Sam Adams (Oregon politician)

This article is about the mayor of Portland. For the revolutionary politician, see Samuel Adams. For the governor of Arkansas, see Samuel Adams (Arkansas politician).
Sam Adams
51st Mayor of Portland, Oregon
In office
January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2012
Preceded by Tom Potter
Succeeded by Charlie Hales
Member of Portland City Council
Position 1
In office
January 1, 2005 – January 1, 2009
Preceded by Jim Francesconi
Succeeded by Amanda Fritz
Personal details
Born Samuel Francis Adams
(1963-09-03) September 3, 1963
Whitehall, Montana
Political party Democratic
Domestic partner Peter Zuckerman
Residence Portland, Oregon
Alma mater University of Oregon
Occupation Politician

Samuel Francis "Sam" Adams (born September 3, 1963) is an American politician who is the former mayor of Portland, Oregon. He grew up in Newport, Oregon, attended the University of Oregon and worked on a number of campaigns before taking office as a Portland commissioner. Among them was Vera Katz's run for mayor of Portland. After she won, he served as her chief of staff for eleven years and then went back to school, earning a degree in Political Science.[1][2]

In 2004, Adams was elected to the Portland City Council, serving four years on the council earning a reputation as a "policy-driven advocate for sustainability, the arts, and gay rights."[2] He was elected to a four-year term as mayor of Portland in the May 2008 primary, with 58% of the vote and a dozen other candidates on the ballot.[2][3][4] He was the first openly gay mayor of a top-30 U.S. city.[2][5] In July 2011, Adams announced that he would not seek a second term as mayor.[6][7] He had an approval rating of 56% eight months before he left office.[8]

Early life

Son of Larry Adams — a special education teacher and high school basketball coach — and his wife, Karalie (née Gibbons),[9] Adams was born in 1963, when his family lived on a ranch eight miles outside Whitehall, Montana. When he was two years old, his family moved to Richland, Washington, for a year, and then on to Newport, and Eugene, Oregon, where his parents were divorced. Adams lived with his mother and survived for a time on food stamps and housing assistance.[2][10] In discussing not disclosing his sexuality, Adams noted he came from a "family of tough Montanans" where "there's a premium on being tough and strong, and being queer and a faggot wasn't strong."[2] His mother could not find work in Eugene and moved to Portland. Adams stayed in Eugene and supported himself throughout most of his high school years.[2] He graduated from South Eugene High School and attended the University of Oregon,[10] dropping out to enter politics.[2]

Early career

Adams began his career in politics as a staffer on Peter DeFazio's 1986 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in Oregon's 4th district.[10] DeFazio won the race and still serves to this day. In 1987, Adams went to work for the Oregon House Democratic Campaign Committee and for then Democratic Majority Leader Carl Hosticka.[11] He next worked on Vera Katz's mayoral campaign in Portland and served eleven years as her Chief of Staff.[1] He remained closeted at work until he became her Chief of Staff in 1993.[2]

Portland City Council

In a 2004 election for a seat on the Portland City Council, Adams won significantly fewer votes than rival Nick Fish in the primary election, but defeated Fish in the general election. Following the primary, Adams shifted campaign managers and tactics from a focus on traditional fundraising to grassroots outreach.

Adams at a "Green space" event in 2005

Adams was Portland's Commissioner of Public Utilities; he ran the Portland Office of Transportation (commonly abbreviated as "PDOT") and the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES). He also served as Portland City Council's liaison to the Arts and Culture and Small Business communities. As part of managing PDOT, he inherited the responsibility to oversee development of the Portland Aerial Tram, one of the world's few urban aerial trams.[12] It links the South Waterfront district to the upper campus of Oregon Health & Science University. During its development, the project was plagued with cost overruns and opposition from some residents impacted by the project.[13] When Adams assumed responsibility, he replaced the external consultants responsible for the poor cost estimates with in-house expertise.[14] The project was completed on time and within the revised budget with the tram opened to the public in January 2007.

