This Week in the Mercury

Blogtown, PDX

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Politics Randy Leonard Sets Record Straight Over Sit/Lie

Posted by Matt Davis on Thu, May 10 at 4:15 PM

Now here’s a curious thing. At yesterday’s council session, Commissioner Randy Leonard voted FOR the sit/lie ordinance, despite having raised civil liberties concerns over it the previous week. So Dan Handelman of Portland Copwatch wrote him today to ask why:

Commissioner Leonard,

A few of us who watched the vote on the Sidewalk Obstructions vote yesterday were wondering why you voted against the oversight committee (last week) and yet for the ordinance (this week) when you appeared to be concerned with civil liberties issues in the ordinance. Thanks, Dan Handelman

We, too, were a little perplexed, but it turns out, Leonard was reading a piece of paper and thought he was voting for something different at the time.

“I momentarily made an error,” he tells the Mercury. “I was reading something in front of me and thought I was voting on that. I wasn’t paying attention.”

Leonard waited until the next ordinance had passed (by which time, we had stopped paying attention, too) and went back and changed his vote, to “no,” on the sit/lie ordinance. Yes, it still passed, but the mayor cannot claim the vote was unanimous. I’m sure Scott Moore will be able to tell us later whether this is unusual or not. But it’s nice to get a straight answer to a straight question from City Hall for a change.

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Comments

I'm sorry, could you repost this? I wasn't paying attention.

Posted by b!X | May 10, 2007 4:47 PM

If Randy starts wearing a trenchcoat and begins flashing statues, I'm voting for him as mayor.

Posted by martin | May 10, 2007 5:34 PM

so this is an argument for changing Portland's form of government and voting YES on 26-91 right?

Posted by k | May 10, 2007 5:34 PM

Nah. Since apparently Curiously-Strong Mayor would give them more time to legislate, that would mean more pieces of paper in front of them, and therefore MORE chance of accidentally voting the wrong way on something.

Posted by b!X | May 10, 2007 5:42 PM

Yesterdays initial wrong vote by me was not one of my best moments. I was very embarrassed once I realized the mistake I made (hat tip to Commissioner Adams for the elbow after my wrong vote).

The corrected official record does show, however, that I voted No.

Posted by Randy Leonard | May 10, 2007 11:23 PM

Randy Leonard is cool.

Posted by Matt Davis | May 11, 2007 8:25 AM

What was the final vote? Who was yea and who was nay?

Posted by Dave Lister | May 11, 2007 8:30 AM

All voted yay except Leonard on free speech grounds.

Sten (who was damned if he did and damned if he didn't, on this one) didn't look pleased about voting yes but reportedly muttered "congratulations, Mayor" as the votes were cast. Sincere? Possibly. But that's the great thing about veiled sarcasm, you never can quite tell if it's there...

Posted by Matt Davis | May 11, 2007 8:43 AM

Good for Randy. At least one of them didn't cave to the PBA on this.

Posted by Dave Lister | May 11, 2007 9:41 AM

The fake cops get to enforce this too right?

Posted by Chris | May 11, 2007 10:57 AM

I don't believe I've ever seen that happen so, no, it's not very common. Sten changed his vote from no to yes on the Drug Free Zone extension, but that was intentional.

Posted by Scott Moore | May 11, 2007 11:15 AM

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