Willamette Week, April 22, 2020 - Volume 46, Issue 27 - "Democracy, Delivered "

NEWS: GUILTY! BUT MAYBE NOT. ACTIVITY: COLOR THE NAKED BIKE RIDE. TAKEOUT: FIX YOURSELF A DRINK. P. 5

P. 23

“SPIDERS AND BUGS TAKE OVER WHEN YOU’RE GONE.” P. 26 WWEEK.COM

VOL 46/27 04.29.2020

WILLAMETTE WEEK PORTLAND’S NEWSWEEKLY

DEMOCRACY, DELIVERED

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FINDINGS

DIALOGUE

A U B R I E L E G A U LT

A sale of discounted frozen dry-aged steaks from RingSide Steakhouse backed up traffic on West Burnside Street for blocks on April 25. Portland police officers directed traffic and dealt with irate customers. “Do you think this is a police issue, about who cut a line outside a steak restaurant? No,” an officer said. “We could solve the problem and just get it shut down, and then nobody gets steaks.” Here’s what WW readers had to say:

QUAINTRELLE’S ANNABEL LEE COCKTAIL KIT, PAGE 23

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM READING THIS WEEK’S PAPER VOL. 46, ISSUE 27.

Armed guards now patrol the Delta Park BottleDrop. 4 Most Oregon convictions issued by non-unanimous juries were for sexual abuse. 6

The next time you call an electrician, he might show up wearing a chainmaille shirt made by onetime mayoral candidate Bim Ditson. 20

The Oregonian will endorse either Donald Trump or Joe Biden this November. We think. 7

A Portland preschool teacher is sheltering in place with seven chickens, five rabbits, a cat and a dog named Dave. 20

A “goat rope” is military slang for a fiasco. 11

Quaintrelle’s cocktail kits come with specialty ice cubes. 23

Dick Schouten recommends the Peppermill in Aloha, after it reopens. 12

Lifting canned goods counts as exercise, at least for stoners. 25

A legislative candidate delighted neighborhood children by running down the street dressed as a unicorn. 14 Mayor Ted Wheeler is learning to play the ukulele. 16

The owners of Laurelthirst worry their bar will get taken over by spiders while it’s closed. 26 A Portland small press put out a book partly about haunted hair salons. 27 The Hollywood Theatre’s head programmer co-hosted a podcast on kung fu cinema with Quentin Tarantino. 28

During this public health crisis, we are continuing to print copies of WW, although we have reduced our press run because fewer of you are on the streets and many businesses where we distribute are closed. To find a print copy of WW near you, go to wweek.com/page/find-a-paper.

OUR MOST TRAFFICKED STORY ONLINE THIS WEEK:

A Willamette University law professor says the governor’s stay-home orders should have expiration dates.

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Adriana Cano, via Twitter: “Hindsight is amazing. There was no other way this was going to go. The line of people outside of Lardo has been long, and that’s just people standing. They made people stay in cars, and police had to waste their time organizing it for them at taxpayer expense.”

“I hope RingSide gives the officers some steaks.”

Sheila Pow, via Facebook: “Fine the restaurant for creating a public nuisance. If they can advertise a sale, they can list the menu and prices in the ad, pay a grunt to write down orders, and sling the package out the door and into the car at the appointed time. Like EVERY OTHER RESTAURANT IN THE USA figured out weeks ago.”

PDXBill, via wweek.com: “Great article on human dysfunction during a crisis. Sad that it happened in Portland. As they were waiting in line for $34 steaks, I wonder how many homeless were ignored.”

McClelland, via wweek.com: “I’m a tad surprised that we have no uproar from some folks about the environmental impact of those cars lined up for steaks. Unless those in line are the ones that usually complain of such things.”

Dr. Know

Darian Ralstin, via Facebook: “So as a person who lives in this neighborhood, I was in this line and not because I wanted frozen steak but because I was on Burnside and needed to be in the right lane and didn’t realize the traffic buildup was steak-related! Why RingSide wouldn’t do this on 22nd, a side road, instead of Burnside made me want to tear my hair out.

Half of these people don’t realize they are in a ‘line.’ It’s a lane of traffic!”

John Hipes, via Facebook: “Talk about separation of classes. Some are waiting in lines for free food boxes, others waiting in line to buy hundreds of dollars in steaks. Crazy the irony!”

Anastasia Beaverhausen, via wweek.com: “At least with this, the city’s reputation will be repaired slightly from that awful ‘run on kale’ publicity a while back.”

Crystal Rustad, via Facebook: “A restaurant finally finds a way to make money during this pandemic when 80% of their workers (in the industry) have had to be laid off and we can’t give them a day or two to earn some money for their employees? I’m sure they can come up with a better process with this brilliant feedback from the Portland Police Bureau.”

Mindy Montgomery, via Twitter: “I hope RingSide gives the officers some steaks.”

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BY MART Y SMITH @martysmithxxx

Oregon’s governor says she wants to hire 600 people to track COVID-19 contacts. What kind of qualifications would someone need to do that job?

And are there really going to be enough qualified people out there to do it?

—Kevin S.

The secret to finding enough qualified people to do a job, Kevin, is staying flexible about the definition of “qualified.” But you already knew that; what you really want to know is whether that definition might be elastic enough to encompass folks like you and, more importantly, me.

As you know, one of the generally agreed upon conditions for relaxing at least some of the current social distancing measures is the ability to deploy an army of infectious disease case investigators. These stalwarts will track down all the people who may have been infected by a given patient, isolate them, and prevent the unchecked spread of the disease.

It certainly seems that if there were ever a moment for the Multnomah County Health Department to overlook my nine substanceabuse convictions, four restraining orders, and one badly misunderstood attempt to seize the throne of Burkina Faso, it would be now. Luckily for the public weal, however, the bottom of the barrel is unlikely to need such assiduous scraping.

While there’s certainly a need for more

case investigators, jobs that required a nursing degree before the crisis still require one, and the position of epidemiologist still requires training in epidemiology.

The county is meeting part of the need for trained case workers by recruiting graduate students from the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. They’re also looking for ways to divert trained researchers from other departments to the communicable disease team.

Still, they may have a place for you. “Multnomah County will be looking for additional team members to help case investigators with this kind of work,” says the county’s Kate Willson.

You won’t be giving many orders, but if you’re comfortable interviewing strangers, have some research experience, and don’t completely faint when confronted with a medical chart, you might be able to help—it’s worth a shot. Just remember those three words that always build courage when courage seems to fail: “Duty. Honor. County.”

QUESTIONS? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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AARON WESSLING

MURMURS

DELTA PARK BOTTLEDROP

All proceeds go directly to frontline workers.

Save Lives Stay Home is a program of the Charitable Partnership Fund, an Oregon 501(c)(3) charitable corporation

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STAY SAFE, STAY INFORMED .

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER. 4

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EIGHT COUNTIES SEEK TO REOPEN: Officials from eight Oregon counties—Douglas, Coos, Curry, Jackson, Josephine, Umatilla, Harney, and Baker—are asking Gov. Kate Brown to allow most nonessential businesses to reopen. Last week, Brown asked counties to send plans for gradual reopening from COVID-19 shutdowns. Many counties seeking a faster timetable for reopening are on the Oregon Coast, which has been hobbled by layoffs because of its reliance on tourism. In their request to the governor, Baker County officials cited the fact the county has no cases, and provided a plan for phased reopening and monitoring any surge in COVID-19.

Under the plan, restaurants could reopen at half capacity two weeks after the governor gives the green light.

“Given current data trends, we would expect that the first areas of the state that could be eligible to begin the process of reopening will be in rural Oregon,” says Brown spokeswoman Liz Merah.

“This will be dependent on detailed plans.”

CITY TO CLOSE SOME STREETS TO CARS: After initial reluctance, Portland city officials are preparing to ban cars from some streets to create walking and biking boulevards during the summer of COVID-19.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation says it will begin installing temporary barricades to close selected residential streets, allowing people to stroll 6 feet apart from each other.

The idea has already been implemented in Seattle and Oakland. PBOT hasn’t said which streets it will close.

“Our streets belong to all of us,” says Transportation Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, “and these improvements will allow us to safely walk, bike and roll through the city.”

BOTTLEDROP LANDLORD DEPLOYS ARMED GUARDS: A dispute over crowds at a BottleDrop center in North Portland has escalated. With grocery stores not required to accept returnable cans and bottles until June, lines of impoverished people are bringing bags of empties to a facility run by the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative at a Delta Park shopping center.

On April 27, the BottleDrop’s landlord, TMT Development, fenced off a vacant lot where people were lining up to return cans, and sent armed security guards to prevent them from queuing in the parking lot and in front of nearby businesses. TMT Development CEO Vanessa Sturgeon says the company needed to step in to prevent drug dealing and fights. “We regret that it’s come to this, but we’ve been left with no choice due to OBRC’s inaction,” Sturgeon says. Jules Bailey, chief stewardship officer for OBRC, says TMT’s guards are acting aggressively. “It may be that by making it harder for people to access their cash, the landlord is hoping they’ll just go away,” he says. “But their security guards are causing chao.”

SHIELDS GIVES BIG CHECKS TO HOMELESS SERVICES MEASURE: Former Oregon state Sen. Chip Shields has contributed $320,000 to the campaign for Measure 26-210, the Metro homeless services tax on the May 19 ballot.

Shields, whose family owns Missouri-based Schaeffer’s Specialized Lubricants, has been a generous benefactor to left-wing causes and candidates—including $15,000 to recall state Sen. Chuck Thomsen (R-Hood River) this year—but the Measure 26-210 donations are more than he’s given before, making him the largest single contributor to the yes campaign. “I’ve always known him as someone who steps up for the underdog,” says Angela Martin, the campaign’s director.

PHOTO CREDIT

NEWS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEK

CASES

Overruled Oregon convictions are thrown into doubt by the U.S. Supreme Court.

BY TE SS R I SK I

tess@wwe ek.com

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court reopened dozens of Oregon criminal cases that appeared decided.

Justices handed down a ruling in Ramos v. Louisiana on April 20, effectively overturning a provision of the Oregon Constitution that allowed juries to convict on felony charges without a unanimous vote.

Oregon was the last state in the union to allow nonunanimous jury verdicts. For the past seven decades, Oregon courts required just 10 of 12 jurors to convict a defendant of all felonies except murder.

Now that the provision has been overturned, hundreds of convictions resulting from 10-2 or 11-1 jury verdicts could be reversed. This puts defendants convicted by nonunanimous juries, their families and victims of crimes in a state of limbo. Some cases may need to be retried.

The path to unanimous verdicts in Oregon has been a long one, and had to overcome historical resistance from prosecutors—and a last-minute attempt to block it by the state’s top lawyer, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.

Last August, Rosenblum filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court not to overrule its 1972 decision in Apodaca v. Oregon, which enabled the state to convict without unanimous verdicts.

Rosenblum made a statement at the time explaining her position: Although she supported requiring unanimous verdicts, she did not support a decision that could invalidate previous convictions and require the state to go back decades retrying cases. In other words, she wanted the change to be forward-looking only—not to look back.

Yet the day the Supreme Court handed down its decision on Ramos, Rosenblum issued a press release hailing the ruling: “This is good news!” Rosenblum said April 20. “It is an embarrassment to our otherwise progressive state that we are the only state in the country with a law in our constitution that allows criminal convictions without juror unanimity.” (Disclosure: Rosenblum is married to the owner of WW’s parent company.

In an email to WW, Rosenblum disputed that she has made inconsistent statements on non-unanimous jury verdicts. She said she fully supports the Ramos decision, but that the ruling does not address every legal issue, such as what to do about previous convictions.

“That is the issue we flagged in our amicus brief,” Rosenblum tells WW. “We are painstakingly reviewing

hundreds of cases to determine how we will recommend they be handled in the review process.”

