must be at the forefront of the discussion. These are all issues that no other candidate is willing to address, but these are issues that must be part of the discussion. There is much more to running for office than just the goal of victory — there is also the question of expanding the dialogue, which I believe must happen; and if expanding that dialogue means I must stick my neck out, let it be. The issues are worth it, our world is worth it, and ultimately this is what democracy is all about.
I\’m not even going to bother addressing George\’s trolling post (#37), given his failure to read our website (before signing up) where each of his points is answered, many at the very top of *each* page on the site. It is, however, worth pointing out
that I make a point of posting with my real name on this site and elsewhere; not hiding behind petty aliases like those who choose to attack me. But ultimately this campaign is not about me; certainly not about my companies. It *is* about the issues that need to be part of the dialogue; issues which will now *be* part of that dialogue with this campaign. I have never cared much for popularity contests; but what I do deeply care about is the potential to have a world where we can all thrive.
It is easy to attack, defame and libel. But it is much harder to create. It is easy to criticize (often justifiably) the police department for their heavy-handed tactics. Yet it is far harder to create a vision that would create an alternative to those tactics — an alternative that I believe must be part of the dialogue about what our city ought to be like. It is far harder to create a vision of an economy where small businesses can truly thrive. It is far harder to create a vision of a world where every Portlander has access to the health care they deserve. But it is that vision that is so clearly lacking in our society today.
I have chosen to ensure that sustainability, universal health care, and local small-business economics ARE going to be a part of the discussion for the next six months as this city debates its path. Whether each of you likes me personally is irrelevant to me — what matters is that these are issues that will be injected into the debates; they will be injected into the dialogue; and with some luck they will be injected into the future course of our great city. This campaign is ultimately about the very basic question of what kind of a democracy we want to have — for without a real range of choice, without a real range of dialogue, we cannot have a truly thriving democracy.
I invite people to engage me on the issues, rather than via petty personal attacks. Once the real campaigning begins in early 2008, I will work as hard as I can to create opportunities for that discussion of real issues to take place — through town halls, through the media and through the internet. Let\’s start actually talking about things that *matter* to the future of our great city.
Reading George\’s comments, I felt like I was reading my own email to Slav when I provided him with feedback on his tours. Now, Slav has great ideas and is very forward thinking, but he simply fails in being able to run a company based on the principles he supposedly embraces. This is a real concern when we are talking about running a government. I invite others to peruse Slav\’s website of his company at http://www.commoncircle.com and judge for yourself whether his rules are clearly presented (note: the font color is just slightly darker than the background color if you can even find it). We also learned, once on the trip, that we were not allowed to get in water above our ankles. And to add to George\’s very accurate description of a Slav tour- imagine 32 people trying to find space to camp in just two forest service camping sites and Slav not wanting to pay the $10-$12 for a 3rd camping spot that wasn\’t adjacent to the other two because of \”risk management\”. We were so cramped in, that we were forced to place tents on vegetation. Oh, and I also learned that he didn\’t want me to leave my rain fly off my tent, for fear that it would give others the idea that not putting a rain fly on the tent was okay. I have to wonder what his risk management and fiscal policies would entail as mayor. Speaking of fiscal issues, another very misleading practice was having people pay deposits for their trip. Now, most of us would agree that by definition, a deposit means \”a sum payable as a first installment… with the balance being payable later\”. Not in Slav\’s world. This deposit was non-refundable. Now, in fairness to Slav, this practice has since been dropped. It appears that many others complained as well. Seems deceiving, don\’t you think?
Slav- I love Gandhi\’s quote and I hope you take it to heart- but in order to be a serious contender, you must be open and not ignore the feedback of others, you must be willing to laugh at yourself, and you must fight and demonstrate that you are a collaborator and can run your own business successfully before we can say collectively we\’ve won.
George (comment 37), there have been a few trolls trying to defeat constructive dialogue on this weblog from time to time, but you, contrary to what Vlad, candidate for mayor of the city of Portland says, are definitely not one of them as I see it. A more incisive tour review would be unusual from someone that was just a participant in one of his tours. No way would I ever opt for a tour experience like the one you described.
Vlad, you can boast all you want about what you\’ve accomplished in 26 yrs of life, but I\’d have to say that very little of what you\’ve shared with everyone here indicates that what you\’ve acquired in those 26 years since you were born, adequately prepares you to lead an entire city in the very complex world we live today. It\’s easy to BS over lofty ideas about sustainable living and a fairer society for all. That\’s fine for informally discussing things with friends, but not as a platform for mayor. For that, a mayoral candidate better be prepared to offer something far more substantial.
One of the things I ask myself about a candidate for mayor is whether they demonstrate the ability to interact effectively with many different kinds of people and groups in a way that can enable government to function well in attending to the needs of the city\’s residents. What have you done that demonstrates such an ability? What you have demonstrated so far indicates just the opposite.