Adams and his staff maintained a blog highlighting their activities in the community, especially pertaining to Adams' priorities such as arts and culture, livability and environment, and transportation.[15]

2008 mayoral campaign

In October 2007 Adams announced his intentions to run for Mayor of Portland and kicked off his campaign at the Wonder Ballroom in Northeast Portland in February 2008.[16][17] His main opponent was Sho Dozono, a civic leader and businessman, although 13 candidates filed for mayor. In the primary election, held May 20, 2008, Adams captured 58 percent of the vote and was elected without the need for a run-off.[18] Dozono, his nearest opponent, received 34 percent of the vote.[4] Adams took office on January 1, 2009. Portland became the largest U.S. city to have ever elected an openly gay mayor.[18] (In December 2009 Houston, Texas, the nation's fourth largest city, elected Annise Parker, who is an out lesbian, surpassing Portland as the largest American city ever to have an openly gay mayor.)[19]

Mayoralty

Adams and C-Tran director Tim Leavitt at a meeting of the Columbia River Crossing Project

In 2009, Adams in his inauguration speech said his top three priorities were creating more family-wage jobs, reducing the high school dropout rate, and making Portland more sustainable.[20]

In his first State of the City address on February 27, 2009, Adams outlined his goal of making Portland "the most sustainable city in the world". Adams emphasized reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and investment in efficient green energy as essential to the city's energy-environmental goals and called on the Oregon State Legislature to provide incentives for the expansion of green energy companies, notably Vestas Wind Systems, into the Portland metropolitan area.[21]

Later that year, Adams was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing related to a consensual sexual relationship with a young adult he met in 2005. Adams said the deception about the relationship was warranted because a political opponent had falsely accused him of having sex with a minor, but later apologized.[22][23][24]

That year he also established a local economic stimulus plan by fast-tracking capital improvement projects,[25] secured a Major League Soccer franchise,[25] began work on the Oregon Sustainability Center[25] established a free-bus-ride program designed to help low-income students more easily get to school,[26] helped secure $2.5 million in new grants designed to help the city reduce diesel emissions,[27] began construction of 15 miles of bike boulevards,[28] and consolidated the city's permitting process.[29]

Adams announced his support of new regulations for horse-drawn carriages in September 2009 after a horse died in downtown Portland a month earlier. Adams recommended that planners at the Revenue Bureau write new city codes that would cover working conditions for equine businesses and their animals.[30][31]

In September 2009, he opposed the $4 billion, twelve-lane replacement for the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River, a plan he had once supported. Adams stated, "I'd rather settle for a bad bridge for another 25 years than a terrible bridge that punishes Portland for another 100 years."[32] The twelve-lane idea was a compromise deal Adams helped write with then-Mayor Royce Pollard of Vancouver, Washington, in February, 2009. That deal helped get Portland City Council to agree for a bridge of up to twelve lanes, something Vancouver wanted in exchange for its support of Portland's MAX Light Rail extension across the I-5 bridge.[33] Adams focused on improving the local economy by attracting large, sustainable employers to Portland, including a $200-million investment by the company Vestas.[34]

In 2010, Adams in his State of the City address was praised by environmental organizations and criticized by coal advocates for his successful efforts to shrink Portland's carbon footprint through programs such as Clean Energy Works, the nation's first on-bill financing for home retrofitting.[35][36] Adams also became known for leading the creation of Portland's "Citizen Reports" iPhone application.[37] He also appeared in Portlandia's second episode as Sam, assistant to the Mayor of Portland.[38]

Adams and Charles Jordan, July 2012

In November of that year, Adams fired the police chief and then fired a police officer who had shot and killed an unarmed citizen.[39] He recruited a wind company to spend $66 million on development and hire 400 employees, established the city's first economic development plan, developed programs designed to reduce Portland's high school dropout rate and make the city more sustainable,[40] and, along with the rest of the city council, adopted gun control regulations that are designed to reduce shootings.[41]

In 2011, Adams established curbside composting,[42] banned single-use plastic bags,[43] adopted a transgender-inclusive health plan for city employees,[44] recruited a photovoltaic company to move to and invest $340 million in infrastructure in Portland,[45] recruited several TV and movie companies to do business and spend about $100 million on production in Portland,[46] established the $2.1 million seed fund to help start-up businesses in Portland,[45] supported Occupy Portland at first, but later dispersed the camps,[47] and cracked down on gangs with a 14-month police undercover operation that resulted in the arrests of 31 gang members.[48]

On July 29, 2011, Adams announced on his official city blog that he would not seek a second term as Portland's mayor.[6][7]

Life after mayoralty

Just 16 days after expiration of his term as Mayor of Portland, Sam Adams was named as Executive Director of the City Club of Portland, a non-profit organization best known as the host of public civic policy meetings.[49] After applying for the job in December 2012 and undergoing several interviews, Adams was selected from a pool of 80 applicants for the position, a job which is to pay him $80,000 in 2013.[49]

Adams characterized his new position as a "fantastic opportunity to do community building, work on improving the civic health of the city, and to support the members' work in researching tough public policy issues.[49]

