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Cruising down Northeast Killingsworth Avenue last week in a battleship-gray Chevy Caprice driven by bodyguard Chuck Bolliger, Mayor Vera Katz peers out the window. She looks worried.

Boss of the country's 25th largest city, Katz faces a vexing web of problems: cash-strapped schools, congested and pockmarked streets, a toxic harbor, declining wages and loss of jobs to the suburbs.

On a more personal note, Katz, 65, is grappling with another issue in the waning days of 1998--whether to seek a third term as mayor. It's a decision that will have a huge impact on the city and the career plans of at least two other city commissioners.

But that's not what's troubling the mayor right now. She's focusing on a wall that's been tagged with graffiti. Katz makes a note of the location: "Killingsworth and Williams," she says studiously. You get the feeling that if she weren't hurrying to a series of pressing appointments, she would hop out and scrub the wall herself.

Such attention to detail has served Katz well during her six years in City Hall. She remains immensely popular, the city's bonds are rated triple-A on Wall Street, and
the number of homicides in Northeast Portland has
dropped 70 percent from last year.

But that same attention to detail has also haunted Katz. She's been busy on many fronts, but she hasn't taken the kind of bold steps Portland prides itself on. For all the hard work she's done, some Portlanders feel a sense of lost opportunity.

"Overall she's done a good job, but somewhere in there, something is lacking," says Harold Schnitzer, one of the city's leading landlords and philanthropists.

"At this point, I'm not really confident the city has a vision and mission," says city auditor Barbara Clark.

Far more lacerating was a recent attack by Oregonian columnist Steve Duin, who wrote that Katz had "little in the way of original thought" and was the "wrong kind of mayor."

It's not just the political elite who share this view. "She is slowly losing her flame," says University of Portland student Amanda Calnan. "I think it's time for somebody else. Vera is getting stale."

Katz can't believe people are saying such things. She argues that initiatives like her anti-graffiti campaign are part of a grand plan that is indeed visionary. The problem, she insists, is that people just don't see it.

"When I read some of these critics, I wonder what planet they are on," responds Katz. "If I fail at anything, it's that I'm not constantly telling the story of what we're accomplishing."

The mayor says she's tempted to run for another term in the year 2000 to finish all the work she's started--and pollsters say the job's hers if she wants it. But there are those who don't think that would be best for the city.

"I just don't think the city can go through such a precious time with small dreams and big talk," says Gary Papers, who chairs the urban design committee of the Portland chapter of the American Institute of Architects. "I don't believe the city will benefit from an additional term of 'steady as she goes.'"

Are the critics being unfair? Is it that they don't appreciate the mayor or that they understand her all too well?

By any traditional measure, Katz has accomplished a good deal (see "Vera's Marks" on pages 28-29). When asked to grade the mayor, George Passadore, president of Wells Fargo banks in Oregon, gives her an "A." Historian Kimbark MacColl says Katz deserves a "B+."

But even MacColl, an old friend who gave Katz a job teaching modern dance at Catlin Gabel back in the 1960s, concedes there's something disappointing about the mayor.

When asked what Katz stands for, MacColl paused, thought awhile and said, "Wow."

"She has not tackled any issue that I would call too controversial," says MacColl, who has written three books about politics in Portland. "I don't know what specifically she will be remembered for."

"I don't identify her with any one issue," adds City Commissioner Erik Sten, who says he might run for mayor if Katz doesn't. "I see somebody trying to work on all fronts, for better or worse."

Some Portlanders expect something bolder. As the Mayor's Business Roundtable noted in a report at the beginning of her term, "Portland, Oregon, is synonymous with vision."

Katz appears baffled by the criticism. She points to a number of big projects she's thrown her energies into: bailing out Portland schools, building a new neighborhood in the River District, trying to cap I-405, negotiating a new park block next to Tom Moyer's rising skyscraper on Southwest Broadway and, most recently, taking a stab at renovating Civic Stadium.

"I resurrected the Moyer park several times," she says. "So many times we gave that project the code name 'Phoenix rising.'"

There's also her work raising millions for the Classical Chinese Gardens in Old Town-Chinatown. "I resurrected that big time," she says. And let's not forget the millions in city funds she steered toward the Portland Art Museum and Oregon Ballet Theatre. "We needed to do something big, B-I-G," she exclaims about the the art museum.