In fact, the outcome Rosenblum wanted to avert is happening. The Oregon Supreme Court is reviewing 74 verdicts dating back to 2015 that were affirmed by 10 or 11 jurors. (This is the first batch of Ramos-affected cases the court will review. More cases will be identified going forward.)

WW combed through those first six-dozen cases, which range from the atrocious to the mundane. Some detail awful stories of predatory, serial rape, while others involve lesser charges like unlawful possession of a firearm and reckless driving. Regardless of where the cases fall on the moral spectrum, the 74 verdicts the Oregon Supreme Court is reviewing may now be considered unconstitutional, according to the highest court in the country.

Here are three notable cases.

State of Oregon v. Robert Lee Chaffee

When Chaffee drove to Richard Hoglen’s house in Phoenix, Ore., on Oct. 5, 2016, he was angry. Standing outside of Hoglen’s front gate, Chaffee started yelling obscenities and accusing Hoglen of molesting his children and grandchildren. Hoglen blocked the entrance and moved closer to his steel farm gate to take a picture of Chaffee’s license plate. “[Chaffee] gunned the truck and turned down a dirt road leading away from the property, but did a U-turn and headed back toward the victim, who was still behind the gate,” court records say. “Defendant plowed into the gate without stopping, breaking it off of its hinges; the gate ended up on the victim’s legs and defendant’s truck was on top of the gate. The victim was dragged several feet through gravel.”

Hoglen, age 47, was severely injured but survived.

Chaffee, now 66, was charged with attempted murder and two counts of assault. In April 2017, a Jackson County jury acquitted him of the attempted murder charge, and handed down a non-unanimous verdict convicting him of the two assault charges. Chaffee was sentenced to 90 months in prison.

State of Oregon v. Johnny Eugene Johnson

Between September 2004 and May 2015, Johnson sexually abused three children—two under the age of 14 and

one under the age of 12. Yamhill County prosecutors in 2016 charged Johnson, now 49, with three counts of rape, 12 counts of sex abuse and six counts of sodomy.

The earliest assault described in court records was of a girl who was 5 or 6 years old at the time. “One night, [victim] and her sister became afraid of the dark and wanted to sleep with defendant,” court records say. “Defendant said the girls could not get into his bed unless they took off their underwear.” The documents go on to detail multiple disturbing encounters over a period of several years.

Years after that incident, in 2014, one of the victims disclosed it to a therapist, who reported it to the Department of Human Services. “While intoxicated, defendant touched her ‘inappropriately,’” court records say, “but [victim] did not remember the event until she was in the fifth grade and did not believe it really happened until she talked to her sister about it a year after that.”

A Yamhill County jury in 2017 convicted Johnson of three counts of rape and eight counts of sex abuse. He was sentenced to 710 months, or almost 60 years, in prison.

Eight of the 11 counts resulted from non-unanimous jury votes (court documents do not specify which counts), meaning Johnson’s case could be overturned by Ramos.

State of Oregon v. Kevin John Hunt

In June 2017, Multnomah County sheriff ’s deputies responded to a call about a burglary at the Harvest Christian Church in Troutdale. Police arrived and located the suspect, Kevin John Hunt, who ran behind a nearby apartment complex.

The officer chased Hunt, now 56, and ordered him to show his hands. The officer observed Hunt was holding a large knife. Hunt followed orders to drop the knife and got down on the ground. As deputies handcuffed him, they observed a handgun near Hunt. It was loaded.

“The handgun was not on the ground moments before when [the officer] cleared the area in pursuit of the defendant,” the probable cause affidavit says.

Hunt, who had a prior criminal history, was charged with felony possession of a handgun, but not the burglary for which he was being chased. In May 2018, a Multnomah County jury voted 10-2 to convict him. “No one had seen defendant touch the gun and his fingerprints were not on it,” his attorneys wrote in a brief filed in January. Hunt was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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CASES

Non-Unanimous Convictions The 74 cases now being reviewed by the Oregon Supreme Court offer a window into who was convicted in Oregon without a unanimous verdict. The number of black defendants was

disproportionate. The most common charge to result in a non-unanimous guilty verdict was sexual abuse—it’s often difficult for juries to agree in such cases. TESS RISKI.

Most Common Crimes Resulting in Non-Unanimous Guilty Verdicts SEXUAL ABUSE: 21 ASSAULT: 17

update ad?

FELONY POSSESSION OF A FIREARM: 12 BURGLARY: 10 SODOMY: 10 RAPE: 9

• Average sentence length: 117 months (does not include concurrent sentences) • Average age of person convicted: 46 • Gender of person convicted: 72 men, 2 women

ATTEMPTED MURDER: 6 ARSON: 1

GET DAILY UPDATES ON HOW CORONAVIRUS IS AFFECTING PORTLAND

Race of Persons Convicted WHITE: 33 BLACK: 12 HISPANIC: 10 ASIAN:3 NO INFORMATION: 16

Top 5 Counties Where Convictions Occurred MULTNOMAH: 13 MARION COUNTY: 12 WASHINGTON COUNTY: 9

SUBSCRIBE NOW

LANE COUNTY: 7

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CLACKAMAS COUNTY: 5

THEN AND NOW

Indecision The Oregonian’s rationale for its 2016 presidential non-endorsement keeps changing.

On April 26, The Oregonian editorial board bowed to the will of its readers and announced it would endorse a presidential candidate this fall. That’s not unusual for most papers, but it is for The O, which chose not to make an endorsement for president in 2012 or 2016, when Donald Trump ran against Hilary Clinton.

But The Oregonian didn’t just change policy on Sunday. It rewrote history. The rationale it recently offered for its past decisions doesn’t match what it said at the time. The two explanations aren’t mutually exclusive, but they’re strikingly different. AARON MESH.

TRENDING

Excess Deaths Far more Oregonians have died this year than expected, even adjusting for officially reported COVID-19 deaths.

Oregon’s deaths related to COVID -19 are significantly undercounted—by a factor of as much as four.

That’s the conclusion of Ken Stokes, a retired local economist who compared the historical average number of deaths in Oregon to deaths recorded so far in 2020.

Stokes read a story in the Financial Times that found deaths around the world were significantly higher than normal, adjusted for officially reported COVID-19-caused deaths. He then took the five-year average of reported deaths from the Oregon Health Authority database and compared it to this year’s deaths.

Stokes found the number of reported deaths in Oregon exceeded the five-year average by 348—about 5 percent. At the time he did his cal-

February

March

April TOTAL

Week No. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

2020 731 784 731 742 767 743 798 764 802 748 7,610

THEN: 2016 column by Laura Gunderson, editorial pages editor “I believe most Oregon voters have already chosen whether they support Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.…Our goal as an editorial board is to have an impact in our community.

And we don’t think an endorsement for president would move the needle. So that’s why we focus our endorsement energy where voters may not have made up their minds and need help with the decision. We offer opinions on races and issues we think are most important to Oregonians—and on those on which our endorsement could make a difference.”

NOW: “We want to take this opportunity to assure readers that we will be issuing a presidential endorsement in the November election. We heard loud and clear the community’s disappointment when we chose not to do so in 2016, a decision made due to limited staff and resources. We recognize that for our readers, editorial board endorsements aren’t just about giving recommendations; they are also declarations of what we stand for.” culations, Oregon had just 72 officially reported COVID -19 deaths. That means there were 276 “excess” deaths that require further investigation.

“This year’s numbers are radically out of line,” Stokes says.

WW asked professor Charles Rynerson, a demographer who heads Portland State University’s Population Research Center, to review Stokes’ findings. Rynerson says the math is solid but notes there are a variety of factors that could contribute to the higher death total.

“The population in Oregon, and in most of the countries in the FT analysis, is rapidly aging, so there likely would have been more deaths in 2020 than in 2015-19 even without the virus,” Rynerson says. “My understanding is that deaths from other causes may have increased due to limited medical resources, canceling appointments and surgeries, and distress.” (OHA senior adviser Dr. Melissa Sutton agrees with Rynerson and says the numbers require further investigation.)

Stokes’ takeaway: The larger-than-expected death totals (which The New York Times documented in other states and countries) should prompt caution.

“This suggests we should act with an abundance of caution because of the unknowns,” Stokes says. “For us to dash back to reopen when doctors are saying we don’t know what this [COVID-19] is yet—that could be a mistake.” NIGEL JAQUISS.

Average 2015-19 757 731 720 710 743 758 728 713 711 691 7,262

Excess Deaths -26 53 11 32 24 -15 70 51 91 57 348

Source: Oregon Health Authority

OBITUARY

Anne K. Parker

April 7, 1949 - March 27, 2020 Anne Kathryn Parker was born on April 7, 1949 to Francis Meagher and Mary Longeteig Meagher. She was the 2nd of 4 children, all raised on a hazelnut farm near Portland, Oregon.

She earned a B.S. degree in Psychology and a Masters in Social Work from Portland State University, and went on to spend the bulk of her career as a case manager for people with severe, chronic mental illness. She retired in 2002.

While in college Anne married Joseph Parker, a Vietnam Veteran. They were married for 38 years.

She bought her first solo house in 2012 & delighted in the process of remodeling her home to suit herself, meeting neighbors and exploring a new neighborhood. An avid gardener, she relished the hours she spent in her yard.

Anne had a passion for cats that cannot be overstated. Sassy and Brownie, both 13.5 years old, were her current cat companions and they certainly miss being spoiled by her.

Anne knew how to enjoy life be it through food, travel, art, or friends and family. She LOVED the ocean and truly enjoyed going on solo road trips along the Oregon coast, and spent hours walking the shoreline finding rocks to polish. She said she had good memories of her time in the Bahamas, but she relished spending a month in Costa Rica with her granddaughter.

Anne also enjoyed audio books, consuming hundreds over the years.

Frequent family dinners and gatherings were a highlight to her. She had no interest in cooking in general but enjoyed making desserts for family dinners.

Anne believed in helping people and spent her life doing so. While helping send her grandchildren to college, she encouraged them to pursue their personal interests, both common and bizarre. She had their backs and was a great listener. Anne welcomed diversity as she knew what it felt like to be marginalized and always fought for the underdog. Community volunteerism was also important to her- she enjoyed delivering meals to house bound seniors and often snuck in personal snacks she’d bought. During the holidays she’d secretly stashed $100 of her own money inside napkins for each person on her delivery route.

Anne is survived by chosen family Tikva Lynn Siva-Wentzel & Craig Wentzel-Siva and grandchildren Anna, Jordon and Joel Bocek and Asriel Malloy, Derek Flannery and Lisa Bennett, and great granddaughter Isabella, all of Portland OR. Anne was thrilled to hear a new family member due in August will carry her name.

She’s also survived by her sister Colleen Wagner Barton and husband Ted, as well as her brother Stephen Meagher. Nephews and nieces Aaron, Joseph, Julia, Andrew, Amber, Isaac, Stacy, Jennifer, Eli, Loren & Jennifer, and 11 great nephews and nieces.

Anne was a member of the Pegasos Association, a Swiss group dedicated to supporting the rights of terminally ill people who choose assisted death.

Anne was a longtime proponent of voluntary assisted suicide for those who need it, and chose it for herself after her diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease.

While the state of Oregon does have the Death with Dignity Act it provides NO relief for people with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, regardless of the stage of their disease.

We supported Anne in her decision. Extraordinary planning and effort were required as the COVID-19 pandemic bearing down threatened to take her choice away. This underscores just how strongly she felt about being able to choose her destiny. She was strong.

Anne died in the arms of her best friend in Liestal, Switzerland on 27 March, 2020, at age 70. She is survived by many who mourn her passing, but celebrate her escape.

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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THOMAS TEAL

DEMOCRACY, DELIVERED Vote like your life depends on it.

Read our endorsements.

This weekend, ballots arrive in Portland mailboxes. It may be the only ritual in this city that hasn’t changed.

When the 2020 election cycle began, COVID-19 was a distant threat. In two months, the virus has disrupted nearly every aspect of daily life, and brought Portland’s boom era to a bleak end.

