“Big special interests are passionate in their defense of City Hall,” writes David Kelleher in today’s Theo. What he doesn’t write is that what he means there is “labor unions”. And what he doesn’t write is that what he doesn’t mean by “special interests” are his fellow supporters of Curiously-Strong Mayor: QWest Services Corporation, PacifiCorp, Kalberer Company, Bay City, LLC (read: Greg Goodman), Melvin Mark, Jr., Wells Fargo Bank, Mark Group Partnership #5 (read: Melvin Mark, Jr.), Wayne Kingsley (on the board of the Portland Business Alliance). Generally speaking, I think more Portlanders, if they have to choose between a position backed by the special interests of big business or one backed the special interests of labor unions, they’d chose the latter.
Addendum: Add to the list of Kelleher’s own special interest backers: Norris Beggs & Simpson (more real estate), The ODS Companies, ESCO Corporation, Guardian Management LLC (still more real estate), and Aspen Hotel Management Group, LLC.