Papers, the architect, remains unimpressed. "We are in a once-in-a-50-year boom cycle on her watch, and you'd expect more bold, visionary concepts to come through," he says.

It's hard being a visionary, though, when your city is hailed as a model of success--the urban equivalent of the New York Yankees. The problem gets worse when you're compared with former mayor Neil Goldschmidt, a Ruthian figure who launched a renaissance of downtown Portland 25 years ago by building the city's first light-rail line, the transit mall and Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Bank president Passadore says the glaring problems that could be fixed easily have been. "It's easy to take a company in the trough and bring it to a peak. But when your city is operating at a very high standard, just maintaining that standard year after year becomes more difficult."

Katz does reign in a much different environment than Goldschmidt did. In his time, the city was stagnating--literally. Portland's air quality violated federal pollution standards more days than not. Coming out of the turbulent 1960s, Goldschmidt gave the people what they wanted: change.

At the end of the prosperous 1990s, most people are looking for a steady hand at the helm. "When the economy is good, people want things kept on an even keel," says pollster Tim Hibbitts. "Most voters operate under the premise that if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

So while times are good and Katz is very popular--more so than Goldschmidt, according to Hibbitts--that doesn't mean she can and should address problems people aren't worried about.

"I hear these jabbering policy wonks. To some degree, it's a lot of gas," says Hibbitts. "Unless there's a moral or ethical issue--like segregation--I don't think any politician has any responsibility to go out and say, 'I know you don't worry about this but I do.'"

Critics maintain that Katz's rise to greatness has been hindered by more than the economic and political climate. They see inherent shortcomings in her and her staff.

Auditor Clark says the mayor's biggest failure is her hiring of staff. Again, the comparison with Goldschmidt arises. Goldschmidt was secure enough to surround himself with a cadre of brash young thinkers, a kitchen cabinet that liked to argue ideas for hours on end.

But none of the 30 or so people interviewed for this story cited Katz's staff as being particularly strong. In fact, no one on Katz's staff was ever mentioned, except for chief aide Sam Adams, a flinty 35-year old Democratic tactician who worked with Katz when she was Speaker of the state House of Representatives. Nice people, hard workers. "But it's a mechanical, technical staff, not an idea staff," says MacColl.

Another problem for Katz is her cautious nature. Some think it comes from her 20 years in the state Legislature, where ideas have to be filtered through committees, two chambers and the governor's office.

"I wonder if all those years in the state Legislature made her too timid," says Papers.

MacColl sees another flaw in Katz. "Vera wants to be loved," the local historian says. "She doesn't want to take on anything too controversial. I don't think any politician wants to, with the exception of [former governors] Tom McCall and Neil Goldschmidt. McCall probably didn't give a damn."

There's also the possibility that for all her energy and verve, Katz's age may contribute to her cautiousness. Goldschmidt, for instance, was just 35 when reelected mayor in 1976. It's not surprising that he took swashbuckling risks. But Katz seems more concerned with making sure Portland doesn't deteriorate, hence her pride in maintaining the city's bond rating.

The mayor might even be a prisoner of her own propaganda. City Commissioner Charlie Hales notes that Portland hasn't solved problems like school funding and overburdened streets--it's only put patches on them.

"Band-Aids and damage control are not enough," says Hales, who also wants to run for mayor. "If we went into the 1970s with the city stalled under a cloud of smog, we're going into the next decade stalled under a cloud of smug."

The mayor has limited herself to a small circle of advisors, some say. She lists her confidants as Adams, Goldschmidt, finance director Tim Grewe, development director Felicia Trader, NW Natural executive Gregg Kantor, political strategist Len Bergstein and her closest friends--banker Janice Wilson, public relations manager Jackie Hallock, vintner Susan Sokol-Blosser, city purchasing chief Susan Schreiber and management consultant Kathleen Dotten.

Harold Schnitzer says Katz should confide in more business leaders. "What made Neil [Goldschmidt] so successful was that he was not intimidated by business leaders. He picked the best brains and followed through," says Schnitzer. "I think Vera has not drawn on the reservoir of business talent."

Hales says the problem extends to her relations with the city council, which MacColl considers the most talented quintet of commissioners to have ever served the city. Hales says the mayor's chief weakness is her "self-imposed isolation" from the commissioners. "She doesn't take advantage of our strengths as often as she should," he explains.