State and local officials have made hard choices that prevented the illness and death of our friends and families, but those decisions also plunged the state into economic and social limbo. Businesses are closed—some never to reopen. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs. We can no longer gather, or even greet each other, without 6 feet of distance and a mask.

The election itself has been fundamentally altered. Debates? Held on Zoom, with the candidates crowded into squares on a screen like game show contestants. Door knocking? A relic of the past, replaced by text messages and cold calls. Fundraising dinners? Try “virtual cocktail hours” with a laptop instead.

Yet there is your ballot, on your kitchen counter, like always. It feels miraculous.

In fact, it was the result of sound policymaking, dating back to Secretary of State Phil Keisling and continuing through Gov. Kate Brown, that sought to ease and simplify voting by mail. While other states force their citizens to wait in long lines, risking illness, Oregon built an elegant, equitable system that works even in a global pandemic.

We’ve been thinking a lot about the lessons of those vote-by-mail envelopes as we prepare our endorsements for the May 19 election.

For the past three weeks, we’ve been interviewing candidates. Like everyone, we’ve had to improvise.

Instead of bringing candidates to our offices for joint interviews, we’ve had them join us from their home offices and dens via Google Meet. We still interviewed them jointly, so they could confront each other as well as our editorial board. (The result was some spirited video, which you can find on wweek.com.)

We also scaled back the races in which we endorsed and couldn’t interview all 54 Portland City Council candidates or any judicial candidates. Our criteria this year: Voter registration in a district must allow a candidate who wins in the primary a reasonable chance to win in November’s general election. (Portland being a deep blue city, that means you’ll find more Democratic primary endorsements than GOP picks.) And the race must be seriously

contested: Two candidates must be listed in the Voters’ Pamphlet and still be actively campaigning. Among other things, that means we won’t be making a presidential endorsement until November.

It’s been an extraordinary process. We’ve sat in our living rooms, connected by Wi-Fi to people across the city, discussing how we can build a better society in the wake of a terrifying virus. In these remarkable circumstances, we’ve taken a few lessons from Oregon’s voteby-mail system.

The first is the importance of preparedness.

Oregon created a resilient voting system far before it would be this acutely needed. Officials did that by working together—often with people they disagreed with—and by thinking carefully about how to make a system function.

As the COVID crisis continues, Portland will need elected officials who can make hard decisions, especially around budgets, and see ahead to the next problem. We placed a premium on experience and willingness to collaborate. It’s easy to beat up on “professional politicians,” but would you hire a doctor who hadn’t gone to medical school or served an internship or residency?

Second, we realized that a crisis is also a test of our values.

Vote by mail placed a premium on enfranchising all voters—and now that everyone has trouble leaving the house, that decision looks pretty damn good. The right priorities don’t just endure a disaster. They become a source of strength. We tried to evaluate which candidates and proposals would hold up best under duress—because we don’t expect life in Portland to be easy anytime soon.

All of the candidates seeking office this spring launched their bids at a time when revenues were flush, nearly everyone had a job, and politicians were eager to spend record revenues. In the midst of their campaigns, the world changed—and now their first duty will be to sensibly cut budgets, find ways to support small businesses, and put Oregonians back to work. Many of them don’t seem to understand how the world has changed. We favored those who do.

In the following pages, we’ll make a case for how you should cast your vote in this strange time. We expect you’ll sometimes disagree with us. We also expect you to vote.

After all, you can’t leave the house. So the future of Portland is being delivered to you.

Make it a good one.

CONT. on page 11 Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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DEMOCRACY, DELIVERED

U.S. HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES 1ST DISTRICT

Suzanne Bonamici DEMOCRAT

Since winning this seat in a 2012 special election f o l l ow i n g t h e resignation of Democrat David Wu, Bonamici, a lawyer and former state senator, has made few waves. She sits on the House Educa tion and Labor Com mittee, where she is chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services. She helped pass a reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, which funds programs such as Meals on Wheels. Bonamici, 65, is a steady backbencher unlikely to rise to leadership—but also unlikely to pose for a photo in a tiger suit, as Wu did. Along with her husband, federal judge Michael Simon, Bonamici is part of one of Oregon’s premier political power couples.

She faces nominal but interesting opposition in this race from Amanda Siebe, 35, an advocate for disabled Oregonians; Heidi Briones, 36, who’s running to publicize the concept of universal basic income; and Ricky Barajas, 35, who also ran against Bonamici two years ago but isn’t mounting a serious campaign.

What Bonamici will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: How the disease has brought out the disparities in our society.

3RD DISTRICT

Earl Blumenauer DEMOCRAT

Earl Blumenauer is a familiar face to most Portlanders. He was first elected in 1996, and he’s been reelected to the 3rd District 11 times since then.

Over the past two years in office, the bow tie-sporting 71-year-old has been a leader in the fight for federal cannabis legalization (he’s founder of the House Cannabis Caucus) and has aligned himself with the über-progressive Green New Deal. As a member of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee, he’s also been a loud voice for Medicare for All. Although he’s a little starchy and can be peevish, Blumenauer reflects the values of the city he represents: GovTrack, which analyzes congressional votes, ranked him more liberal than all but 10 members of Congress in 2019.

That ranking shows how hard it is to run to Blumenauer’s left. That’s the task of the most serious candidate we’ve seen challenge Blumenauer in memory, 45-year-old Albert Lee. Lee, a lawyer, is the former dean of Portland

Community College’s business and computing division and a state advisory committee member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. During our endorsement interview, he challenged Blumenauer’s record, including his long-ago support of the Defense of Marriage Act in the ’90s, and his 2018 vote in favor of the FOSTA-SESTA bill, which aimed to protect victims of sex trafficking but effectively criminalized online sex work.

We commend Lee’s willingness to stand up against a popular incumbent, and we think Lee is an intelligent, compelling candidate. But he didn’t prove to us he would be more effective than Blumenauer, and he has not held elected office at any level before, which makes us wary of him jumping straight to the congressional delegation. We hope to see Lee run again—ideally for a more winnable seat—and we believe he has a bright political future.

Blumenauer’s other two challengers are not serious candidates: 33-year-old Dane Wilcox has detailed ideas on climate legislation, but the owner of a hot sauce company doesn’t have prior experience that points to being an effective legislator. Another challenger, 49-year-old Charles Rand Barnett, is a computer programmer who plays the jazz trombone and is an avid cyclist. We applaud both endeavors, but they are not enough to win our support. Vote Earl.

What Blumenauer will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Family dinners every night around 7 with his wife and stepdaughter.

5TH DISTRICT

Kurt Schrader DEMOCRAT

Schrader, 68, is the only member of Oregon’s congressional delegation who could conceivably have a tough race for reelection, based on voter registration in his district (Democrats hold the advantage by just 5 percentage points).

It’s not going to happen this year because the GOP failed to recruit a credible challenger to the six-term incumbent.

The flinty former veterinarian did draw a Democratic primary opponent to his left this time: two-term Milwaukie Mayor Mark Gamba, 61, who has moved aggressively to get his city to adopt ambitious climate goals and a generous minimum wage. Schrader, a budget expert in his earlier career as a state legislator representing Canby, hasn’t welcomed Gamba’s input, accusing his opponent of trying to foist “elitist” metro-area policies on a workingclass congressional district that extends from Portland’s western suburbs to the central coast. That’s funny, given that Schrader is a pharmaceutical industry heir and Gamba is a freelance photographer whose mayoral pay is $3,600 a year.

We like seeing Schrader annoyed—it seems to wake him up a bit. As a member of the centrist Blue Dog Democrats and the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, he’s taken public positions that reflect the balanced nature of his district but can also feel like fence-sitting. (GovTrack, which crunches numbers on members of Congress, ranked Schrader the fifth-most conservative of the 200 Democrats who served in the 2018 session). Schrader publicly opposed the reelection of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as House speaker when Democrats reclaimed the majority.

And he was slow to call for President Trump’s impeachment—in fact, he was the last Democratic member of Oregon’s congressional delegation to support it.

Still, it’s no small achievement to represent a district that stretches from the Warm Springs Reservation east of Mount Hood to Waldport on the coast. Think about how bitterly divided this nation is—so is the 5th District. And Schrader has learned how to make constituents outside Portland’s coffee shops feel heard and valued. As a member of the powerful Committee on Energy and Commerce, Schrader last year sponsored the Right Rebate Act, which cracked down on pharmaceutical companies misclassifying drugs in order to avoid paying rebates, which was costing Medicare up to $1 billion annually. He’s doing his job and there’s no indication Gamba could do it better—or is more in touch with his district.

We like seeing Schrader annoyed— it seems to wake him up a bit.

Also running: Blair Reynolds, 40, owner of Hale Pele, a Northeast Broadway watering hole named the nation’s 2019 Tiki Bar of the Year. Of the three candidates, he’d be our first choice for a drinking partner, but he’s not ready for office.

What Schrader will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Schrader says he’s spent more time on the

phone than he has in years, calling constituents in his district.

5TH DISTRICT

G. Shane Dinkel REPUBLICAN

Democrats hold only a slim voter-registration advantage in Kurt Schrader’s congressional district, so it’s puzzling that Republicans aren’t giving voters a serious choice.

If elected, any of these GOP candidates would be a disaster. Joey Nations is a tax policy analyst with the Oregon Department of Revenue who, on occasion, has donned a metal helmet to punch antifascists in street brawls. Angela Roman is a member of the Three Percenters anti-government militia group and has served jail time for a gun charge. The most mainstream candidate is Amy Ryan Courser, a former Keizer City Council member who advises the minor league baseball team the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. She wouldn’t agree to an interview.

That leaves G. Shane Dinkel, 61, a veteran of the U.S. Army and Oregon National Guard who decided to run for office after watching Congress impeach President Trump.

“It was a goat rope,” he says—that’s military jargon for a fiasco. Dinkel wants to reopen Oregon for business during the COVID-19 pandemic—a phenomenally bad idea—but is willing to talk to liberals, which is more than we can say for his opponents.

What Dinkel will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic:

Going to drive-in church.

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DEMOCRACY, DELIVERED

OREGON

SECRETARY OF STATE Mark Hass DEMOCRAT

The secretary of state manages a mixture of crucial, if less than exciting, state functions: elections, audits, corporation registry, and the state archive. And yet, this year, the Democratic primary has more intrigue and maneuvering than the second season of Succession.

That’s for a few reasons: 1. It’s an open seat. Republican Bev Clarno, a placeholder, currently serves as secretary of state. Gov. Kate Brown appointed her after Dennis Richardson, who was elected in 2016, died in February 2019. Clarno is not seeking election to the post. (State Sen. Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer) faces no serious competition in the GOP primary.)

2. It’s a census year, which also means redrawing the geographic boundaries of Oregon’s legislative and congressional districts, a process called redistricting. In Oregon, the Legislature takes first crack at drawing the lines, but if lawmakers cannot agree, in what is by definition a contentious process, the secretary takes a pen to the maps.

3. The secretary of state also becomes governor if the current one should die in office or resign. (That happened in 2015, when Gov. John Kitzhaber quit amid an influence-peddling s c a n d a l a n d Ka t e B r ow n assumed the job.) There’s speculation in Salem that Gov. Brown, who cannot seek reelection again, would love a job in a Biden administration.

So who’s the right Democrat for the nomination?

The field includes three strong candidates: Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a lawyer and natural resources consultant from Terrebonne in Central Oregon, and state Sens.

Shemia Fagan (Portland) and Mark Hass (Beaverton).

Of the three, McLeod-Skinner, 52, may be the least known to Portland voters. She comes from Ashland originally and, after serving on the city council in Santa Clara, Calif., for two terms, became city manager in Phoenix, Ore. In 2018, she ran against U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) in the 2nd Congressional District, and performed creditably, getting 39 percent of the vote. She’s smart and demonstrates independent thinking—she’s the only candidate in the race who won’t accept corporate money—but her campaign to jump-start her political career shouldn’t be confused with the kinds of experience in Salem that, no matter which party one belongs to, are essential when holding statewide office.