Established in 1916, the City Club of Portland had about 1500 members and four paid employees in 2013.[49] During his two-year tenure, City Club membership grew by 47 percent and corporate sponsorships doubled.[50]

On Jan. 14, 2014, Adams announced that he was leaving the City Club to become director of U.S. Climate Initiatives at the World Resources Institute, a global nonprofit dedicated to environmental sustainability.[51]

Personal life

From 1992 until 2004, Adams was in a long-term relationship with Greg Eddie.[52] During that time, in 1993, he was outed as gay by the alternative newspaper Willamette Week. In 2007, the former couple, in a challenge to the state constitution, filed suit against the State of Oregon to dissolve their domestic partnership and divide Adams' future pension.[53][54] After his break-up with Eddie, Adams was, for the first time, both openly gay and single. Adams lamented his lack of "gaydar." He said this made him decide to date only men who asked him out first.[55]

In 2005, Adams met Beau Breedlove, a 17-year-old interning for Oregon State Representative Kim Thatcher.[56] In September 2007, Adams denied rumors of a sexual relationship between the two, calling the allegations scurrilous, and adding that they played into stereotypes of predatory gays.[56] In January 2009, after being confronted with a story in Willamette Week, Adams acknowledged lying about the nature of their sexual relationship.[55][57] Breedlove confirmed Adams' accounts.[2][56][58] Adams apologized, saying he had lied to avoid accusations of grooming a minor and the likely disruption such allegations would cause in his mayoral campaign.[22][59] Adams cited the "swift public condemnation" of former mayor and governor Neil Goldschmidt in 2004 by the news media as weighing heavily in his decision to lie. "[N]o one's going to believe me [that he was eighteen]".[2] Oregon had already seen several prominent political sex scandals; prior to Goldschmidt's, there was one involving Senator Bob Packwood in 1992.[2] The "well-funded newsroom" of The Oregonian had been criticized for failing to pursue both stories. In the Goldschmidt case, the Oregonian publicly debated with Willamette Week over which publication reported more accurately and aggressively.[2] Adams also announced his intention to remain in office.[58]

News of the deception led Oregon Attorney General John Kroger to initiate a criminal investigation in January 2009. By June, his office announced that no charges would be filed and that there was "no credible evidence" of inappropriate sexual contact before the age of consent.[60][61] Before Kroger's findings were made public, several newspapers called for Adams' resignation. The Portland Mercury and the board of the Portland Area Business Association, the LGBTQ chamber of commerce, spoke out against resignation.[62][63][64][65][66][67] Out magazine columnist Dan Savage noted what they saw as hypocrisy, homophobia, and sex panic about age disparity in sexual relationships.[2][56] In July 2009 a recall campaign asserted that Adams had lost the trust of the public and other elected officials to ill effect on the city's economy.[68] It fell short of gathering the necessary number of signatures.[69][70] A second effort began in Fall 2009, with financial backing from over a dozen regional businesses. The backers posited that a "lack of trust and political capital" was affecting their businesses' bottom lines.[71][72][73] However, it too failed due to lack of sufficient signatures.[74]

Adams also dated Christopher Stowell, artistic director of Oregon Ballet Theatre.[75][76] As of early 2008, Adams is the partner of journalist Peter Zuckerman.[55][77]

Adams has a recurring role on the IFC show Portlandia as assistant to Portland's fictional mayor played by Kyle MacLachlan.[78] He also appeared as himself in "The Hour of Death", a 2012 episode of the Portland-based NBC show Grimm.

Filmography

Year Title Character Episode(s)
2011 Have You Heard? with Byron Beck Self At Home with Storm LArge
2011-2015 Portlandia Mayor's Assistant A Song for Portland (2011)
A Mayor is Missing (2011)
Cops Redesign (2012)
No Olympics (2012)
The Brunch Special (2012)
Off the Grid (2013)
The Temp (2013)
3D Printer (2014)
4th of July (2015)
2012 Vancouvria Photo Extra Big City Survival Class
2012 Wheel of Fortune Self Wheel of Fortune from Portland
Going Green From Portland 2
Going Green From Portland 3
2012 Grimm Self The Hour of Death