Katz laughs at the charges. "Council relations in the so-called golden years [of Goldschmidt] were an utter disaster," she says. "They threw things at one another and walked out." She says her well-publicized feuds with Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury are overblown.

Kafoury, who's retiring in January, feels differently. "It's funny because Vera says she hates the way city government operates in silos. But I don't see her creating or fostering a collaborative environment," says Kafoury.

As a result of the council's fractiousness, the commissioners and the mayor often operate like five players on a basketball team who all want the ball at the same time and are looking out for their own stats rather than the welfare of the team.

A recent council retreat seemed to illustrate the problem. The gang of five drew up a list of city priorities. It contained 26 different items.

"Instead of coming up with a mission and a vision, they came up with a laundry list of pet projects," says Clark.

Although many of the city's more obvious problems have been tackled, there's no lack of big challenges facing Katz.

Don McClave, director of the Portland Chamber of Commerce, gives Katz glowing marks but points to one major problem: The city has not kept pace with the suburbs in creating new, well-paying jobs.

In fact, back in 1994, the Mayor's Business Roundtable stressed this as the city's top problem. The group noted that Portland's per capita income--once 19 percent higher than that in the rest of the region--had declined to a level lower than the rest of the region's.

The job problem is crucial, McClave says, because it affects the tax base, schools and other municipal programs, which, in turn, affect Portland's quality of life.

Unfortunately, McClave says, the city doesn't have a clear strategy for recruiting target industries, developing jobs and boosting wages.

Katz shouldn't take all the blame. In fact, she has worked on job development but has been discouraged by digs from Kafoury, Sten and former commissioner Earl Blumenauer about using "corporate welfare" to attract businesses.

Still, McClave says, as the city's leader Katz should push harder for job growth. "If one thing needs to be moved to center stage, it's that," he says.

Affordable housing is another issue crying for bold ideas. Papers says the mayor ought to require developers, particularly those who get city subsidies, to build more low-income housing.

"If she wanted to go down in history, she would force developers to pay their fair share," Papers says. "They're making money hand over fist."

The Willamette River is perhaps the biggest symbol of the mayor's blind spot. In 1996, when the river was dangerously swollen with flood waters, Katz responded heroically in what was perhaps her finest moment as mayor. The problem was so obvious it couldn't be ignored, but when the flood waters receded, so too did the mayor's attention.

"Leadership and vision for the Willamette is missing in the mayor's office," says Don Francis, co-director of Willamette Riverkeeper, a nonprofit group working to keep the river safe for fishing and swimming. "The last several years have offered a rare opportunity to improve the Willamette and bring it back to the community. So far, this opportunity has largely been squandered."

The river needs to be cleaned up and made accessible for recreation to all Portlanders, not just those who can afford a condo in the River District, says Francis.

If Katz made some bolder strokes, it's hard to imagine anyone who would have more followers. When she wants, Katz can be charming, stimulating and teary-eyed--and a gifted saleswoman.

According to pollster Hibbitts, most Portlanders still find her charismatic and likable.

"Vera is one of the few politicians who doesn't immediately set off voters' bullshit detectors," adds Lauren Moughon, former press secretary for Ron Wyden's and Tom Bruggere's senate campaigns. "She's real. It's one part New York attitude, one part love of Portland and one part Amazon warrior."

People tend to trust her. Even Ted Piccolo, the North Portland anti-tax activist who led recent campaigns against bond measures for parks, light rail and the convention center, confesses a begrudging respect for the mayor.

Perhaps it's because Katz has the work ethic of an Olympian athlete. "She is 10 years older than me and has 10 times more stamina," says auditor Clark.

She also has an accountant's appetite for detail and a keen appreciation of how city government works. Commissioner Jim Francesconi believes that Katz is finally getting secure in her role as mayor, allowing her to make dramatic improvements in a number of areas.

"If you asked me 18 months ago if the mayor should run again, I would've said I don't know," Francesconi says. "Now I'm coming to the conclusion she should. She's more comfortable, therefore more willing to take advantage of the strengths of the council."

That willingness has translated into new collaborative initiatives with Francesconi on juvenile-crime prevention, school accountability and economic development. The mayor has also revamped the Portland Development Commission and shown renewed interest in the river. Now, she's talking about pedestrian bridges, water taxis, an east bank park and beaches.

