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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Portland / News Lauderdale on Adams: "He doesn't listen."

Posted by Matt Davis on Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 8:30 PM

I caught up with Pink Martini band leader and former Sam Adams supporter Thomas Lauderdale after tonight's open house on the Rose Quarter redevelopment, and he was furious not only with the proposed redevelopment, but with the nature of the open house itself. Sarah is frantically scribing the details of the open house and a post will be up shortly. In the mean time, here's Lauderdale...

"I think it's a dog and pony show," he said. "This public process is a sham, because it's clear that he's already made his decision and nothing can sway him. Between this, the I-5 bridge, it feels like he's lost his stated principles from before the election."

"He's already decided," Lauderdale continued. "This process is fraudulent, and he is really alienating me. I was the person who stood up and supported that press conference, and you know what, I'm just appalled."

We reported on Lauderdale's opposition earlier today, with a link to the post-scandal press conference in support of Adams, if you're interested.

"Right now, people are unfortunately scared to oppose the mayor, because they might want something from him, still," said Lauderdale. "They're scared that he'll stay in power and that he'll punish them. At this point, I'm not scared of being punished because he has no way to punish me. It's an unbelievable turn of events."
802b/1239767208-col2.jpg

ADAMS: Presenting his idea before taking "feedback" from the audience earlier...

"The Memorial Coliseum is one of the few buildings in this city that makes this city great," Lauderdale said. "It could be used for any number of purposes, any number of things. It feels like he's desperate to prove that he can pull things off."

"He's promised the veterans a better building, but they're not going to get one, because the City of Portland doesn't have a great track record in terms of building public spaces," he continued. "Look at the Rose Garden. The new structure will absolutely not be as beautiful as this one."

"My band is playing a show in the Coliseum in September to celebrate Oregon's sesquicentennial, and I will absolutely place myself in that building before it is torn down, and I will chain myself to it," said Lauderdale. "Where are the veterans he has supposedly been talking to about this? He says he has worked really hard to talk with the veterans but I don't see them."

Five minutes after we talked, Lauderdale re-approached me. "I keep thinking that somehow he's going to come around and that all of my inflammatory statements will somehow stop that from happening," he said. "But after experiencing him for the last couple of months, he doesn't listen."

Others are more optimistic. Portland architecture blogger Brian Libby, who interviewed Lauderdale earlier, says: "I think he's listening, because he's only now starting to get the importance of the Coliseum. I respect that he wants to get a deal done, and he's trying to make things happen, and that he's hearing from all kinds of constituents. But Mayor Adams could be a hero if he were to save the Coliseum and figure out a way to get a baseball stadium worked out, too."

 

Comments (15) RSS

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1

I don't care what Sam did with Beau. It's what he's doing SINCE that's disgusting. Kissing the ass of developers is far more revolting than smooching a legal adult in his spare time. I hereby rescind my previous cries of "Let him do his job." His "job" is now at odds with ALL my beliefs. And what I had been told were also his.
Posted by anatta on April 14, 2009 at 9:02 PM · Report
2
Ok... blah blah blah stuff aside... I keep hearing this stuff about how vindictive and mean Sam Adams is. Can someone please provide some backstory....
Posted by Graham on April 15, 2009 at 1:43 AM · Report
3
I'm writing Mayor Adams in support of an immediate tear down just to see Lauderdale chain himself to what amounts to a large, unusable glass box.
Posted by Mizzzzzzz on April 15, 2009 at 2:25 AM · Report
4
BTW, Mr. Libby doesn't go into much detail on why Memorial Coliseum is so significant. Nor what purposes it serves in the future. Or now, for that matter. Portland needs to grow the fuck up and get over itself. The stink hole is a waste of space that is holding back what could be a bustling, inner city, high tax paying district in the eastside riverfront area. Take a walk around the Rose Garden on a non-game day and see how much is going on. That is a huuuuuuge and amazing location for such little use. I strongly oppose Hoffman pulling in major dough on the project or any Kansas City corporate stink but it STILL beats what is currently sitting there.
Posted by Mizzzzzzz on April 15, 2009 at 2:29 AM · Report
5
I talked to the Mickey Mouse Ears Guy yesterday while he was playing the Star Wars Imperial March on his trumpet across the street from Powell's. He said he supports Mayor Adams' plan to tear down the Coliseum and put a baseball park there.
Posted by Totalnerd on April 15, 2009 at 9:10 AM · Report
6
"The Memorial Coliseum is one of the few buildings in this city that makes this city great," said the self-important assclown with, apparently, history's worst eye for architecture. Seriously? Why the fuck is anyone listening to this guy?

