Portland mayor Vera Katz has suddenly embraced the basics of “capitalism” if one can believe her recent speech on economic development…a subject
seldom addressed in the past by Katz and Council.  Now Vera, instead of her usual advocacy of spending government dollars on such boondoggles as light rail, streetcars and PGE Park, has told a gathering of Portland business leaders that her administration wants to create a joint public/private fund to attract out-of-state companies and do a “better job of marketing our city.”  (Photo: Is the new Vera Katz a fan of Sam Adams?)
 

Well, “hello” to our dear mayor, who in the past year presided over the move to the burbs of Columbia Sportswear who finally rejected ridiculous city regulations concerning their planned expansion in the Rose City (rules based upon still unrequited plans to expand the light rail system)…the withdrawal of the Danish wind turbine company, Vestas, from trying to cope with local costs and regulations…the May Department stores’ abandonment of Portland as administrative HQ for Meier & Frank, and a cancellation of renovation plans for the local landmark store.  Presumably, economic good sense might e cause City Hall to hide the architectural models of covered downtown freeways that Katz has endorsed as an ideal solution for expanding downtown retail space.  (Photo: Ancestor of Vera Katz profoundly affected her economic philosophy.)
 

Until now, Katz has failed miserably in the cheerleader/sales manager role a mayor should assume to attract new business.  Her new stance is not the result of this liberal icon’s sudden conversion to furthering the cause of capitalism.  We attribute her revelation to the awakening of the Portland Business Alliance to the almost fatal follies of Portland’s political leadership.  The Alliance merger last July of the new Alliance with the Association for Portland Progress and the Portland Chamber generated a coherent plan for economic progress endorsed by prominent business leaders who have targeted City Hall as their biggest stumbling block. (Photo below: Portland Business Alliance visits City Hall.)

Councilman Sten not thrilled

While Mayor Katz now expresses some economic development sanity, city commissioner Erik Sten just went on record calling the Alliance’s program as “too strident”…this from the mind that revamped the Portland Water Bureau’s computer billing system into a many, many million dollar mess still unresolved, and the leading voice for the city to take over operation of Portland General Electric.  (Illus: Commissioner Sten leads the way to better distribution of resources.)

Katz has even uttered sympathy for redevelopment plans within the Portland urban growth boundary, but we fear this attitude is directly related to her insistent support for the North Macadam growth project of Oregon Health Sciences University.  This earned steadfast City Hall support for its inclusion of a tramway link from river’s edge to medical facilities atop the background hills…to be subsidized by the same government funding resources that have been tapped for previously mentioned public transportation expansions dictated by desire, not necessity.  (Photo: famous artist draws symbolic opinion of Vera's tramway project.)

It is probably too much to hope that dear Vera now understands that government coffers should be tapped for creating private investment opportunities, not subsidizing nonsense that has no direct correlation to capitalism, a discipline designed to benefit our society, not bankrupt it.

© 2002 Oregon Magazine  All photos and illustrations lead to their original source.