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Last week, WW endorsed the reelection of City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. That endorsement was greeted with universal acclaim. Just kidding: It was met with frustration and scorn, as the city’s most embattled public official fights for her political career against two challengers to her right. Hardesty’s detractors felt we airbrushed her record; her supporters felt we displayed insufficient commitment to police reform. Here’s what our readers had to say:
Centrist for Common Sense, via wweek.com: “You know, WW, I thought maybe the chaos unleashed in this city following endorsements of people like Mike Schmidt and Jo Ann Hardesty would have taught the editors something. Apparently not. I’m truly ashamed that you’ve opted to endorse Hardesty again. Either Gonzalez or Mozyrsky sound like reasonable candidates. Hardesty does not. WW is one more reason why Portlanders are voting with their feet. Shame on you.”
Tara Lindsay Gilson-Fraga, via Facebook: “Clearly, she’s done a lot of work, which is refreshing to see in an official. I believe she’d get farther by highlighting other things that help reduce crime: higher wages, more employment opportunities, higher graduation rates, and mental health awareness. Focusing funds there and away from police without explicitly saying ‘defund’ is something we can all surely get behind.”
Mark Sneedly, via wweek.com: “WW basically admits Hardesty is terrible with her finances and of questionable character. Sounds like the exact person you wouldn’t want in a position of power. But they give her a thumbs-up anyway because she’s done a good job of hamstringing the Portland Police Bureau and she forced some traffic changes. Meanwhile, crime and traffic deaths are breaking records. It’s like endorsing a serial arsonist for fire chief.”
Karol Collymore, via Twitter: “You did oversimplify. You took a risk and oversimplified something so deeply important to people that I’m shocked that you wrote it. Fighting for liberation and equality should not be the opposite of city safety. I’m sad that the nuance escaped you.”
StillboBaggins, via Reddit: “The spread between The Oregonian and WW continues to widen.
“The theme in WW is basically ‘everything is bad, but it’s not as bad as everyone thinks it is, so let’s just let everyone keep doing their thing.’”
Blastosist, via Reddit: “WW’s endorsement of Hardesty: It’s you, not her.”
Letter: Why Reelect Failure?
Let me start by saying I like WW. I like the wackiness and I like the skilled reporting. I remember fondly having dinner at local restaurants and reading the outrageous sexual ads to my beloved president emeritus of Reed College. In truth, I pretty much like everything about WW.
I especially liked the mail I just received from WW that warned me that the endorsements would make me angry. They did (and I am), but I still like WW.
Crime is up, taxes are up, homelessness is exploding, the central core is emptying out, traffic fatalities are increasing, and the city’s infrastructure is decaying in front of our eyes.
The City Council has failed on almost every single count. They don’t cooperate. They haven’t researched the problems or sought substantive answers.
The endorsement of Hardesty and Ryan reflected that they tried hard. Hardesty did lower the speed limits, but the number of traffic deaths increased. Ryan has energetically pursued policies that failed before to reduce homelessness.
Electing the lovable has failed. Compared to previous Portland commissioners, Hardesty and Ryan have few qualifications. We need more police and body cams. We need a centralized homeless shelter that supplies health, safety and treatment. We need to stop deforestation and admit that “America’s greenest city” is steadily turning black.
Let me close on a positive note. There is nothing wrong that cannot be repaired. However, asking the same incumbents to continue failing is the worst form of folly.
Robert McCullough
McCullough Research
LETTERS to the editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: PO Box 10770, Portland OR, 97296 Email: mzusman@wweek.com