July 16th, 2008
John McCain | Give the money back, senator.5 comments
July 9th, 2008
Bill Bradbury | A signature embarrassment.9 comments
July 2nd, 2008
Legacy Good Samaritan | Please, go by streetcar27 comments
June 25th, 2008
Bill O’Reilly | Pledge allegiance to the gasbag.35 comments
June 18th, 2008
Paul Schuberg and Mike Reiner | Safety inspection? Get a warrant.11 comments
June 11th, 2008
Ed Kame’enui | Read this and weep.16 comments
June 4th, 2008
Harlem Globetrotters | Who’s swatting an Obama artist.18 comments
May 28th, 2008
Employee Freedom Action Committee | The calculus of desperation3 comments
May 21st, 2008
Hillary Clinton | The calculus of desperation8 comments
May 14th, 2008
Women’s Voices, Women’s Vote | An Orwellian approach to universal suffrage.1 comment
 IMAGE: WW photo illustration |
[February 27th, 2008]
On Monday, the city Auditor’s Office OK’d City Council candidate Jim Middaugh for public campaign financing. That means between now and the May 20 primary, Middaugh will be spending $140,535 of your money.
He’s already spent thousands of dollars preparing direct mailings. We hope they’re a little more forthcoming than his campaign website. Until WWire called him on it last week, the site—the first reference for many voters—made a Roguish error of omission.
It extolled Middaugh’s work for U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) in the 1980s. It talked up his work for the organizations now known as Oregon Wild and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. It even bragged about how he “cycles, plays guitar and enjoys cooking for friends and family.”
That’s all dandy. But the site failed to mention how for the past two years, Middaugh has been the $74,000-a-year chief of staff to the commissioner he hopes to replace, Erik Sten.
Rather, his official bio made him seem like he wouldn’t know City Hall from a hole in the ground. “I’ve never run for office before and don’t have lots of connections to the big downtown law firms and business interests. But, I do have connections to my neighborhood and regular folks like you,” Middaugh wrote.
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Think we’re too sensitive? Well, we’ve been here before with the “I’m an outsider” shtick: most memorably, when Sam Adams, longtime chief of staff to Mayor Vera Katz, ran successfully for council in 2004 on a promise to “shake up City Hall.” The slogan helped Adams upset Nick Fish—who happens to be Middaugh’s chief opponent this time around.
Middaugh says his City Hall job was inadvertently left out. (It’s now on the website.) “I’m proud of the fact that I work for Erik and actively promote that when I’m campaigning,” Middaugh told WW. (Take note: Fish, the son of a moderate Republican congressman, lists no biographical info on his website.)
Seriously? This was a week when the chair of the Oregon GOP declared that not paying payroll taxes and being hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt--and going further into debt to pay off that debt--was no big deal. A high school canceled a play because of some gay undertones. Lars Larson was once again shown to be a disingenuous blowhard when his baseless, career-damaging claim against Kulongoski was thrown out. And Ralph Nader and some of the Kafourys decided we need four or eight more years of Republicans in the White House.
And yet THIS is your Rogue of the Week? Someone who temporarily--and apparently, inadvertently, according to all available evidence--left a bit of bio info off of their campaign site? Call me loony, but I think a newspaper blowing this non-story into a scandal in an attempt at damaging his campaign is a helluva lot more roguish.
Please please please continue this humiliating slide into irrelevance. It's fun to watch.
ha ha! Wake up Nerd! Lars has hardly
"damaged" his career taking on Sleepy
Ted. If Middaugh "inadvertently" left this vital piece of info off his bio he must be missing key pieces of his brain matter.
please allow me to mention the (more accurate) Mercury counterpart to this feeble roasting attempt:
blogtown.portlandmercury.com/2008/0...
i've heard Middaugh speak a few times, and he has each time promoted his work with Sten's office to alleviate poverty and end homelessness. thanks for pointing out the website omission to his campaign, but is this really noteworthy? shall i send a scolding press release or letter to your editor for every omission you commit in your pages? really?
In many ways, Jim brings so much more understanding of the workings of the region, the city and its constituents than when Sten or Adams first ran for Council. If WW's editorial staff can find a candidate who offers a more thorough understanding of the area's environment and how the business community is able to contribute, please report it. Let's be fair: this particular Rogue feature smacks of a slow day in the newsroom. It's reckless journalism. Jim Middaugh hasn't spent the last 25 years learning how to campaign or mulling public office. My understanding is that he's been working his tail off contributing to the sustainability of our rivers, forests, and some of the most vulnerable segments of our local population. If it matters, I've known Jim for 28 years. He's more than articulate and smart; he's inspired and offers a unique ability to assimilate a wide range of perspectives to make decisions and strong policy that benefit a greater good.
I heard him speak at a forum in SW Portland. I'm glad I could focus on his being articulate, aware, and passionate about the concerns of the homeless and others who struggle to find decent, affordable housing. I could care less that he plays himself off as a yokel. Hell, if anyone in Portland were genuine, what a city this would be...