There’s no one in the race with more experience in the capital than Hass, 63. In his nearly 20 years in Salem, the onetime KATU-TV news reporter has shown himself to be patient, moderate and capable of large accomplishments that required long negotiations and significant coalition building. His skills earned him the highest rating among senators in WW’s 2019 “Good, Bad and Awful” survey of metro-area legislators.

He passed bills for full-day kindergarten (2011) and Oregon’s pioneering, mostly free community college system (2015). He deserves enormous credit for his work on tax policy as longtime chair of the Senate Finance Committee. He was a prime architect of the 2007 bill that created a state rainy-day fund that has Oregon sitting on a larger chunk of savings than all but a handful of states.

More recently, he led the push for passage in 2019 of a corporate tax known as the Student Success Act. That tax will diversify the revenue sources of a state historically 12

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

dependent mostly on income taxes, and bring in $1 billion a year for schools.

Going back to 2003, when Hass was one of a small cluster of Democrats who voted for large cuts in public employee pensions, he has been persona non grata with public employee unions.

Since that vote, which cost at least two other Democrats their political careers, Hass, whose wife, Tamra, is a speech pathologist in the Beaverton schools, has regularly balanced the need for new or different taxes with cuts to public employee benefits. That is the third rail of Oregon Democratic politics, and his courage to put his hand on that rail for the good of the state speaks to his independence. It also suggests he would be an honest broker of the state’s elections system, willing to audit state agencies without fear of alienating his friends, and a careful steward of state resources.

Which brings us to the vexing candidacy of state Sen. Shemia Fagan (D-East Portland). Fagan is clearly a rising star in Oregon Democratic politics. After growing up dirt poor in Dufur and The Dalles, she went to college and earned a law degree at Lewis & Clark.

In 2012, she beat an incumbent Republican in a House seat representing East Portland and Happy Valley.

She served two terms and then stepped down to have her second child.

In 2018, Fagan returned to politics with a vengeance, walloping longtime incumbent state Sen. Rod Monroe (D -Portland) in a Democratic primary.

Stylistically, Fagan, 38, is aggressive, outspoken and occasionally willing to challenge the party’s orthodoxy. In 2019, as a freshman senator, she alone rose on the Senate floor to vote against her party’s leader, Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem), for his mishandling of a sexual harassment scandal.

She helped passed a groundbreaking rent control bill last year and is a firebrand in the more conservative Senate.

Fagan clearly has a bright future in Oregon politics.

The way Fagan entered the race, however, raises questions about how she would govern. She filed late, at the end of February, deciding to run only after former state Rep. Jennifer Williamson (D -Portland) dropped out on the eve of a WW story about her misuse of campaign funds.

Public employee unions went looking for a replacement for Williamson and found Fagan. When asked why public employee unions didn’t like Hass in WW’s endorsement interview, Fagan was uncharacteristically reticent.

She would only say she was a longtime ally of labor.

To be sure, Fagan has the seal of approval from the left wing of her party, groups that often work in concert to achieve the greatest effect. She has the pro-choice forces and environmental lobby on her side. But two-thirds of the $175,000 in her campaign coffers so far come from the three major public employee unions. If she’s reluctant to be forthright about why she and not others was the recipient of such generosity, it calls into question her willingness to challenge public employees when she’s handed the authority to audit the state’s books.

In announcing her candidacy, Fagan called out the Republicans’ walkout of the state Senate as a threat to democracy. It may well have been. But by naming that a chief threat to Oregon, she made partisanship a top issue.

If that’s how she campaigns, we have to wonder how she’d govern.

For that reason, we endorse Hass.

What Hass will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic:

Going for morning runs with his son Sam, a middleschooler: “We’re up to 2 miles a day.”

OREGON

LEGISLATURE SENATE DISTRICT 14

Kate Lieber DEMOCRAT

It’s been 12 years since this suburban district saw a contested Democratic primary. But Mark Hass, the senator who has held the seat since 2007, decided to run for Oregon secretary of state rather than seek reelection.

The contest to succeed Hass reflects some tension in the district. Washington County Commissioner Dick Schouten is running and holds the district’s western flank—making the case that he’s better in touch with local values (and dining). “How often have you been at the Peppermill in Aloha?” he quizzed his opponent. “Do you know what it is?” Schouten, 67, aims to join his wife, state Rep. Sheri Malstrom Schouten (D-Beaverton), in the Legislature. By most accounts, he’s been a solid commissioner: a champion for parks and a reliable vote for more housing.

But we were more impressed by Kate Lieber, a former Multnomah County prosecutor. Lieber, 53, now teaches criminal justice at Portland Community College and chairs the board of Transition Projects, a nonprofit that helps homeless people find and keep apartments. She also chaired the state’s Psychiatric Security Review Board.

Lieber struck us as someone better equipped to enliven the stodgy upper chamber of the Legislature, where progressives claim good bills go to die. She’ll press for quorum reform and fines to keep the GOP from playing hooky whenever climate change comes up. (Schouten’s suggestion—tracking Republican senators’ whereabouts with GPS devices—seems dubious.)

We don’t often endorse first-time candidates, especially for a job this big. But we don’t often encounter candidates of Lieber’s caliber. We think she’ll make an impact on Salem.

We don’t often endorse first-time candidates, especially for a job this big. But we don’t often encounter candidates of Lieber’s caliber.

What Lieber will remember from the COVID-19 pandemic: “Being swept up in this whole Tiger King craziness and all of the memes and jokes that have come out.”

DEMOCRACY, DELIVERED SENATE DISTRICT 18

Ginny Burdick DEMOCRAT

Burdick, 72, a former journalist and public relations consultant, first won this seat in 1996, which makes her the longest-serving member of the Oregon Senate.

As majority leader, she’s the secondranking officer in that body and has taken a lot of heat from progressives for the deliberate and, at times, conservative nature of the upper chamber under her leadership.

Burdick’s pet issue is gun control, and she’s chipped away at it for years, co-sponsoring a successful 2017 extreme-risk protection law, which allows police to take guns away from owners determined by the courts to be a danger to themselves or others, and backing another gunsafety bill that Republicans killed last year with a walkout.

Although running for reelection, she is, in deference to her critics, stepping down from her leadership position. That takes some of the energy out of the campaign to unseat her launched by Ben Bowman, 28, a member of the TigardTualatin School Board and former legislative staffer.

Bowman and Burdick agree on most issues, and he hasn’t made a convincing case he’d be substantially more effective than her on climate, education or health care, the issues upon which he’s running. Burdick has generally scored above average in our biannual rating of lawmakers, and even if that’s not exciting, it’s enough for another term.

What Burdick will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: The senator is an avid walker and says she’s

been impressed with the courtesy that pedestrians show each other as they socially distance on Northwest Portland sidewalks.

HOUSE DISTRICT 26

Dan Laschober REPUBLICAN

This district, which covers Wilsonville and parts of Hillsboro, i s o n e of the most evenly balanced in the m et r o a r e a .

Although Democrats now hold about a 5 percent registration advantage, District 26 was a solid Republican seat until 2018, when then-incum bent Rep. Rich Vial (R-Hillsboro) lost in a major upset to Democratic nominee Courtney Neron.

Little has changed in the district since then, but the GOP has not focused much energy on a potential pickup.

Three candidates are vying for the chance to challenge Rep. Neron, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

They are Larry McDonald, 46, who works in commercial pest control and is a first-time candidate; Dan Laschober, 57, a management consultant who previously ran

for U.S. Senate and for this nomination in 2018; and Peggy Stevens, a former three-term member of the Sherwood School Board.

Stevens did not participate in our interview, and the choice between McDonald and Laschober is an easy one.

Laschober holds an MBA from Northwestern, has held management positions with two multinational corporations, and can speak thoughtfully about tax policy.

McDonald is angry because Democrats raised taxes and gutted the death penalty. We’ll go with Laschober.

What Laschober will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: The loss of important family moments, includ-

ing his daughter’s graduation from a Ph.D. program and his son’s wedding celebration.

HOUSE DISTRICT 28

Wlnsvey Campos DEMOCRAT

After 18 years, Democratic state Rep. Jeff Barker is vacating his seat representing Aloha and Beaverton. Barker, a former Portland cop, provided a useful check on the zealous criminal justice reformers of his party’s left wing.

We’ll miss his good sense and candor.

she intends to be a champion of housing rights, climate change legislation and health care reform.

Four candidates are vying to succeed him. The strongest is 53 years his junior: Wlnsvey Campos, 24.

Campos, whose striking first name, pronounced winsvay, was invented by her father, works as a case manager for a homeless services center in Beaverton. Raised in Brandon, Ore., Campos has also done political organizing for the Oregon Nurses Association—a group whose advocacy for hospital workers has grown increasingly cr ucial during the COVID-19 pandemic. Campos, who has received the lion’s share of endorsements from unions, says she intends to be a champion of housing rights, climate change legislation and health care reform. Campos is young, but she shows an energy that can make her an effective legislator.

Alisa Blum, 60, a small business owner and longtime social worker, appeared intelligent and compassionate, but she was difficult to pin down on policy specifics.

Raman Velji, 68, is a hotel broker who previously ran for the Oregon House in 2000. He lost that election and hasn’t engaged much in American politics since then (he lived in Fiji from 2010 to 2017 before returning to Oregon).

A fourth candidate, 24-year-old Jacob Bride, is not yet ready to represent 64,000 residents in the state Legislature: He’s still finishing graduate school, and his most recent experience is as an intern at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C.

HOUSE DISTRICT 33

Dr. Maxine Dexter DEMOCRAT

Rep. Mitch Greenlick, a retired researcher at Oregon Health & Science University who’s now retiring from the Legislature, has represented this Northwest Portland and Cedar Hills district for nine terms. Dur ing each one, he grew crabbier and more committed to public health. The ruthlessness with which he dispatched anti-vaxxers last year wasn’t pretty—but we can only hope his successor cares half as much.

Who will that person be? It’s a free-for-all, with an unusually large number of impressive candidates. Andy Saultz grew up in the district and teaches at Pacific University. Serin Bussell is a geologist who served as chief of state to state Sen. Jeff Golden (D-Ashland) and helps oversee Portland’s publicly financed elections. We were struck by her commitment to racial justice. Christina Stephenson is a civil rights lawyer who successfully championed paid family leave and equal pay bills. In a typical cycle, she might be our pick.

But these aren’t normal times. And few people in Oregon have played so central a role in this generation’s defining crisis as Dr. Maxine Dexter, 47, a critical care pulmonologist currently treating COVID-19 patients at two Kaiser hospitals.

But Dexter’s done more than intubating people who can’t breathe. In early March, she drafted a letter to Gov. Kate Brown begging her to close the schools in Oregon to slow the virus’s spread. More than 5,000 doctors eventually signed that letter, which made it to the floor of Congress.

Dexter grew up in a dysfunctional broken home, put herself through college and medical school, and decided to get into politics when she heard Christine Blasey Ford tell the Senate about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Oregon is going to need Dexter’s passion, decisiveness and perspective in the coming years. We thank her for what she’s doing in ICU wings. And we suggest you send her to Salem.

What Dexter will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Denying a family access to the hospital room of a relative dying of COVID-19. “I’ve never, never not been able to let family be with their loved one as they die.

And that is something we cannot ever take the risk of having to do again, if we can avoid it.”

What Campos will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Wearing a sleep mask with a penguin on it as a face

mask to get groceries.

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

13

ADRIANBROWN

FOR MULTNOMAH COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE, POSITION 12 I have fought for fair housing rights, community mental health care, disability access, best policing practices, and veterans’ rights. With service as a prosecutor and defender, I will bring balance to the court.

Mom. Veteran. Advocate.

