Lesson in Politics - Part 2

Another lesson I should learn about with politics is never assume something is really dead and on the table until the obituary is done and set in stone. The ballpark idea gets another life and change in plan, courtesy of Randy Leonard, who is now asking the Portland Development Commission (PDC) to look for potential ballpark sites in the Portland area. While we've been told that Memorial Coliseum is a dead plan, it appears that by this action, Leonard admits that the Lents URAC vote probably wouldn't go in their favor, so let's find more alternatives in the area.

Leonard is committed to trying to find a suitable place in Portland, and I think there are some places that might work pretty well. Delta Park will not because it's a very busy park for the city, but it's known that Portland Meadows might be up for sale because the owners are bankrupt, and you have a large area there with parking that is near transit. Terminal 1 in the NW Portland area has been rumoured for a while as well, and while I don't know much about the site, apparently, I've heard it's a giant parcel of land. This also allows other exploration for cities in the area to step up and pitch their idea to Paulson, such as Vancouver, WA or Hillsboro, OR, both cities that have large areas of land available and have at least been rumoured to be interested. The Oregon Live story includes some more information, including the sites that will be reviewed and the fact that the Lents URAC was cancelling the vote for this week on the baseball idea.

The other big development today is that Sam Adams won't be charged by Oregon's Attorney General for misconduct in his personal life, by having sexual contact with another man who may or may not have been of legal age. The circumstances behind the relationship became public right after Adams took office, and while he's remained in his role and been assisting with many city projects, the whole situation has been a dark cloud to say the least. Apparently, the information provided by Beau Breedlove has some inconsistencies, there isn't much corroborating evidence to support some claims, and so the only thing that could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt is that Adams lied about the relationship particulars. While it's not a complete exoneration, what it does do is clear the legal avenue relating to criminal charges. There is still an ongoing recall effort that will start up in a few weeks, but at this point, Adams is still in office. Since he's been a huge proponent of MLS, this really strengthens things for soccer fans by having another supporter in the City Council.

So apparently, the idea isn't anywhere near dead, it's taking another strange turn. Politics have nothing on soap operas, apparently, and we'll keep you posted on things from here. Apparently, Wednesday is when the City Council discusses the MLS proposal and the actual decoupling of it from the overall baseball idea.