References

  1. 1 2 Griffin, Anna (March 28, 2008). "Who are you, Sam I Am?". The Oregonian. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Scott, Aaron (April 2009). "The Leader, His Lover, and the Scandal That Split Gay America". Out magazine. 17 (8): 47–51. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  3. ↑ "Adams wins Portland mayor race". The Oregonian. May 21, 2008.
  4. 1 2 "Elections - Multnomah County". Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  5. ↑ Manning, Rob (May 21, 2008). "Portland Hardly Noticed, But The Rest Of The Nation Did". OPB News. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
  6. 1 2 Adams, Sam (July 29, 2011). "Portland's future--and mine". City of Portland. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
  7. 1 2 Schmidt, Brad (July 29, 2011). "Portland Mayor Sam Adams not running for re-election". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
  8. ↑ Ross William Hamilton/The Oregonian (May 9, 2012). "Poll: Mayor Sam Adams' approval ratings improve 8 months before he leaves office | OregonLive.com". Blog.oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  9. ↑ "Becoming Sam Adams". Portland Monthly. May 15, 2009. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  10. 1 2 3 "Sam Adams for Mayor: biography". Archived from the original on 2008-04-12.
  11. ↑ "Adams Portland City Commissioner website". Commissionersam.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  12. ↑ "Portland's commuter tram offers postcard views of Mount St. Helens, Mount Hood". International Herald Tribune Americas. The New York Times Company. March 4, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  13. ↑ Brian Barker (January 9, 2007). "Tram ride will now set you back $4". KATU. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  14. ↑ Budnick, Nick (January 24, 2006). "Tram ouster sparks backlash". The Portland Tribune. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Commissioner Adams' blog". Commissionersam.com. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  16. ↑ Mayer, James (October 3, 2007). "Sam Adams says he's running for Portland mayor". The Oregonian. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Sam Adams for Mayor". Samforpdx.com. 2004-03-05. Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  18. 1 2 "Portland elects its first openly gay mayor". KGW. May 21, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-10-09.
  19. ↑ McKinley Jr, James C. (December 13, 2009). "Houston Is Largest City to Elect Openly Gay Mayor". The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Sam Adams takes mayoral oath at Parkrose High". East PDX News. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  21. ↑ Giegerich, Andy (February 27, 2009). "Adams' goal: Make Portland most sustainable city". Portland Business Journal.
  22. 1 2 Humphrey, Stephen (January 14, 2009). "Sam Adams Issues Statement on Sex Scandal Admission". Portland Mercury. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  23. ↑ "Ore. attorney general clears Portland mayor: No credible evidence Adams initiated relationship with minor". Gaylesbiantimes.com. 2009-06-25. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  24. ↑ Griffin, Anna (January 20, 2009). "Mayor to respond to reports of sexual relationship with teen". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  25. 1 2 3 Adams, Sam (2010-11-19). "2010 Progress Report: Job Creation". Portlandonline.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  26. ↑ Office, The (2009-12-17). "Getting Everyone on the Bus". Portlandonline.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  27. ↑ Office, The (2009-12-14). "Check It". Portlandonline.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  28. ↑ Office, The (2009-12-16). "Boulevards Benefit Bikes and Cars". Portlandonline.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  29. ↑ Office, The (2009-12-17). "Pass the Scissors". Portlandonline.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  30. ↑ Mayor Adams wants horse working conditions regulated Archived June 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. katu.com
  31. ↑ Adams calls for regulation of horse-drawn carriage businesses swcommconnection.com
  32. ↑ Rivera, Dylan (September 18, 2009). "Beset by money woes, I-5 bridge project looks at cuts". The Oregonian.
  33. ↑ Beset by money woes, I-5 bridge project looks at cuts oregonlive.com
  34. ↑ "Vestas looking at existing buildings for headquarters". The Oregonian. September 8, 2009.
  35. ↑ http://orsierraclub.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/mayor-sam-adams-calls-on-portland-to-“kick-the-coal-habit”
  36. ↑ Weinstein, Nathalie (2010). "Mayor Sam Adams focuses on jobs, sustainability". Daily Journal of Commerce. (subscription required)
  37. ↑ "City of Portland Launches First iPhone App". ThePortlander. 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  38. ↑ Melissa Maerz (2001-01-30). "'Portlandia' lovingly pokes fun at Portland, Ore.". Los Angeles Times. Adams, who makes a cameo in "Portlandia" as the assistant to the mayor
  39. ↑ Giegerich, Andy (November 16, 2010). "Adams fires officer in fatal shooting".
  40. ↑ "Mayor Sam Adams releases seventh status report on his priorities". The Oregonian. December 20, 2010.