AdrianForJudge.com

“Adrian will apply the law fairly and equally. She has my unqualified support as our next circuit court judge.”

— Paul J. De Muniz, Oregon Chief Supreme Court Justice (Ret.)

ENDORSED BY STATE LEADERS Barbara Roberts—Oregon’s first female Governor Avel Gordly—Oregon’s first African American female State Senator Sharon Meieran, M.D.— County Commissioner and E.R. Frontline Hero

VOTE BY MAY 19

AdrianForJudge.com

HOUSE DISTRICT 35

Dacia Grayber DEMOCRAT

Rep. Margaret Doherty (D-Tigard) is stepping down after a decade representing this swath of hilly suburbs southwest of Portland. The pick to replace her is an easy one: Dacia Grayber is a firefighter and paramedic with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. Her job is to respond to medical emergencies in the midst of the pandemic. (Her husband, Matt Laas, does the same work: We featured him in an April 22 cover story.) Few candidates get as clear a view of how COVID-19 has deepened economic disparities. “I’m still on the front lines responding,” she says, “but I come home to my family, and we have stable housing, we are not food insecure, [my kids] have access to computers for distance learning.” That’s the right lesson to take to Salem. Grayber, 44, faces nominal opposition from Keenan Casavant, who pledges to replace Doherty with a more conservative Democrat. But Grayber is one of the most compelling candidates we met this spring.

Choose her.

Grayber is one of the most compelling candidates we met this spring.

Choose her.

What Grayber will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic:

THIS ELECTION WILL CHANGE THE COURSE OF OUR CITY.

FOREVER.

MINGUSMAPPS.COM

PAID FOR BY MINGUS MAPPS FOR PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL

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Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

Donning a unicorn costume and running down the center of her street to entertain neighborhood children. “There was this small but very significant moment of joy, both for them and for me.”

HOUSE DISTRICT 36

Lisa Reynolds DEMOCRAT

For four terms, this seat was held by Jennifer Williamson, whose political fortunes took an Icarus-like trajectory. Williamson rose to House majority leader, resigned from the Legislature last year to run for Oregon secretary of state, and withdrew from that race after WW reported on her questionable use of campaign contributions for international travel.

Now four candidates seek Williamson’s West Portland seat.

We were most impressed by Dr. Lisa Reynolds, 56, a pediatrician.

Reynolds was part of a coalition of doctors to call for a stay-home order to slow the spread of COVID-19. Those early demands were a big part of why a hesitant Gov. Kate Brown made the right decision.

The Oregon Legislature could use more doctors over the next two years. An endless series of public health questions will confront lawmakers, even as the governor works to get the economy up and going.

To offer one example: Reynolds argues that once a COVID-19 vaccine is ready, Oregon needs to get the vaccination rate to 100 percent—a political impossibility but a necessary goal. Oregon needs to take up the issue of vaccine access sooner rather than later, and it should be part of any special session held in the near future.

Reynolds’ opponents all have strengths. Rob Fullmer, 52, an IT specialist at Portland State University, convincingly argued he’d show leadership on seismic preparations for the Big One—which could easily be Oregon’s next crisis—and on higher education fund-

DEMOCRACY, DELIVERED ing. Laurie Wimmer, 62, an Oregon Education Association lobbyist, has been a team player for the Democrats in pushing for school funding. And Adam Kelly Meyer, 33, a Lewis & Clark law student who works for the Oregon Department of Forestry, punched above his years and has shown he has a promising future ahead.

But the Legislature needs an independent and strong voice to help address the singular crisis of this moment.

We’ll call on the doctor.

What Reynolds will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: “The 7 pm pot-banging in support of health

care providers. And as a frontline provider, it tremendously warms my heart. It comes at a time, if I’m home, when I’m usually making dinner with my son. I kind of hope it continues.”

When Nosse has visited us before for endorsement interviews, we have always asked him for a sign of his independence from the Democratic Party. Nosse never

Nosse fell on his sword for the greater good.

That kind of courage should

HOUSE DISTRICT 37

Ron Garcia REPUBLICAN

For years, this district was the fiercely defended turf of Rep. Ju l i e Pa r rish (R-West Linn)—until a Democratic challenger, Rachel Prusak, swept her aside in 2018’s blue wave. Now Republicans are angling to grab the seat back.

Ron Garcia, 65, is our pick to face Rep. Prusak in November.

Many of the candidates who came through the virtual endorsement interviews failed to state the obvious: The pandemic has changed Oregon’s priorities. Garcia, a real estate property manager, addresses those new realities— going so far as to say that his earlier campaign pledge to cut taxes wasn’t going to fly in the post-pandemic politics of the state Legislature.

Garcia says he entered the race to be a check on the left-wing agenda of the Democratic supermajorities, which passed dramatic housing legislation two years ago to cap rent increases statewide and require some cities to allow duplexes and triplexes in neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes. He opposes both. But he says his advocacy tempered the state rent-control bill, to allow landlords to evict tenants without cause in the first year and move the cap on rent increases from its initial ceiling of 2 percent to around 10 percent. We find him to be bright and affable, and we respect his ability to find compromise.

He faces Kelly Sloop, a registered pharmacist, who has highlighted support for small businesses during her campaign but did not attend WW’s endorsement interview.

What Garcia will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: A virtual family reunion to commemorate his

mother on Easter. They all bit the ears off a chocolate rabbit first, just like his mother always did. “It was a blast,” he says. “And the bunnies were pretty good.”

HOUSE DISTRICT 42

Rob Nosse DEMOCRAT

Nosse, 52, a three-term incumbent, has spent much of his energy on the House Health Care Committee, where he’s concentrated on the Oregon Health Plan and tried to rein in prescription drug prices. His career is as a union organizer, first for university students, later for Service Employees International Union and the Oregon Nurses Association.

be rewarded, not penalized. had an answer. He does now.

In 2019, Nosse voted for Senate Bill 1049, which included modest cuts to retirement benefits for public employees.

That independence is costing him. In the primary, the Oregon Education Association and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees are supporting his opponent, Paige Kreisman.

Kreisman, 24, is a disabled veteran and the first openly transgender candidate for the Oregon Legislature. She is an officer of the Democratic Socialists of America’s Portland chapter and a board member of Portland Tenants United. She is bright and well-versed on the issues and has achieved the difficult task of positioning herself to Nosse’s left. She’s better prepared than most first-time candidates, but that’s not enough to win our endorsement.

Nosse did one of the hardest and rarest things in politics. He said no to his biggest political allies in service of a larger cause: reducing the state’s unfunded pension obligations and helping pave the way for passage of the Student Success Act, which will bring $1 billion for schools every year. In other words, the two bills were linked: No pension cuts, no new taxes. Nosse fell on his sword for the greater good.

That kind of courage should be rewarded, not penalized.

What Nosse will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: A lot of constituent work, especially trying to help small businesses in his district get financial help.

HOUSE DISTRICT 46

Khanh Pham DEMOCRAT

For nearly 10 years, Rep. Alissa Keny- Guyer (D-Portland) held this seat representing some of the most reliably liberal neighborhoods in the city. She’s giving up her post to spend more time with family after beating cancer.

(That decision came shortly after her husband, Neal Keny-Guyer, resigned from Mercy Corps amid Oregonian reports about how the nonprofit failed to confront sexual abuse by its founder.)

Her departure sets up a generational battle for the seat,

pitting Khanh Pham, 41, an environmental justice organizer who successfully championed an unprecedented 2018 Portland climate change tax, against Jeff Cogen, the former Multnomah County chairman felled seven years ago by his affair with a county employee.

There’s a parallel between Cogen’s bid for redemption and that of former Portland Mayor Sam Adams, who also departed public office amid personal scandal. (We’ll get to Adams later.) Cogen, 58, was one of the region’s most well-liked and respected officials. That made his betrayal of public trust more noteworthy. He returned from exile to run the social services nonprofit Impact NW (although under his leadership, Multnomah County threatened to pull its contracts with the organization). Cogen also suffered a stroke and underwent a grueling recovery. It is unusual to have a politician of his skills and experience seeking a House seat, but he hasn’t made a compelling case for why voters should bring him back.

At any rate, the deciding factor in this race isn’t Cogen.

It’s Pham. She’s demonstrated an ability to do big things fast. The daughter of Vietnamese refugees, Pham started her career at the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon but made her greatest impact at OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, where she was a key player in passing a $50 million-a-year tax on large companies to fund cleanenergy jobs in low-income neighborhoods.

Pham has built a reputation as a strong organizer and a clear voice for the unheard, including Portland’s rapidly growing Asian population, which has been excluded from important conversations. There’s a reason she has wrapped up establishment endorsements while working from outside typical power structures: Pham makes a strong case that it’s time to give a new voice a chance.

What Pham will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Teaching her daughter how to ride a bicycle.

HOUSE DISTRICT 50

Ricki Ruiz DEMOCRAT

Ricki Ruiz, 25, and his chall e n g e r, W i l l i a m M i l l e r, 27, are pretty similar. In fact, the two longtime Gresham residents seemed quite fond of each other during their endorsement inter view with WW. “William, how are you? How’s your family? I just wanted [to do] a wellness check,” Ruiz said. “You’re an amazing person that I respect, and I hope you feel the same way about me as well.”

It was sweet. Still, we have to pick. And Ruiz has more experience: He’s been elected twice to the Reynolds School Board, and he currently serves as the community services coordinator for the city of Gresham. He’s participated in government from as many angles as CJ McCollum takes jump shots: He’s been a crime prevention specialist, an assessment and taxation technician, and an arts board member.

Miller also has some community experience under his belt: He’s worked for two-and-a-half years as the community advocacy manager at the Native American Youth and Family Center, and has a compelling story of surviving a family battling drugs and abuse.

These are two young men who show promise. Either would serve his district well, but we give the edge to Ruiz for his generous involvement at Gresham City Hall.

What Ruiz will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Campaigning and seeing the challenges faced by low-income families during this time.

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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DEMOCRACY, DELIVERED

PORTLAND

MAYOR

Ted Wheeler

Wheeler, 57, governs in interesting times. This year, he’s finally shown an ability to match them.

In the past two months, Wheeler has shown himself capable of taking a difficult position, working with others, and bringing about results. Faced with tentative leadership from Oregon Gov. Kate Brown early in the COVID-19 pandemic, he was willing to state the obvious: People across the city and state needed to be ordered home if they didn’t have essential responsibilities. He was decisive, pushed the governor to order shelter in place by writing an order of his own, and was enough of a team player to stand beside the governor as she haltingly found her way to the correct outcome. If he can continue to show that kind of leadership, his second term will be better than his first.

A lot of Portlanders think Wheeler is stuck with a lousy job.

That’s partly because he’s faced two of the worst tragedies to befall our country: the presidency of Donald Trump and a global pandemic.

But it’s also in part because the mayor has an unhelpful habit of feeling sorry for himself in public.

Whining is inconsistent with leadership.

Wheeler wants to be the first Portland mayor since Vera Katz elected to a second term. Tom Potter, elected in 2004, disliked the job. Sam Adams, elected in 2008, loved it—but a scandal erased his chances for a second term. His successor, Charlie Hales, ended up feeling as Potter did.

Until the pandemic gave Wheeler a fresh opportunity to rise to an unparalleled public health threat, he struggled with the nuts and bolts of his role.

A telling example: Wheeler ran in 2016 on his vision for addressing the city’s housing crisis. Four years ago, he advocated for a modest if controversial program called the residential infill project, which would allow muchneeded duplexes and triplexes in Portland’s predominantly single-family-home neighborhoods. Yet he has failed to get the policy across the finish line. Wheeler was lapped in this leadership role by Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland), who required all cities to adopt a similar policy.

That’s a pattern for Wheeler, who has too often governed by sound bite rather than persuade his colleagues to get to three votes. His efforts at seismic preparedness flopped. His response to gatherings of fascist brawlers in Portland’s streets was erratic and questionably legal. He struggled to maintain control of a police force that brutalized protesters. At times, he seemed to be performing for a national cable news audience rather than his constituents.