My apologies Slav: I inadvertently got your name incorrect in my comment above.
More personal attacks, mostly with zero substance — I am not going there, sorry. If there was any merit to these ludicrous accusations beyond the poster\’s basic inability to read information presented (such as clear verbage \’non-refundable\’), my company would not be consistently *drastically* growing year after year, nor would we be expanding to two new states as we are right now, especially not in the lawyer-crazy society where we operate. These accusations are childishly ludicrous, especially coming from anonymous posters hiding behind their pseudonyms.
However again, this campaign isn\’t about me, and it certainly isn\’t about either of my companies. This is about the issues. Sustainability, health care, and real local living economics are going to be heard in this election. No more personality bashing folks. I refuse to respond to it. You want to challenge me on my issues — go for it, but this personality bashing won\’t get you anywhere. The issues I bring up *will* be heard in this election. Deal with it. You don\’t have to vote for me — but the issues I bring up *will* become part of the dialogue.
If you don\’t like me, you don\’t have to vote for me. But the dialogue is going to be shifted and we will be talking about issues that actually matter in this election.
Slav, did you just compare yourself to Gandhi? Don\’t do that. It makes you appear delusional. If you live for 2600 more years, you\’re never going to be Gandhi.
Anyway, several people now have said the same thing about your tour: poorly managed, little to no understanding of real liability issues, and inadequate interpersonal skills. These seem more like studied observations to me than personal attacks. Sure, some of them are about you, but if you can\’t handle that then you should stay out of politics.
And twice now you\’ve commented that people commenting here may be selecting their candide based on \”rosier cheeks.\” Isn\’t implying that we are incapable of judging the candidates on the issues a \”personal attack\” as you have defined it above?
I can tell you that I\’m perfectly capable of judging this race on its merits. And that\’s why I\’m voting for SAM FOR MAYOR!!
So, if you want to talk about issues, here\’s the first one I think you ought to address:
Are all these people who say they went on your tour and had a \”horrible\” experience lying?
If so, why so much animosity to your tour if it\’s so well run? If you generate that kind of negativity from running a bike tour, how can you possibly claimm to be able to unite people in the fractious political arena?
If not, then what makes you think you can run a big City?
Slav-
I was actually responding to a request from #18 to describe one of the tours. I did add some opinions of why I thought things happened, my apologies if I am guessing wrong.
Your comment about hiding behind a name on a blog makes it seem as if I am something sinister. This is not a movie or a conspiracy. I\’m a real person who was on your tour. And you have my credit card number, my home address, next of kin, probably my SSN from one of your forms. I\’m following your lead on the risk management front…
I am actually in favor of all (most I guess) of the social change you are promoting and I don\’t see too many people disagreeing with your ideas. They appear to be disagreeing with your methods and communication style.
So, in a sense, I guess it is the ultimate personal attack on you.
My suggestion: find a viable candidate who shares some of your passion about these issues and try to get hired on to the campaign. You would be a wonderful policy and position paper contributor. Your candidate could help connect with the people and you could help your candidate be effective in promoting some changes. Good luck to your future endeavors.
Slav,
First, apologies for referring to you as Vlad earlier.
Dude, you really need to take a deep breath, and a step back.
There are two possibilities here.
1. We\’re all gathering in a smoke-filled room somewhere and coordinating our stories and picking on you in some grand conspiracy.
or
2. There is more than a little truth to what people are saying here.
Take your pick. One version offers you comfort, the other offers you lessons.
There are no personal attacks here. People are telling you about their experiences with you. Some have personal experiences with you, others have experiences with you on this site. You mischaracterize and dismiss the perspectives of others at your own peril.
Yes you may have done a lot compared to other people your age. But you are still 26. And one thing that you cannot demonstrate at that age, is the very sustainability that you espouse for your businesses and our city.
I had a friend years ago who was a very aggressive business person. He succeeded early on, but it soon became apparent that a lot of his success was based on using up and spitting out his friends and customers with the force of his ego. It was a scorched Earth strategy that got him a lot early on, but started to fail as people learned what was happening.
He went through a tough middle phase, and is now coming out the other end a much different, more humble person. His successes are smaller, but they now build upon one another.
You can harangue us for not recognizing the genius that is you, or you can check your sizable ego and perhaps learn a thing or two. Your choice.
My spidey sense is warning me that all of this attention to nitpicking detail in the name of \”risk-management\” (while inexplicably ignoring real-world risks) indicates that Slav is using \”risk-management\” in lieu of being adequately insured.
Which, if accurate, would indicate performance issues we wouldn\’t want to bring to the Mayor\’s office.
Slav?