Adams is unfit to serve on the Multnomah County Commission
Career politician Sam Adams is running for Multnomah County District 2 and has a record decorated with scandals, bullying women, and harmful housing policies.
Adams has spent nearly 25 years in City Hall, serving as Mayor Vera Katz’s chief of staff, transportation commissioner, and Mayor. In 2020, Mayor Ted Wheeler brought him back to the city as a strategic advisor.
When Sam Adams's name is mentioned, many people immediately think of the scandals and dishonesty that have plagued his career.
Lying about having a sexual relationship with a teenage intern. When Adams was a City Commissioner in his forties, he had a sexual relationship with a teenage intern in his office, Beau Breedlove. Adams repeatedly lied about it in the run-up to his mayoral campaign. After he was elected, he acknowledged he had a relationship with the teenager that became sexual shortly after his 18th birthday. Investigators were concerned that Adams coached the boy to lie about when it started.
Bullying women. Last year, Adams was fired from Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s staff because six City of Portland female employees complained he was bullying them in the workplace. Reports covered unprofessional conduct and a pattern of bullying behavior toward female City Hall employees that created significant liability for the City.
Adams is one of the architects of the housing crisis
While some Portlanders credit Adams with expanding the city’s streetcar, light rail, and bike network, he ignored the housing crisis that grew during that period and did very little to invest in affordable housing.
Today, thanks partly to the short-sighted leadership of past leaders like Sam Adams, more than 6,000 people in our county can’t afford to rent an apartment in Portland and are trying to survive without stable housing.
Cozying with Republicans
Adams is now in his 50s and no longer viewed as a progressive darling. To win the County Commission seat, he joined forces with Republicans and conservative Democrats to try and convince voters that his “hard-charging” style would benefit the county.
As a Multnomah County Commissioner, Adams would be called to create policies to improve and expand accessible mental, behavioral, and mental health services to our county’s most vulnerable residents. He would work with thousands of public, medical, mental, and behavioral health professionals. Many of the staff are women, people of color, and identify as LGBTQAI+.
Sam Adams' 25-year career in public service demonstrates he is unfit to be on the Multnomah County Commission.
Shannon Singleton is our choice.
Portland for All endorsed Shannon Singleton, an intelligent, effective, and compassionate leader with three decades of experience moving people who are houseless into stable housing and helping them access addiction recovery services. She was also a senior policy advisor to Governor Kate Brown.
References
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/portland-mayor-relationship-teen
https://katu.com/news/local/sam-adams-had-6-complaints-with-hr-before-mayor-demanded-resignation-wheeler-office-says-portland-oregon-resign-city-employees
https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2023/01/13/records-show-allegations-of-bullying-from-city-attorneys-office-led-to-sam-adams-ousting/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28746811