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Wheeler, who comes from a wealthy timber family and previously served as Multnomah County chairman and state treasurer, often seems like a man dutifully climbing a long, steep staircase at the top of which is his ultimate goal, the governor’s office. He hoped to get there sooner, but when Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned in 2015, Wheeler’s rival, Secretary of State Kate Brown got the job instead.

Being mayor of the state’s largest city is a considerable consolation prize, although not one Wheeler or any of the city’s other top political talents (such as Kotek) seem to value.

That’s left Wheeler facing modest competition. One of his opponents in 2016 and now, Sarah Iannarone, has offered a consistent and often correct critique of his leadership. (Her campaign has been most effective in pointing out Wheeler’s obvious failings to follow the will of Portland voters on campaign finance reform.) She’s also put forward a detailed platform of her own, with thoughtful, progressive positions on key issues.

She is a strong advocate of active transportation and combating climate change, for instance.

Her positions, however, are purely theoretical.

Even in Portland’s weak mayor system, the job comes with immense financial and management requirements. Iannarone, who has never run anything larger than a neighborhood restaurant, cannot point to anything in her résumé that suggests she would be ready to manage a budget in a time of crisis.

First-time candidate Ozzie González, an architect and TriMet board member, has also raised money and support but hasn’t distinguished himself. Teressa Raiford is a champion of police reform but declined to meet with WW’s editorial board. Randy Rapaport, a local developer, is unqualified—as are the other 14 candidates on the ballot.

Wheeler has succeeded in managing the city’s budget process for three flush years in a way that suggests he can lead in these difficult times. And in his role as state treasurer from 2010 to 2017, he displayed an aptitude for financial management the city desperately needs. The city will face tough times, and we hope Wheeler will use his financial acumen to keep the city’s books on solid financial ground and make this crisis bearable for those who will be most vulnerable to job losses.

We endorse the mayor and hope for the best.

What Wheeler will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: “My daughter and I have been learning how to play the ukulele.”

POSITION 1

PORTLAND

CITY COUNCIL Carmen Rubio

The race to succeed City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who is retiring after three terms, was over soon after it started. Carmen Rubio, longtime executive director of the Latino Network, is as close to an anointed candi date as we’ve seen in

Observers who have worked closely with her say she is a calm consensus-builder who listens well and arrives at decisions deliberately. a City Council race for many years.

Rubio, 46, brings to the race an insider’s knowledge of local politics from her service as a staffer to onetime Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz, former Mayor Tom Potter, and late City Commissioner Nick Fish. She left Fish’s office in 2009 to take over the Latino Network and has built that organization from a staff of a dozen to 120 and built its budget of more than $9 million. The group advocates for the city’s growing Latino community, working with families on literacy, economic assistance and after-school programs.

The granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, Rubio grew up in Hillsboro and was the first in her family to graduate from college. Observers who have worked closely with her say she is a calm consensus-builder who listens well and arrives at decisions deliberately. Those qualities will be welcome in a building where big personalities often grind against each other or retreat to their corners in silence.

The question about Rubio is whether she will be aggressive enough to claim her share of the turf in City Hall. But it’s long past time the city elected its first Latinx commissioner.

Two other candidates in the race, Candace Avalos, 31, a student adviser at Portland State University, and Tim DuBois, 36, a carpenter, qualified for public campaign financing. Avalos has jumped into civic life, taking a leadership role on the police citizen review committee and engaging in precinct-level political work. DuBois is a former member of the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood association and is finishing a master’s degree in urban planning at Portland State University. Both are affable and intelligent, but neither is ready for this office. Also on the ballot but not mounting serious campaigns: Isham Harris, Cullis Autry, Alicia McCarthy and Corinne Patel.

DEMOCRACY, DELIVERED

What Rubio will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Ordering groceries over the phone for her father in El Paso, Texas, and finally learning how to cook her grandmother’s recipes.

POSITION 2

Dan Ryan

The winner of this race will serve out the term of late Commissioner Nick Fish, who died in January of stomach cancer, one day after resigning from office. Fish’s death left a void on the City Council. He served for nearly 12 years and brought an emotional IQ, a lawyerly analysis, a sense of calm, and a big-picture perspective that his colleagues sometimes lack.

The opportunity to replace Fish brought forward a half-dozen credible candidates. Among those seeking the seat who have the chops for serious consideration: former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith, 55, who lost a 2018 council race to now-Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty; two-term Metro Councilor Sam Chase, 52; tenant advocate Margot Black, 41; and environmental activist Julia DeGraw, 38, who got 33 percent of the vote in her 2018 challenge to Fish.

Each qualified for public campaign financing and each has a constituency in this race, which is highly likely to result in a runoff (in August, rather than November, because it is a special election to fill a vacancy). But none of the four is our pick to be in that runoff.

Black and DeGraw’s advocacy work is narrow, and they lack much in the way of managerial or budgetary experience. Smith has proven erratic, divisive and ethically challenged in two terms at the county. Chase has served an unremarkable eight years at Metro, but has generated significant business support. He’s running on the legacy of his former boss, the late Commissioner Fish, but lacks Fish’s fortitude. Despite decades of working on behalf of low-income Portlanders, Chase did not lift a finger this year at Metro when advocates sought a referral of a homeless services measure to the ballot. Instead, he encouraged them to gather signatures.

That leaves two candidates between whom we had to choose. Hurst, 43, runs a small environmental nonprofit called Renew Oregon, which has played a central role in the stalled cap-and-trade legislation in Salem. Prior to that work, she briefly served as chief of staff to former Mayor Charlie Hales and, before that, worked in the Legislature and on campaigns. Hurst tells a compelling personal story of recovery from substance abuse decades ago and is a skilled communicator and political tactician.

It’s a tough choice between these two, but Ryan gets the nod, narrowly.

Ryan, 57, a Portland native, is the first openly HIVpositive candidate for council. He’s held fundraising positions at Portland State University and Oregon Ballet Theatre, served on the Portland School Board, and ran the equity-focused educational nonprofit All Hands Raised for 11 years. In that role, he prodded the county’s disparate school districts to make their offerings more equitable and juggled the egos of the corporate executives who funded his organization, building a reputation as one who can tell his friends hard truths.

Ryan’s deep connections in Portland through his decades of work in the arts and education give him a Rolodex bigger than that of anybody now on the council. Like Fish, he is a bridge-builder, where much of Hurst’s work has been driving campaigns or advocating for one spe-

cific policy, like cap-and-trade. It’s a tough choice between these two, but Ryan gets the nod, narrowly.

There are a dozen other candidates running in this race, but none has a realistic chance of making the runoff.

What Ryan will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: “Going out at 7 o’clock on my block with neighbors has been so heartwarming. I’ll never forget that.”

POSITION 4

Sam Adams This newspaper has devoted considerable ink to highlighting Sam Adams’ flaws.

I n 2 0 0 7, when Adams was a city commissioner, we began reporting on his relationship with a teenager named Beau Breedlove.

Adams lied about that relationship, only admitting to it shortly after being elected mayor in 2008. He survived a criminal investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice, two recall attempts and the condemnation of the media. Among the allegations: Breedlove told criminal investigators Adams kissed him in a City Hall restroom when he was 17. Adams denied that.

He owned up to a serious error in judgment and to lying to the public.

To his credit, Adams served out his term, which coincided with the Great Recession. With the city under tremendous financial pressure, he cut costs aggressively, sometimes shifted city funds creatively and, despite the scandal hanging over him, managed to accomplish great things. He implemented curbside composting, expanded the city’s bicycle infrastructure, and led major civic improvements, such as securing the Timbers and Thorns a bigger stadium, without giving away too much of the public’s money.

After leaving City Hall in 2013, Adams ran the City Club of Portland, then led a climate initiative for the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C. He left that job under a cloud—when a former City Hall aide leveled harassment allegations against him. (The claim that Adams was a demanding boss who partied as hard as he worked seemed plausible; the harassment allegations were denied by other staffers.)

Adams, who served as chief of staff to Mayor Vera Katz for 11 years, is a man with a lot of history, some of it troubling.

And now, after five years of exile from Portland politics, he is back, seeking not to be mayor but to serve on the City Council. And he is challenging an incumbent, Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who replaced the man she defeated, Commissioner Steve Novick, as City Hall’s most divisive figure.

Eudaly, who ran a small independent bookstore prior to entering politics, ran in 2016 on a platform of renters’ rights, and in many ways, she’s delivered: strong tenant protections, compensation for evictions, and the loosening of background checks. As transportation commissioner, Eudaly also passed the Rose Lane Project, a package of fixes for clogged streets aimed at improving bus speeds.

Eudaly stumbled badly in another area: her attempt to reform the city’s iconic but aging network of neighborhood associations. She deserves credit for trying, but her arrogance and grandstanding have been counterproductive.

As Commissioner Fish demonstrated, politics often requires bringing parties who disagree together to get a

compromise that nobody loves but everyone will recognize as progress. Eudaly is a self-described introvert who has formed few relationships outside a small circle of admirers, dislikes the give-and-take of retail politics, and has shown little evidence of growth since her election.

There are two other credible candidates in this race.

Mingus Mapps, a former professor of political science and employee of the Office of Community and Civic Life, a bureau Eudaly manages and from which he was fired for refusing what he thought was a stupid order. Mapps is smart and pleasant—it’s difficult to imagine him lecturing citizens from the council dais as Eudaly has—but his pitch consists mainly of not being her.

Seth Woolley, a computer engineer and campaign reform activist, is committed to making government work

With some trepidation, we are endorsing a man who has been though 19 city budget cycles, who has built coalitions, negotiated complex deals—and been humbled by his mistakes. better and has demonstrated willingness to engage in the city’s civic structures. But Woolley is still building the knack for retail politics this job requires.

Also in the race: Keith Wilson, owner of a North Portland trucking company who might get more oxygen in a less crowded field, and Robert MacKay, Kevin McKay and Aaron Fancher, none of whom is running a serious campaign.

Our choice in this race, which will probably go to a November runoff, comes down to two flawed candidates.

It’s either Adams, an extraordinarily capable politician who lied to the public about a sexual matter and finished his term creditably, or Eudaly, a figure who can get things done but is her own worst enemy and has helped create a toxic atmosphere in City Hall.

Portland was adrift prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now it faces unparalleled challenges that will require the City Council to work closely with the business community, governmental partners and labor. Adams, for his many faults, counts among his supporters a broad spectrum of interests—from Felicia Hagins, longtime political director of the union that represents city janitors, to Dan Yates, owner of the Portland Spirit and reliably one of the most conservative voices in the business community, and many, many people between.

With some trepidation, we are endorsing a man who has been though 19 city budget cycles, who has built coalitions, negotiated complex deals—and been humbled by his mistakes.

What Adams will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Playing a Nerf paddleball game in his condo

with his partner, Peter Zuckerman. “We only broke two glasses,” Adams says.

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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DEMOCRACY, DELIVERED

METRO

COUNCIL DISTRICT 3

Gerritt Rosenthal

The regional government Metro is often a sleepy agency unmoored from the most pressing issues of the region. It runs regional parks, operates the zoo, collects trash and ensures that t h e Po r t l a n d area has enough land to develop within the urban growth boundary.

But it is increasingly relevant to life in Portland.

Metro has recently taken on the political role of tackling regional problems. That’s mostly because the agency can use geographic leverage to pass big tax measures: Portland voters who generally support taxes can force the suburban tax base to do its part. A housing bond passed two years ago; homeless services is on the ballot this spring, and transportation is expected to appear on the November ballot.

The new relevance of Metro isn’t on display in this race. It’s an unexciting slate of candidates. The winner will represent many of Portland’s southwest suburbs, including Beaverton, Tigard and Wilsonville.