  41. ↑ Theriault, Denis C. (2010-12-01). "City Council Adopts Sam Adams' Gun Control Laws | Blogtown, PDX". Blogtown.portlandmercury.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  42. ↑ "Portland's curbside composting begins | kgw.com Portland". Kgw.com. 2010-04-13. Archived from the original on 2012-01-14. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  43. ↑ "Plastic Bag Ban". Portlandonline.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  44. ↑ Harmon, Andrew. "Portland Adopts Trans-Inclusive Health Care for City Workers | News". The Advocate. Archived from the original on 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  45. 1 2 "Economic Development in 2011". Portlandonline.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  46. ↑ "Arts & Culture in 2011". Portlandonline.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  47. ↑ Murphy, Kim (November 19, 2011). "Occupy Portland dispersal a tough call for mayor". Los Angeles Times.
  48. ↑ "Portland police and federal agents crack down on 'toxic' gangs". The Oregonian. December 20, 2011.
  49. 1 2 3 4 Brad Schmidt, "Adams Named City Club Head," The Oregonian, January 17, 2013, pp. B1-B2.
  50. ↑
  51. ↑ "Former Mayor Sam Adams to Leave Portland for Job in D.C". GoLocalPDX. 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  52. ↑ Basic Rights Oregon Archived December 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  53. ↑ Moore, Scott (February 20, 2007). "BRO Suit Pits Sam Adams And His Former Partner Against The State". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28.
  54. ↑ "Sam Adams Sues Oregon for Discriminatory Policy". Gay Rights Watch. February 21, 2007.
  55. 1 2 3 "The Adams Report: Fourteen fascinating things we learned from Attorney General John Kroger's investigation.". Willamette Week. June 24, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2009.
  56. 1 2 3 4 Egan, Timothy (January 28, 2009). "The Great Gay Hope". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  57. ↑ "Adams' Admission: Mayor Sam Adams Tells WW He Lied About Not Having Sex With Beau Breedlove". Willamette Week. January 14, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  58. 1 2 Associated Press (January 25, 2009). "Oregon Mayor in Sex Dispute Is Staying Put". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  59. ↑ "Portland mayor admits past relationship with teen". Associated Press. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  60. ↑ Slovic, Beth (January 21, 2009). "Updated with AG Statement: Adams' Admission Reaction—Oregon Attorney General To Announce Investigation". Willamette Week. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  61. ↑ "Attorney General Releases Report On Adams: Mayor In The Clear". blogtown.portlandmercury.com.
  62. ↑ The Oregonian Editorial Board (January 21, 2009). "Sam Adams and his fight with the truth". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  63. ↑ "In our view Jan. 22: Resign, Mayor Adams". columbian.com. January 22, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  64. ↑ "Tribune Editorial: Adams must resign". Portland Tribune. January 21, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  65. ↑ "Just Out Editorial Board Asks Portland Mayor Sam Adams To Resign From Office". Just Out. January 21, 2009. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  66. ↑ Petroni, MJ (January 24, 2009). "LGBTQ Chamber Wants Sam to Stay". Just Out. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  67. ↑ Humphrey, Stephen. "Why Adams Should Stay". The Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  68. ↑ Mayer, James (2009-07-07). "Recall Petition Filed Against Portland Mayor Sam Adams". The Oregonian. Oregon Live LLC. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  69. ↑ Millman, Joel (2009-07-07). "Campaign Begins to Recall Portland's Mayor". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  70. ↑ Willamette Week "Total Recall: Mayor Sam Adams’ would-be recallers need to collect 358 valid signatures a day. Do they stand a chance?," by Allison Ferre (July 8th, 2009 - retrieved on July 16th, 2009).
  71. ↑ "Adams recall fails, second effort, with the help of business, ready to begin". Portland Business Journal. October 5, 2009.
  72. ↑ "A second business backer identified in Mayor Sam Adams recall effort". OregonLive.com. October 16, 2009.
  73. ↑ Nigel Jaquiss. "Wurster Confirms New Recall Group Will Start And Get The Signatures He's Gathered". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2009-10-10.
  74. ↑ Brent Wojahn/The Oregonian (April 20, 2010). "It's official: Second attempt to recall Portland Mayor Sam Adams fails". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  75. ↑ "Update: Sam Adams, Candidate, Commissioner ...Hero? (with victim's comment)". Willamette Week. April 3, 2008.
  76. ↑ Rubin, Harriet (January 2009). "Becoming Sam Adams". Portland Monthly.
  77. ↑ "Gossip should have no friends". Willamette Week. May 21, 2008.
  78. ↑ Kristi Turnquist/The Oregonian (January 28, 2011). "It's official: Portlandia': Mayor Sam Adams plays an assistant to ... the mayor of Portland". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2012-10-10.

Media related to Sam Adams at Wikimedia Commons

Political offices
Preceded by
Tom Potter		 Mayor of Portland, Oregon
2009–2012 		Succeeded by
Charlie Hales
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