Blogtown, PDX

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

News Dumb Move: Mayor Fires Gang Outreach Boss

Posted by Matt Davis on Tue, Sep 25 at 11:02 AM

From Maxine Bernstein at the Oregonian, who is clearly back from maternity leave with a vengeance:

John Canda, hired last year to set up the mayor’s new Office of Youth Violence Prevention, was told late today he’d have to resign or face firing because he was rarely in the office and often could not be located.

Mayor Tom Potter hired Canda in mid-July 2006 to coordinate a regional approach to youth- and gang-violence prevention. Canda’s salary was $67,000.

Bloody hell, where did that come from?! Good to have you back, Maxine. Anyway, here’s Canda, pictured earlier this year by Bikeportland.org’s Jonathan Maus:

CANDA: Reaching out…

I blame Potter’s lack of support and leadership for Canda’s failure to achieve. As a community outreach director, one would expect the guy to be out in the community and not sat behind his desk. But Potter has always been vague about what community actually means, and even Canda’s hiring was political. So his firing probably is, too.

Canda is not answering his cell phone this morning. But having met him several times I was left with the impression of a man who a) dressed extremely well, b) formed inter-personal connections quickly and effortlessly, c) spoke his mind, and d) was often reluctant to be specific about what his job entailed.

I’m not sure I could be specific about his job, either. But then, that’s Tom Potter all over: “Blahblahblahcommunityblahblahcommunityblahblahblaaaaah.” John, when you fancy spilling the beans to a sympathetic ear, give me a call or drop me an email.

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Comments

There is long list of good, hard-working, community-minded people who have been given a raw deal by the Mayor. If I were John, I'd wear it as a badge of honor.

Posted by CD | September 25, 2007 11:34 AM

I was surprised to hear this too... especially the allegations of his job performance.

My experience with John (which I wrote about here) was that he was sincerely concerned with our communities.

I brought him an idea about how the bike community might help build stronger neighborhoods. He met with me and was very interested. He set up a meeting to share the idea with a full table of ONI and PPB staff.

I wonder if/hope there's more to the story?

Posted by Jonathan Maus | September 25, 2007 11:43 AM

At least your headline didn't leave me with the mistaken impression that this was some kind of objective look into the situation. Your bias is ridiculous, Matt (and a detriment to the credibility of your employer.)

As far as I'm concerned, someone who isn't around and can't justify what they do for nearly $70k a year isn't spending my tax money very effectively. But please, don't let this deter you from your advocacy.

Posted by Avgjoe | September 25, 2007 12:20 PM

I've never claimed to be objective. Never will be.

Posted by Matt Davis | September 25, 2007 12:28 PM

This is insane! John Canda had an awesome record of success addressing gang issues when he worked in the NE Coalition office - that's one reason he was promoted to the citywide position. If indeed he was unable to make objective progress in his latest job (which I find extemely hard to believe), it's an indictment of City Hall rather than of Mr. Canda. I agree with you, Matt - it's likely he spent his time out in the community rather than sitting behind his desk.

Posted by Amanda Fritz | September 25, 2007 2:39 PM

I agree: It's a bizarre reason to fire a grown-up in a policy-level position. The whole thing stinks and I suspect there's more to it.

Anybody fancies telling me what really happened, the anonymous tip line is 503 294 0840, x.246.

Posted by Matt Davis | September 25, 2007 3:11 PM

To "AvgJoe"

Nice try Brotherhood of the Strong Sam, you have no clue.

Posted by Hmmm | September 26, 2007 1:00 AM

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