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In Portland politics, politeness rules—the phrase "Portland nice" has come to characterize the artificial manner in which public officials often deal with unpleasant truths.
Today's City Hall press conference in which Mayor Charlie Hales announced the departure of Police Chief Larry O'Dea amid an investigation into a bizarre off-duty shooting incident is a case in point.
Related: Hales names Capt. Mike Marshman as Portland's new police chief.
Hales blasted the media for exposing the cover-up O'Dea orchestrated: telling a Harney County Sheriff's deputy that a friend accidentally shot himself, then the friend to apologize for accidentally shooting him—then neglecting to tell his boss, Hales what happened.
Rather than addressing the discrepancy, the mayor pronounced himself "disappointed in trial by media," and spent much of an hour-long press conference singing O'Dea's praises. "Larry had worked really hard at representing the 'new Portland," he said, according to a tweet from KGW's Rachael Rafanelli. "I want to thank him for his decades of service to the city."
Of course, it's appropriate for the mayor to thank O'Dea for his 30 years of service but that's not the point.
In a statement, Portland Police Association President Daryl Turner gave a more candid assessment of the effect on the bureau of having its chief caught in apparent lie about a gun incident.
Willamette Week