Adams tells Leonard he's staying

City Commissioner calls besieged mayor 'distracted'

By Jim Redden

The Portland Tribune, Jan 24, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (82 Reader comments)

Mayor Sam Adams has told Commissioner Randy Leonard that he is not resigning early Sunday.

Leonard said Adams left a message on his telephone at around 8 a.m. Sunday that said, in part, “regardless of what you think about me and regardless of what you think about the veracity of what I'm saying, I deserve due process and I'm going to stay on.”

The message was left several hours after a news story in The Sunday Oregonian reported that Beau Breedlove said that before he turned 18 he and Adams kissed twice, once in a City Hall restroom after a party.

Leonard said the admission contradicts what Adams previously told him about their relationship.

“I asked Sam if he did anything before Breedlove turned 18 and he told me no,” said Leonard.

The Portland Tribune has been unable to reach Adams for comment.

Reporters following the story were also baffled when Adams failed to appear at a scheduled press conference Sunday morning. At around 9 a.m., the Portland Bureau of Transportation announced that Adams would appear at a 10:30 a.m. press conference to discuss weather conditions as snow dusted the region early Sunday. Reporters from all major newspapers and TV station showed up for the press conference, only to learn that it had been canceled 20 minutes earlier. None of the reporters had received the cancellation notice, however.

Told of the incident, Leonard said it showed Adams was not handling the city’s business well.

“That reflects badly on the city, and I’m really, really sorry about it,” he said.

Partly as a result of the incident, Leonard said he would take a more active role in representing the city at public events and meetings with other governments, including Congress and the Oregon Legislature.

“Even if Adams doesn’t resign, I’m afraid he’s going to be very distracted by all this,” said Leonard. “The City Council is made of more than just the mayor, and I’m going to start stepping up to make sure the public’s business gets done.”

The Tribune was not immediately able to reach the rest of the council for comment.

In another development, the Portland Business Alliance said it would not call for Adams' resignation.

The PBA is a membership organization that represents many downtown area businesses. While meeting at a retreat on the Oregon Coast, the PBA board of directors released approved the following resolution:

“While there are differing views within the Portland Business Alliance as to whether or not to call for the mayor’s resignation, the board agrees on the following:

“An important quality of our elected leaders is their ability to inspire and hold the trust and confidence of their citizens.

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