It’s official: Mayor Wheeler adds Sam Adams to his team

A guy whose first action as mayor was to lie to the people. And rejected by voters after multiple attempts to get back into Portland government. Figures sleazy Wheeler would offer him a back door back into city hall.

I agree “Nadia Maxim”. It’s obvious that we have veered deeply into enabling a shortsighted and deeply-unjust economic system that values theft and obfuscation over personal responsibility and community health. I too look forward to seeing the people who operate and profit from such an unjust system suffer the consequences of their unfortunate choices. They may not have the moral or intellectual abilities to understand – but that’s why we have the police, to sweep them aside when they refuse to redistribute the wealth that they’ve stolen from the commons. You can only have so much empathy for such people. Thank you for bringing your wisdom to the Bikeportland comment section, thus undermining all the reactionary voices crowding this space recently (oddly, they seem especially aggrieved whenever the name of the only Black woman on city council comes up – I can’t figure out why). /s

I dunno, but it feels like we’re listening to Ned Flanders’ mom right now; We’ve tried nothin’ and we’re all out of ideas.

What is happening now, nothing, is not ok. It sucks for campers, it sucks for folks living near campers, and everyone in between. I live nearish Johnson Creek and all the seasonal wetlands and flood plains that so many people have put a lot of work into restoring are *trashed*. MUPs are sketchy to use for a lot of people. Trash bags are grabbed, shredded and strewn at bus stops and on sidewalks. There’s a camp near the Plaid on 21st and Powell. It’s gonna be having it’s 1 year anniversary soon. Initially it was a couple carts. Now it takes up what might be two parking spaces and the sidewalk is entirely blocked and unusable. Cars are dumped, stripped and sometimes burned out all over the place. It’s nuts, man. This sucks! If you had told me this is what Portland would look like ten years ago, hell, five years ago, I’d have said you were out of your mind.

If Sam Adams has any idea on what to do, or will listen to people with ideas and can get *something* going, then hell yeah, it needs to happen.

Yep, many of the non-profits are feeding off the problem. Take for example the poorly structured recently passed Metro homeless measure. The majority of the local press were against it and/or highly critical of it. Yet it passed easily. It will be an expensive boondoggle. Of course many non-profits view it as a local “gravy train” without any need to show results for the money they will consume.

I think you make some good points. Just not sure the taxpayers of Portland can afford the Cadillac level “wrap around” services you describe. People come to Portland from all over the USA due to the programs currently offered and the leniency shown here. I think all we can afford is bare bone shelters. Build enough and then we can vigorously enforce no camping laws. At least we would then have some normalcy in our neighborhoods. Until the feds begin funding mental health services again (cut by Reagan) as well as drug treatment I think local efforts will simply be overwhelmed by new arrivals.

What people? The actual taxpayers? There are fewer and fewer of those…