We were most impressed by Gerritt Rosenthal, 75. He’s twice run unsuccessfully for the Legislature, most recently challenging former state Rep. Julie Parrish (R-West Linn) in 2014. He got thumped—winning just 43 percent of the vote in a district now held by a Democrat.

But Rosenthal, a environmental consultant who decades ago worked for Eugene’s region planning agency, is a better fit at Metro. He has the planning and environmental background to oversee Metro’s efforts to improve commuting in the region, and he knows the small towns of the area, who have needs that must be balanced against Portland’s demands.

He faces Tom Anderson, 58, a real estate broker and Tigard city councilor recruited to run by retiring Metro Councilor Craig Dirksen. Anderson’s campaign is financed almost entirely by the real estate and homebuilders’ political action committees—$7,500 of the just over $8,000 he raised so far this year. We’re uncomfortable with one special interest seeking more power at Metro—an agency that has to make decisions about when and where to build housing. A third candidate, arts advocate Alison Balbag, didn’t demonstrate she was ready for the job.

What Rosenthal will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Artists finding a way to share their music with the aid of new technology.

DISTRICT 5

Chris Smith

Smith, 60, is an ideal fit for the Metro Council. But he faces a cadre of talented, credible opponents.

Mary Peveto, executive director of Neighbors for Clean Air, offers a model of a talented advocate creating a vision and widespread coalition for her work. Cameron Whitten, an activist-turned-nonprofit executive, has matured from a radical hunger striker outside City Hall to an advocate for change in the city, though it’s not clear why Metro would be a good fit for his ambitions. Karen Spencer, a sharp and talented lawyer, has proven she would be a rea18

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soned voice for a moderate approach.

Smith’s most formidable opponent is former state Rep. Mary Nolan—among the most savvy, effective legislators Portland has seen in the past decade. She says she has the policy and management expertise to spur Metro to complete the big projects it’s undertaking. Yet it’s not clear why she’s seeking this office instead of, say, the Portland City Council.

Smith, who has served a decade on the city’s planning commission, is clear on what he’s after. He’s running on a platform of finding regional transportation solutions for climate change by reducing Portland’s use of cars and fossil fuels.

He’s running on a platform of finding regional transportation solutions for climate change by reducing Portland’s use of cars and fossil fuels.

He’s a founding member of the activist group No More Freeways that opposes the Interstate 5 expansion at the Rose Quarter. As part of his planning commission work, he helped block the Pembina propane terminal on the Columbia River.

By joining the Metro Council, he wants to bring accountability to state agencies run by appointed commissions rather than elected officials. He argues that the Oregon Department of Transportation needs to be held to account by making Metro the public body to plan transportation in the region. That vision could get traction at Metro—though Smith will need to persuade his colleagues to force TriMet’s hand to expand bus service with the threat of a takeover, which Metro has the power to do.

Smith has helped lead massive if subtle reforms at the planning commission, promoting dense, low-car transportation and development. He’s not a radical and holds reasoned positions on neighborhood associations, balancing design with housing supply and, most relevantly, the transportation ballot measure Metro is now pursuing.

That makes his climate advocacy all the more disarming and effective.

It will take a legion of Smith-style leaders to address climate change. But voters should not miss the chance to put an experienced, pleasant, thoughtful leader to work in the job he’s perfectly matched for.

What Smith will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Walks with his dog while navigating past other pedestrians. He says he is often the one to step into the street to allow others to pass.

DISTRICT 6

Bob Stacey Stacey, 68, doesn’t make

good copy. Just good policy.

He’s seeking his third term on the Metro Council, after serving as Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s chief of staff, head of the Portland Planning Bureau, and executive director of the environmental group 1000 Friends of Oregon. At Metro, Stacey put his land-use chops to work crafting Metro’s plans for a Southwest Corridor light rail line, demanding that the project prioritize affordable housing near MAX stations. He’s championed dense development and demonstrated how building more units closer together saves taxpayers money.

His unfinished business, Stacey says, is to push the region to adopt congestion pricing—that is, tolls to keep drivers off Portland highways during rush hour to reduce bottlenecks and carbon emissions from idling cars. He has his work cut out for him: Tolling is a contentious policy, requiring the signoff of state lawmakers and federal officials. It’s also the best way, as London and Stockholm have demonstrated, to reduce traffic and improve air quality.

Stacey’s opponent is Leigha LaFleur, a Bernie Sanders organizer whose remarkable biography includes a grandfather who invented the square-bottom plastic bag, her own clerical role in the Wiccan church, and radical knitting. Her top issue is reducing landfills by converting Metro’s garbage system to plasma gasification—that is, incinerating the trash. We’re not convinced this is a good idea.

What Stacey will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: The incompetence of President Trump.

MULTNOMAH COUNTY

DISTRICT ATTORNEY Mike Schmidt

In the first truly contested Multnomah County district attorney’s race in nearly 40 years, two candidates are running to succeed Rod Underhill, who is retiring.

There is national context for the race. For decades, district attorney races across the country followed the pattern we’ve seen in Multnomah County: Prosecutors kept a tight rein on the office, with little debate. That’s all changed. In cities from Philadelphia to San Francisco, criminal justice reformers against incarceration have taken control, shifting priorities toward treatment, community courts and other alternatives to putting people behind bars.

In this race, Mike Schmidt, 39, director of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission and a former Multnomah County prosecutor, is the reform candidate. He’s running against Ethan Knight, 45, a former senior Multnomah County prosecutor who, since 2007, has been an assistant U.S. attorney. Knight has significantly more prosecutorial experience than Schmidt and has the support of a who’s who of Oregon prosecutors.

Knight’s backers include the Multnomah County District Attorneys Association and the Portland Police

DEMOCRACY, DELIVERED

Association. Together, the two groups have made contributions totaling $45,000 to Knight. Schmidt, on the other hand, has received support from progressives such as Gov. Kate Brown and House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland).

Schmidt has more progressive plans than Knight: If elected, he plans to appoint a hate and bias crimes prosecutor, to prioritize mental health counseling for inmates, to create a unit specifically for a gender-responsive approach to prosecution, and to eliminate the cash bail system in the state. It is unclear where he’ll get the money to fund those priorities in a COVID-19 budget.

Knight would maintain the status quo of the criminal justice system (he supports the death penalty, for example) rather than trying to shift the paradigm in the county’s jail and court system.

Compared to other Oregon counties and many states, Multnomah County already takes a progressive approach to criminal justice. Underhill’s predecessor, Mike Schrunk, decades ago moved away from prosecuting lowlevel drug offenders, for instance, and Underhill pushed far faster than his colleagues toward wider decriminalization of drug offenses.

If this job were just a question of picking the better prosecutor, Knight would win easily. But the district attorney in the state’s largest county is a thought leader and a policy leader. At the CJC, Schmidt has brought data and analysis to policymaking in a way his predecessors did not.

Criminal justice is a messy, expensive and vital undertaking. Schmidt is a thoughtful change agent, and we’re convinced he’s the man to lead the county’s criminal justice system into a new decade.

What Schmidt will remember about the COVID-19 pandemic: Camping outside in his backyard with his 3-year-old beneath the stars: “All six of them that we could see from Portland. We froze our butts off all night.”

BALLOT

MEASURES MEASURE 26-209

Renews city gas tax YES

This measure would renew an expiring 10-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline sold within Portland city limits.

Based on pre-COVID-19 driving patterns, the measure would raise about $75 million over four years, beginning in January 2021.

There are a variety of reasons the measure is necessary.

Let’s focus on a couple: The Portland Bureau of Transportation’s budget depends on a gas tax, vehicle fees and parking revenues, all of which are growing far more slowly than the costs of building and maintaining Portland’s streets. The city budget office says PBOT is falling behind on maintenance of Portland’s 5,000 miles of streets to the tune of nearly $400 million a year. That means this tax is a small drop in a large bucket.

Tax receipts may be reduced by the effects of COVID19, but the bureau plans to spend most of whatever this measure raises on repaving streets, fixing potholes and making safety improvements, such as street lights, traffic signals and sidewalks. There’s also a little money for neighborhood greenways.

Opponents of the tax renewal, which include the libertarian Cascade Policy Institute and the Taxpayer Association of Oregon, point to a scathing 2019 city audit that said projects identified in the first four years started late and the city did a poor job of collecting a related tax from heavy trucks. We agree the shortcomings were troubling.

But PBOT has since corrected them and is on target to deliver what it promised.

Our streets are a vital community asset. We need to pay for their upkeep. Vote yes.

MEASURE 26-210

Homeless services tax YES

A tax on the rich to help the poor? That’s an easy sell. It’s the fine print that makes us queasy—there isn’t any.

WW’s takes seriously our mission of watchdogging the public dime. And the backers of this measure have said, in essence, “Trust us.”

The regional government Metro is proposing this tax at the urging of nonprofits that aid the most desperate Oregonians, the boards of the three big metro-area counties, and downtown business leaders.

Before COVID-19 devastated Oregon’s economy, the tax was projected to raise roughly $2.5 billion over 10 years, through a 1 percent tax on incomes above $200,000 for couples, and a 1 percent tax on the net profits of businesses. Backers say it would provide everyone currently experiencing chronic homelessness with addiction and mental health services, with money left over to help some 15,000 people with rent vouchers.

The money would be dispersed to the three counties, which would each develop individual plans to address the problem of homelessness.

The taxing mechanism is the right one: High-income households and business profits are where governments should levy taxes, now more than ever. Amid economic

calamity, the most comfortable should be compelled to foot the bill to help others.

And the measure is for the worthiest of causes: to provide for the least and most vulnerable among us. It represents a tremendous outpouring of effort over nearly a decade to drive the downtown business community and elected officials, as well as the general public, to understand that the solution to homelessness isn’t arrests, camp sweeps and shelters but addressing the underlying issues of addiction, mental health and housing.

That is reflected in polling showing widespread support for the measure even after the onset of the global pandemic. Across the region, citizens understand that the aggravating factors of homelessness need to be addressed.

Here’s what gives us pause: The supporters of Measure 26-210 cannot say with any specificity how they plan to spend this money.

They don’t know how much money would be spent on rent assistance, how much on addiction treatment, how much on mental health care, and how much on employment services.

When pressed, the architects of the measure did not promise a single metric for measuring how many would be served by these tax dollars, or what aid they’d get. They have shielded themselves from failure by never saying what success might look like.

We are troubled by that. But we also recognize this is, in effect, a cash transfusion into the general funds of three counties fighting to triage homelessness at a moment when the region’s neediest residents might otherwise be abandoned.

If anything, this request from Metro is a reminder of the importance of watchdog journalism to guard the public purse. Voters should be wary that without reporters working to safeguard this measure, it’s certain to be abused. We will be watching so long as we have ink to spill.

A crisis like COVID -19 is a test of our core values.

Never before has life looked so difficult for people on the streets of Portland. Either they are someone our region cares about, or they aren’t.

We wish the crafters of this measure had cared enough to pay attention to the details. But we recognize the need is too acute to make the perfect the enemy of the good. Do good. Vote yes.

Whether you agree with us or not, we hope you found these endorsements helpful to your participation in democracy. If you did, please consider joining Friends of Willamette Week and supporting our work. Visit wweek.com/support.

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GET INSIDE

WHAT TO DO WHILE YOU'RE STUCK AT HOME

H OW I 'M SP EN D I N G MY Q UA R ANT I NE

SAM GEHRKE

Bim Ditson Occupation: Musician (Help, And And And), chainmaille maker Age: 29 City: Portland How many people do you live with? I’ve got three roommates, plus a roommate’s girlfriend is staying here during our shelter in place.

What have you been eating? I have been eating off this giant chicken curry I made. That and homemade hash browns with eggs. Beans and rice. I normally keep about a month of dry goods—not sure why.

What have you been watching, listening to or playing during quarantine? Democracy Now!, The Happiness Lab, all my records.

