<nwnews>
O REGO N S LGBTO N EW S M A G A ZIN E
A UGUST 5. 2011
5_JÄ
BY RYAN J. PR A D O
Mayor Adams Announces He
Will Not Run for Re-Election
After months of speculation, Portland
Mayor Sam Adams announced the afternoon
o f Friday, July 29 that he would not seek a
second term in office.
“W ith the state of our nation in such flux,
and so many local issues needing focused and
hands-on mayoral leadership, for me, the choice
is clear,” read the official release, in which A d
ams said he couldn’t reconcile the current needs
of the city with the immediate need to begin
fundraising and campaign efforts, and “how
challenging the race for re-election would be.”
O n Tuesday, August 2, Adams attributed
the decision to a variety o f things. “It really
boiled down to the work completed, the re
forms underway, the state o f the city and then
what would be the requirements o f a success
ful campaign,” he told Just Out. “And in the
end, it’s always a combination o f things.”
The announcement was met with a mixture
o f shock and apathy from the community,
though for his part Adams said responses
ranged from “very positive” to “surprised” and
“disappointed.”
Adams wouldn’t reveal any thoughts on life
after mayoral office. “Maybe I’m alone in this,”
he said, “but I worked hard, I really am fo
cused on being a good mayor and worked hard
to make an informed decision about how best
I can serve Portland and have not had any
considerations beyond that yet.”
Nor would he weigh in publicly on any can
didates who have thrown their hats into the
ring (New Seasons co-founder Eileen Brady,
City Commissioner Charlie Hales), or are
considering it (City Commissioner Dan
Saltzman). “Obviously ... as candidates I want
them to be focused and supportive [of] legal
izing gay marriage in Oregon. That’s some
thing that is a decision even before the next
election,” said Adams, adding his hopes that
candidates would advocate for public safety,
fair workplace consideration, anti-bullying ef
some bias crime training for the private security
guards in the district so they will be on the look
out for any indications o f bias activities that
could lead to violence,” Adams continued, stress
ing the need for volunteers for QPatrol. “W hen
the bars get out at 2 a.m., our police officers,
depending on the night, can have a lot o f calls
for service, so we need a lot of help there.”
Among his other priorities for the LGBTQ^
community during his remaining time in office,
Adams mentioned fundraising efforts for mar
riage equality and ballot initiatives, transgender
rights, safety and community policing, sup
porting the (^ C en ter and “the basic issues—
the basic needs—which is why I made this de
cision, to create jobs, improve education and
forts and transgender rights, and make them a public safety and sustainability o f the city.”
part o f their platform if elected.
Adams told Just Out that early conversa
O f his next 17 months o f work for the LG - tions with leaders in the LGBTQ^community
BTQ_community, Adams reiterated previous “were very encouraging and very supportive of
statements regarding recent bias crimes and my run for re-election.” Still, when asked if he
the subsequent public service campaign in the felt he had let down the community given the
Entertainm ent District proposed during a re scandals accompanying his time in office, and
cent Sexual Minorities Roundtable. “The best his decision not to run again, Adams deferred
way to prevent the next bias crime is to solve any personal or political analysis.
the last one,” he said, reminding the commu
“O ur work to move forward the queer com
nity that a witness has yet to come forward for munity to a place o f true equality in this city
the May 22 incident on the Eastbank has, I think, been well served by my adminis
Esplanade.
tration,” he said. And I’m not done yet."
“Part of that campaign will include outreach
to all the bar owners. We talked about doing
.. — A manda S churr
y
■i
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