LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

[April 20th, 2005] Candidates on the Dole

How did the City Club manage to base their support for publicly subsidized city elections on a 5-year-old report that endorsed Measure 6 (which subsidized state elections)? Can we assume that a statewide measure-which failed-can be rewritten to fit a city, and then adopted by city fiat? At least the state Legislature had the good sense to subject their new entitlement to a vote of the people.

The city ordinance reports that only two incumbents lost the last 121 races (since 1970). It seems like the problem is the advantage enjoyed by incumbents, which could be fixed with term limits.

Can the City Council members vote themselves a new entitlement, worth as much as $600,000 each (assuming the challenger spent $600K, thereby opting out of the public subsidy)? Erik [Sten] must be real proud: He doesn't have to go out and kiss all that capitalist ass in order to fill up the campaign coffers. If they're interested in increasing the replacement rate of incumbents, why not exempt themselves from the new cash to avoid the conflict of interest?

I am-make that was-a member of City Club; nobody asked for my opinion on this boondoggle. If every member of the City Council votes themselves a $150K to $450K fundraising kick start, I will soon be a new member of the City of Vancouver.

W. Bruce Anderholt II
Southwest Ruby Terrace

Suspended Judgment

Your description of the Frank Dufay matter [Winners & Losers, April 13, 2005, which dubbed Dufay a Winner for having his suspension reduced on appeal] missed the point of my concern for his behavior.

To set the record straight, Dufay is not an auditor and did not release audit work on Randy Leonard. Dufay is a collections supervisor who used his regular working hours to try to find campaign contributors who received special benefits from Leonard's bureau. Dufay emailed his data to the campaign manager of a Leonard opponent in the City Council race, three weeks before the election.

Dufay's activities were outside his job responsibilities, and involved the improper use of his work time and city resources. In addition, his actions created the impression that an Auditor's Office employee was using city resources for political purposes, and the impression that the Auditor's Office was not an impartial supervisor of city elections.

I still think Dufay's actions were highly improper, despite the Civil Service Board's decision on his suspension.

Gary Blackmer
Portland City Auditor
Southwest 4th Avenue