Pat Lanagan is a douche.

Greg Eddie = $22,500.

That was a loan, but yeah, that's a lot of cash.

I really hate this kind of shit. Any American citizen has the right to donate to a campaign and to vote regardless of whether you approve of his/her line of work. This post implies that we should be outraged that Sam accepted a campaign contribution from the owner of a porn shop. Just playing devils advocate, but apparently a lot of people in this town like to patronize those places, so apparently not everyone would be as offended as you, Amy. My personal feelings are irrelevant here, but I will defend this guy's right to participate in the democratic process.
Your headline is misleading, sensational, and irresponsible.

Hey Jan? I don't know if you've seen the Mercury's print edition (or the various sex-related features we've run over the years), but we're pretty pro-porn, pro-strip club, and pro-escort. (I'll be at Devil's Point on Thursday night, myself, if you want to debate this in person, perhaps over a lap dance?)

And yet, it's still interesting that a porn shop/gay bar owner is the top donor. Why? Because usually, in a mayoral race, that title goes to some developer or other richy-rich type.

You say "top donor" in the sense that just about everybody is Adams' top donor, right? I just want to make sure I haven't missed something.

Woa Amy--don't sound so defensive--who are you trying to convince? We All know how uber sexually progressive and hip the Mercury is ala Dan Savage and staff who moonlight at the Devil's Point.

Perhaps Jan's point is that your piece makes you seems prudish and, more importantly, it is not very helpful to use the tools of the GOP to cynically try to sully the only Mayorial candiate that has a realistic shot at making Portland and the region an international model for sustainable development, conservation, and creativity: bikes, eco-roofs, green fashion, bioswales, the Max lines, making the business licensing fee more equitable for small business, anti-plastic bags, Hayden Island Moratorium--NO Walmart!

For a refreshing change, it might be nice to see the Mercury cover the POLICY work that Sam does. (Besides the salacious tid bits--street renaming and the Tram). Perhaps even compare that to the other council offices. Seems like Sam gets a lot of shit done. And apparently he's also bringing sexy back as well.

Democracy - we've covered every one of those issues, often as they relate to Sam. And we'll continue to cover those—and campaign finance info—as the election nears.

James—his other donors have topped out at $500, as per Sam's cap. Lanagan has given $500 as an individual, and his company has given $500, making him the top donor with $1000. (The Adams campaign has refunded half of the $500 two other people donated individually.)

Oh, right, sorry Amy. Adams might do well to limit contributions to individuals as opposed to business entities.

And I agree that there shouldn't be any self-censorship for political reasons.

To me it speaks of Commissioner Adams relationship with his North Portland neighbors and that is all.

The relatively small amount of reported contributions makes me think the deep pocket folks are waiting to see who else jumps in.

To me it speaks about Sam's strong commitment to the arts.

and dick

Isn't Maria Rojo de Steffey one of those who said that they'd make sure that Sam doesn't become mayor if Interstate doesn't get renamed? Yet, Friends of Maria Rojo de Steffey max contributed to his campaign?

Serena Cruz, Rojo de Steffey's former colleague on the county council, is the one who said that she'd oppose Sam.

That right there is amoung the many reasons I love this city. PORNO MAYOR FTW!

Where is the Lille woman in all this?

The thing that gets me here (besides the skirting of his self-imposed $500 cap) is that Lanagan isn't just a porn shop owner, he also seems to be a jerk who favors gay male clientele over a more diverse queer set and that he stole the Eagle name from a fellow gay business owner. I don't think all of this makes it so Sam shouldn't accept it at all but it does make it a little less palatable. It's just kind of icky. That's pretty much what I wrote in my blog but feel free to check it out here: http://blog.oregonlive.com/qpdx/2007/12/political_tidbit_sam_adams_and.html