Not surprisingly, mayoral candidate Sho Dozono came out in favor of sending the Safe, Sound and Green Streets proposal to the ballot. Mayor Tom Potter called for the same thing yesterday, in a memo to the city council.

Why isn’t it surprising? Dozono has Danelle Romain advising his campaign.** Danelle is the daughter of Paul Romain, the guy who hates the street fee, and attempted to refer it to the voters (until Adams split it back into three parts, which the council will consider later this morning). And Paul Romain and Potter have been working off the same list of talking points on this issue.

**(Danelle sent me an email, saying her reported involvement with the Dozono campaign is “completely fabricated.” She adds: “For the record, I am in no way involved in the Sho Dozono campaign. I’ve never advised him nor have I ever attended any campaign meetings, etc. [Dozono advisor] Len Bergstein is my stepfather, which is something that I have no control over.” Apologies for that Danelle. One additional clarification: Danelle is one of Dozono’s 4,010 $5 contributors. The Potter-Dozono connection remains strong, however, as noted below.)

Also, Potter was reportedly seen at a recent Dozono party, working the room, and his wife has been actively supporting the Dozono campaign. I ran into Dozono at the domestic partnership celebration at Holocene on Monday night, and asked him about Potter. He was unaware of Potter’s presence at a party, he says.

The question floating around city hall in the past few days: When is Potter’s endorsement of Dozono going to drop?

From Dozono:

Dozono supports safe streets, and opposes transportation tax proposal without a public vote

PORTLAND-Local business and community leader, Sho Dozono, announced today that he believes the City should reallocate funds and address traffic safety issues now and does not support the proposed transportation tax without a public vote.

“I believe the City of Portland can move now to address transportation funding and improve bicycle, pedestrian and traffic safety. I am absolutely for fixing streets and maintaining roadways”, said Dozono.

“The proposal to impose a $460 million tax on Portlanders over the next 15 years, without their approval breaks faith with the voters. To impose such a huge tax burden now-when many think we are entering a severe economic downturn-is fiscally irresponsible. Another good reason for to put this massive tax to a vote is the way it appears to arbitrarily favor one category of city business over another”, said Dozono.

Commissioner Adams, who authored this tax, has stated that this has been a public process, yet he appears to be doing everything in his power to make sure that the citizens are not able to vote on the proposed tax increase. If he wants to be true to his word, he should let the people decide.”

One thing everyone seems to be forgetting: Potter was perfectly happy to “impose” this fee on Portlanders when he voted for a unified measure last week. He’s changed his tune in the past few days.