Francesconi argues that Katz doesn't need to cast about for visionary projects. They're right under her leopard-skin hat.

"The river is a challenge and opportunity for her to pull some things together," he says. "And if we are on the edge of losing our public school system, what better mayor can we have on this issue?"

The question that remains is whether Katz is up for the challenge.

Adams, her closest confidant, believes she is. "She has the passion and energy to continue to do the job. We have much underway that remains to be completed," he says. "In the final analysis, however, I recognize her decision is a very personal one. Out of respect for that, I do not lobby her either way."

So the decision rests solely with the mayor. "I'm having that conversation with myself right now," Katz says. She promises to have it with the rest of Portland sometime in 1999.

Vera's Marks
How does Vera Katz unwind after a long day that includes everything from bell ringing for the Salvation Army to planning for the state's biggest millenium party? Most nights she sits home alone listening to a police scanner. "I know you think I'm crazy," she says. "It's just to get a sense of what's happening on the streets."

Some critics see the millenium party and scanner as emblems of Katz's tenure as mayor. They would have you believe that Katz has stumbled around City Hall avoiding important tasks while spending inordinate time on frivolous ideas.

In truth, her record is far stronger than critics acknowledge. During her six years as mayor, Katz has demonstrated effective leadership on many of the crucial matters facing the city. Here's our assessment of Katz's performance on 10 important issues facing Portland.

EDUCATION
School districts are separate governments, and City Hall has no authority to meddle in education affairs. But that hasn't stopped Katz from being a leader in the ongoing battle to save public schools. In the past five years, she has guided $27 million in city funds to Portland area schools. Last year, Katz headed a statewide lobbying group called the Coalition for School Funding Now! In that role, Katz traveled across the state convincing rural Oregonians that they faced the same predicament as Portlanders.

Through daily grassroots efforts and occasional mass demonstrations, the coalition persuaded GOP lawmakers to give more state funds to Oregon schools (approximately $680 million) than the governor had budgeted.

To her credit, Katz didn't just throw money at schools. She demanded accountability and threatened to take control of the Portland schools if they didn't perform. "I can't say with a straight face that there's more she can do in education," says City Commissioner Erik Sten.

TRANSPORTATION
In the last year, Katz helped develop plans to build a light-rail line to the airport and construct a streetcar system that will run from Portland State University to Northwest Portland. She also steered $5 million in budget surplus to road repairs. Not bad for someone who says she hates to travel.

At the same time, Katz has been tough on those who hold the transportation purse strings. She publicly excoriated legislators for failing to increase the state's gas tax--comparing them at one point to impotent pandas--and she remains one of the few politicians willing to butt heads with the Tri-Met and Metro honchos she calls the "transportation mafia."

On the less successful side, it appears her proposal to make all Tri-Met rides free to everyone is headed for a ditch. The committee she created to study fareless transit isn't enthusiastic about the idea. As committee member George Passadore says, there's little evidence free transit will get people out of cars, and it may raise security concerns. There's also the problem of how to compensate Tri-Met for the $37 million it would lose annually in fares.

CRIME
Katz has a done a good job cracking down on bad guys. It's true that crime rates are dropping in cities across the country, but Portland has seen even more dramatic reductions, especially in certain crimes like auto theft.

Results have been particularly encouraging in areas Katz targeted, such as Northeast Portland. After a rash of gang-related shootings rocked Northeast in 1997, Katz convened a team of city, county and federal officials to curb youth violence and get guns off the streets. As of last month, the number of homicides in Northeast was down from 22 in 1997 to just seven this year--and a teenager hasn't been killed in Northeast since July.

JOB DEVELOPMENT
In 1994, the Mayor's Business Roundtable reported stagnant wages and the loss of jobs to the suburbs were the most important issues facing Portland. Four years later, the mayor is still putting together a strategy.

That's not the only disappointment. Last year, she trumpeted her plan to use a $2 million federal grant to help ad agency Wieden & Kennedy move into an old Pearl District building. Within weeks, though, Katz withdrew the idea after federal officials complained that such grants were meant to create jobs for low-income minorities, not ad execs.

Last month, Katz's office had to admit another mistake. The city planned to jointly apply with Vancouver for a new federal urban-aid program. Unfortunately, Portland's consultant blew the application deadline. Angry Vancouver officials were left muttering about a lawsuit. (Katz says the incident has nothing to do with the fact that Mark Clemons, the city's economic development director, announced his resignation last week.)