I grew up going to the Coliseum for Blazer games, Winter Hawk games, high school basketball tournaments, circuses, etc, etc, etc, and I think it's just fine that it's on the chopping block.

For once, our Molester In Chief is on the right track. Onward and upward, Portland.
Posted by mr. voluptuous on April 15, 2009 at 9:14 AM · Report
7
I drove around the area last night at around 9pm after I got off of work. Glimpsed the structure while going up Grand, I think, then when I circled around I couldn't find it and I went home. The glimpse I got was kind of intriguing,low-slung, sleek, simple, looked like it would make an AMAZING tropical butterfly garden. Bottom line is, a mystery building that's hard to find seemed so, well, PORTLAND. The problem here seems to be a lack of imagination, (on the part of say, people who have racy encounters in restrooms with adolescents), about what to do with our glass mystique-holding architectural puzzle.
Posted by gonetorio on April 15, 2009 at 9:50 AM · Report
8
"He's already decided," Lauderdale continued. "This process is fraudulent, and he is really alienating me."

"I keep thinking that somehow he's going to come around and that all of my inflammatory statements will somehow stop that from happening," he said. "But after experiencing him for the last couple of months, he doesn't listen."

It took him this long to figure out character?

Posted by D on April 15, 2009 at 11:22 AM · Report
9
Hey pal -- if you can't even FIND the building and don't know what it looks like, maybe your comments aren't worth writing down. You think?
Posted by mr. voluptuous on April 15, 2009 at 11:24 AM · Report
10
No seriously...who the fuck cares what Thomas Lauderdale thinks? Chris Walla lives here and so do Colin Meloy, Britt Daniel, James Mercer, and Hutch fucking Harris.

Matt...please get in touch with them so we can find out what they think. Their opinions are very important on this issue. There is also a cat lady that lives down the street from me who has an opinion you might value as well.
Posted by BlackedOut on April 15, 2009 at 11:34 AM · Report
11
Graham,
So you want to see someone who was thrown under the proverbial bus. Well first of all, when you have been kicked by Sam you don't want to put it in the paper. But the guys who paints stuff on the street for the city are as good a poster child as any. Here is an idea that would add some levity to our streets by changing the figures that mark the bike lanes. On there own time they would change the templates in small ways -- like add a pony tail to a rider, stuff like that. Well, one day they made one of a bike rider with a Martini Glass in his hand. It was great. Some A-Hole complained that this street painting was encouraging drinking and bike riding, right here, in Portland, God forbid. Well Sam got a hold of this and went to town on this issue, TV, print, press release.... If these guys did not have a union watching there back, they would have been out on there collective ass. All just to get Sam in the paper.

http://bikeportland.org/2005/10/04/benson-…

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.…
Posted by Vert on April 15, 2009 at 12:19 PM · Report
12
Remind me again why his opinion on a subject that he chose to not participate in until yesterday even though there was six months of opportunity (and a decade of neglect) is now considered important, and further, is considered more relevant than, say, my friend selling burritos on the corner.
Posted by Jack Acid on April 15, 2009 at 12:43 PM · Report
13
anatta,

Are you a member of NAMBLA? the age of consent in Oregon is 18....not 17. Sam and the wonder boy have both admitted they made out romantically when Beau was 17. He was not legal adult when they "smooched" as you put it.
Posted by VanSmack on April 15, 2009 at 5:28 PM · Report
14
Lauderdale is surprised with Sam not sticking to his stated principles? Thomas....you said you knew Sam. If you really knew him, he has not changed. He steps on people to get where he wants, he lies about everything and he is a sociopath. He's a fake, phony and only cares about Sam. Stay out of his way or yo, too, will be destroyed.
Posted by maya on April 16, 2009 at 10:38 AM · Report
15
Straggle on, hipsters. Support Sam Adams. Someday, maybe a dose of political reality will hit you in the face and you'll realize that Adams, in fact, is the same as others--and the same as he's always been: a narcissist and back room dealing politician focused on one chief goal--his own ego gratification.

Or, failing that, you can stick to watching him ride his bicycle three times a year, and driving his car and truck (he's got both) the rest of the time.

Or failing that, you can watch him furtively cruising downtown bars and steam rooms, something he's famous for.

When did it become "cool" to support mediocre, self-serving, poor-impulse control narcissists for public office? Or have you no interest at all in high standards for the privilege of holding public office?
Posted by Hipsters are Unemployed on April 16, 2009 at 1:49 PM · Report

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