GROWTH MANAGEMENT
Though she's not been as visible or vocal on growth issues as City Commissioner Charlie Hales, the mayor has advanced regional and city plans. John Fregonese, formerly the top planner at Metro, praises Katz for spurring redevelopment of the River District, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the Gateway neighborhood. "She's giving us a dandy reality if not a lot of vision," says Fregonese.

Katz also deserves credit for starting a dialogue with Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard and trying to direct high-density housing to downtown Portland--where it's more easily accepted--rather than shoehorn it into existing single-family neighborhoods.

It remains to be seen whether Katz's plans to build thousands of housing units in the North Macadam area and I-405 will materialize.

GOVERNMENT REFORM
When she first ran for mayor, Katz pledged to reinvent local government. But her most dramatic action--an effort to consolidate city and county governments--was a dismal failure. For nearly two years Katz pushed the idea, but it went nowhere. It excited neither taxpayers nor business leaders, and Katz never did a good job selling the idea. In the end, she couldn't muster a single vote of support from the city and county commissions. Even worse, the project took staff time and resources away from more pressing matters.

Another setback was Katz's inability to reform the city's police and firefighters pension system this year. The pension fund saddles the city with an $800 million liability that threatens its bond rating and funding for basic services like parks and public safety. Yet Katz couldn't round up support from the unions and city council to fix the problem. "It's a crucial issue that could one day break the budget," says historian Kimbark MacColl.

At least she took a stab at the problem, Katz counters. "No one else was even willing to go down that road." Katz vows she'll take the issue to voters in two years.

HOUSING
Katz got off to a rocky start. She feuded with City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury and housing advocate Susan Emmons.

But there's no question Katz has supported low-income housing. In 1996, she delivered over $30 million in city money for affordable housing. This year, she voted for Kafoury's controversial housing-preservation plan, which was fiercely opposed by landlords. Katz also won raves for hiring Baruti Artharee to run the Portland Development Commission's housing programs.

All that's missing now are a few bold initiatives. For instance, Katz could tackle the gentrification problem by requiring developers to provide more low-income housing, or she could follow up on a 1997 audit that found tremendous redundancy and administrative costs in city and county housing programs.

COMMUNICATION
Katz has a magnetic personality, but city commissioners have often felt repelled by the mayor's frosty side. Commissioners complain that Katz rarely comes down to visit them from her third-floor roost in City Hall. It's serious stuff: In Portland's weak mayoral form of government, the city's success depends on a mayor's ability to work with the council.

"Others have pulled it off," says former banker Bob Ames. "To be really effective, it requires a lot of down and dirty working it out with people."

Commissioner Jim Francesconi believes the chill is starting to thaw and that Katz is embarking on a new era of collaboration with the council.

When it comes to dealing with the public, Katz, who grew up in New York, can be caustic--particularly to those who disagree with her. At the same time, the mayor who loves to call people "sweet pea" can show incredible warmth and tenderness, as well as a quick sense of humor.

ARTS
Rudy Giuliani, Willie Brown and Richard Daley have got nothin' on Katz when it comes to the arts. The former dance instructor has been a leading patron of Portland's art scene. "You couldn't ask for anything better," says philanthropist Harold Schnitzer. In 1995, Katz supported Commissioner Mike Lindberg's request to give $1 million to the Portland Art Museum. This year, she steered another $1 million in tax dollars to the Oregon Ballet Theatre.

Next in line for her help will probably be the opera. "If we are truly going to be a center for culture," Katz says, "city government needs to participate."

MILLENIUM
OK, so it's not really one of the more important issues. And, yeah, some City Hall insiders snicker. ("I think Portlanders will manage to party for the millennium without our help," says Charlie Hales.) But Katz started from a point of civic pride--"I got sick of hearing that the Space Needle was booked"--and decided to challenge Portlanders to summon the volunteer spirit that led them to erect the great wall during the flood of 1996. Katz wants companies, neighborhood groups and community activists of all stripes to do something, whatever it might be, to mark the fin de siècle. She trusts it will be good. Ever the compulsive taskmaster, she's also using the millennium to prod city managers to complete projects ahead of time.

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Willamette Week | originally published December 16, 1998