Have you picked up a new hobby or resumed an old one? My whole life is an old hobby, and I’m far from done.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done so far? I’m making a chainmaille shirt for this electrician. He’s been dropping off chunks of thick copper cabling on my porch. I wait for the COVID-19 to die and then I take it inside and separate the 18 strands of 12-gauge copper wire that they each have. This is the stuff power lines are made from, I think. Then I wrap that around half a steel rod, which makes a coil. I take that coil and cut it into circles and then I put those together. In the end, it’ll be a 9,000-link chainmaille shirt that fits this guy I’ve never seen in person.

What’s the last time you were closer than 6 feet to someone outside your household?

Fred Meyer. People running for noodles. I won’t be back.

What’s your secret to staying sane? You mean in this moment? In that case, FaceTime with my girlfriend and/or family.

What’s the first thing you’re doing when this is all over? Playing my drums that are currently quarantined in my bandmate’s basement.

What has quarantine taught you about yourself ? I’m a socialist.

WATC H T HI S

Teacher Andrew Reads in a Canoe A Portland preschool teacher is spending quarantine reading classic children’s books on YouTube—while sitting in a canoe in his backyard.

Five days a week, Andrew Barton hauls a canoe outdoors, gets inside, and never paddles a single stroke.

Granted, there would be no point in trying to get his vessel to budge an inch, since it’s in his backyard in Milwaukie.

But while Barton may not be physically traveling anywhere, he is still taking homebound kids on journeys to distant places, both real and imagined.

Barton, namesake of the YouTube channel “Teacher Andrew Reads in a Canoe,” originally gained a reputation for storytelling working at Hands On Art & Play preschool in Southeast Portland. His soothing pace and animated vocals—he growls, squawks or even imitates an entire marching band when the script calls for it—have earned him invitations to lead story times at local farmers markets.

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So when the COVID -19 outbreak rendered in-person gatherings forbidden, Barton did what many have done to keep life moving: record and post videos online. In his case, that means opening a book and narrating its plot while squatting in a landlocked canoe.

“Once school shuttered on March 13,” says Barton, “I thought it would be nice to do something that would help my students remain connected, even if that was just watching me looking silly and reading stories sitting in a canoe.”

The result is something like a throwback to child-friendly PBS programming of a slower, simpler time. Teacher Andrew dons an array of visually engaging accessories—from berets to broad-brimmed sun hats—and turns the pages, tilting the illustrations toward the camera. He does so while surrounded by a domesticated version of Snow White’s forest of happy animals: seven chickens, five rabbits, a dog named Dave and a cat named Whiskey.

Barton says he’s received a slew of thank-you emails, videos and, in one case, a drawing of him reading in a canoe from a 5-year-old named Margaret.

“It seems like it’s being well-received and enjoyed both by the small people and the parents.”

“It’s been nice to hear that there are children I don’t know very well who’ve been watching them every day and enjoying them,” says Barton. “It seems like a little something I can do to bring and a celebration of quality children’s literature into the world right now.” ANDI PREWITT. SEE IT: Watch Teacher Andrew read The Story of Ferdinand as part of WW’s Distant Voices interview series at wweek. com/distant-voices.

APRIL 29-MAY 5 I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y @ WA LT O O N S

CO LO R T HI S

Hey, remember doing things? So do we! Relive some of your favorite Portland activities through the miracle of coloring. Color this page—hell, even add your own art—and let us see it on social media with the hashtag #colorthispdx.

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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Happy Mothers Day to All Mothers from Hawthorne Businesses Celebrate your Mothers with a card, a gift certificate, a meal or a gift from a local business.

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MANY RESTAURANTS STILL OPEN FOR TAKEOUT OR DELIVERY:

Really Good Stuff: 503-238-1838 Teascape: teascapepdx.com Hankins Hardware: 503-236-2372 Move Better Chiropractic: 503-432-1061 Farina Bakery: farinabakery.com Mudbay: mudbay.com 503-206-0323 Hawthorne Cutlery: hawthornecutlery.net; 503-234-8898 Parting Waters Mediation: partingwatersmediation.com Wildish Botanicals: 503-206-4235; daniel@wildishpdx.com Eastside Guitar Repair: 503-232-0838; ryan@eastsideguitarrepair.com Tattoo 34: tattoo34pdx.com Imelda’s and Louie’s Shoes: imeldas.com Postal Annex is OPEN Kids at Heart: info@kidsathearttoys.com Sloan Boutique: sloanpdx.com; 503-232-0002 Starflower: starflowerpassion.com; 503-225-9400 Potala Imports: 971-998-3019 Tender Loving Empire: tenderlovingempire.com Jackpot Records: jackpotrecords.com Hawthorne Games: Fb @HawthorneGameExchange In Real Life: Insta @in_real_life_shop Sylvia’s Psychic Insight: 971-280-5387 Presents Of Mind: presentsofmind.tv Gold Door: 503-232-6069 Memento: 503-235-1257; @memento.pdx Echo Theater: echotheaterpdx.org Powell’s Books: powells.com Asylum: pdxasylum.com Fred’s Sound of Music: 503-234-5341; fredsoundofmusic.com Adorn: adornbodyart.com/shop/ UPS Store is OPEN Fernie Brae: ferniebrae.com H&R Block: hrblock.com Mellow Mood Pipe & Tobacco: 503-235-7473 Fyberworks Boutique: fyberworks.com; 503-232-7659 Hawthorne Auto Clinic: hawthorneauto.com Hawthorne Vision: Open for urgent care & emergencies; 503-235-6639 Hawthorne Vintage: 503-230-2620 American Shaman: 971-678-8384 Michael Emert, CPA: 503-233-5931 Art Heads Frame Co.: 503-232-5299 Windermere Realty: 503-888-6999 Turning Pointe Acupuncture: turningpointeacu.com

The Toffee Club: toffeeclubpdx.com Burgerville: locations.burgerville.com Que Pasa Cantina: quepasacantinapdx.com : Lardo-East: lardosandwiches.com g si e d Tiny’s Coffee: tinys.coffee ad Riyadh’s Lebanese: riyadhslebaneserestaurant.com Grassa: grassapdx.com Thai Touch Cuisine: 503-232-7774 Kabob: kabob.org Maruti Indian: maruti-restaurant.com NOTE: Businesses listed here Grand Central: grandcentralbakery.com are in approximate order of HOTLIPS Pizza: hotlipspizza.com their location on Hawthorne Talarico’s Produce: 503-265-8453 Boulevard, WEST to EAST, Culture: culturepdx.com from SE 12th to SE 51st Ave. Sea Sweets Poke: seasweetspoke.com Tight Tacos: tighttacos.com Rovente Pizzeria: roventepizzeria.com Tarboush: tarboushbistro.com Rose + Lincoln Juicery: 971-348-9520 Farmhouse: farmhousethai.com Cha Cha Cha: chachachapdx.com Mt. Tabor Fine Wines: 503-235-4444 Hello India: 503-232-7880; helloindiapdx.com Seven Virtues Coffee Roasters: 503-265-9643; sevenvirtuespdx.com Fried Eggs I’m In Love: friedegglove.com Toadstool: toadstoolcupcakes.com The Waffle Window: wafflewindow.com Bread & Ink Cafe: breadandinkcafe.com Harlow: 971-255-0138; harlowprasad.com/harlow Mee Gin Thai: 503-231-9898 (find on Doordash) Portland Cider House: portlandcider.com/pdxciderhouse Straight From New York Pizza: sfnypizza.com Dwaraka: dwarakapdx.com Boba Dawg: 971-346-2420 Mio Sushi: miosushi.com Bamboo House: 503-238-6232 Next Level Burger: nextlevelburger.com White & Green (Thai): whiteandgreenpdx.com Fat Straw: fatstrawpdx.com The Whole Bowl: thewholebowl.com/portland.html Kouzina: 503-894-8389 (find on Doordash) Hawthorne Spirits & Sundries: 503-235-1573 Eastside Deli: pdxdeli.com Apizza Scholls: apizzascholls.com Find us online at: The Sapphire Hotel: thesapphirehotel.com https://bit.ly/ Tabor Bread: taborbread.com

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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Editor: Matthew Singer / Contact: msinger@wweek.com

TAKE ME OUT

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A U B R I E L E G A U LT

FOOD & DRINK

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QUAINTRELLE’S ANNABEL LEE COCKTAIL KIT

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The orgeat

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The pineapple gomme

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The limes

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The garnish

Bartenders can manufacture an orgeat in about 15 minutes, but Cavan doesn’t do shortcuts. “It just doesn’t have the same amount of creaminess unless you baby it,” she says. First, she pulverizes fresh, organic raw almonds. The dust then gets thrown into a pan on the stovetop, where Cavan adds orange flower water, rose water and sugar, bringing the mixture to a boil several times.

The last step is straining the orgeat twice, resulting in a milky syrup that’s significantly less sweet than the store-bought version.

Cavan again demonstrates how she’ll go the extra mile with the thick, silky gomme.

Instead of using gum syrup, she purchases gum Arabic powder to make a concentrate that will then be combined with simple syrup.

The other components are fresh, organic pineapples that take a ride through the juicer.

2 4

Two whole limes come in the kit, which you cut and juice at home to give the drink its squeeze of citrus.

Two small cylinders contain a cluster of garnet-hued Toschi Amarena cherries and cherrywood-smoked Jacobsen Sea Salt. There’s also a sachet of thyme to tuck into the glass.

The ice (not pictured)

The kit includes a sleeve of husky ice blocks, provided by local frozen water purveyor PDX Ice.

Help Yourself Quaintrelle’s cocktail kits give away the secrets of the bar’s mixed drinks.

BY AN D I P R E W I T T

aprewitt@wweek.com

If you asked Camille Cavan what her love language is, her answer, without hesitation, would be “gift giving.”

Whether it was making infused oils and packaging them in pretty boxes for friends in high school or her current gig garnishing mixed drinks with the care of a baker piping decorative swirls onto a cake, the bar manager at Quaintrelle on North Mississippi Avenue expresses her affection through thoughtfully presented tokens that engage the senses.

Consider her latest creation a muchneeded gift to a stressed-out city: a DIY cocktail kit. It’s a present she’s more than happy to provide—even if it means revealing some of her secrets.

“I’ve had a lot of messages from bartender friends who are like, ‘I can’t believe you’re giving away your recipes!’” Cavan says. “This is not a time to be selfish. This is about giving and community and being together.”

Cavan says she had the idea for a “cocktail box to go” in her back pocket for nearly

a decade, but it took the pandemic to give her the nudge to actually execute the project. The $20 boxes contain all the ingredients to make four servings of a mixed drink—with the exception of the liquor.

Every other week, Quaintrelle will roll out two new kits, each based on a different drink from the restaurant’s menu.

Novice barkeeps who might feel intimidated by liquors they can’t pronounce and equipment they’ve never heard of will find the kits an easy entry point to the world of homemade cocktails. Not only do they come with step-by-step instructions printed on a card, but Cavan hosts a weekly tutorial on Quaintrelle’s Instagram account, providing tips on shaking techniques, where to pick up jiggers and strainers, and quick substitutes in a pinch if you’re missing a certain bar tool.

One of two drinks that debuted last week in Quaintrelle’s kits, the Annabel Lee, is a personal favorite of Cavan’s, inspired by a beverage you might expect to find in the time capsule from a ’90s steakhouse: the New York sour.

“I was sitting there one afternoon,” Cavan says, “and I was just like, ‘You know what cocktail I never see anymore? A New York sour. Like, who makes New York sours?

How cool would that be to do some sort of weird take that looks like a New York sour, but tastes like a pisco sour?’ Because pisco sour is my favorite cocktail in the world.”

The resulting mix of tart and tang offers the sensation of stepping into a cool shower after a sweaty summer day—rejuvenating yet relaxing. It’s a feeling that in no way reflects the work that goes into creating it.

Cavan makes the syrups from scratch—from pounding the almonds into a fine soot for the orgeat to chopping and juicing fresh pineapples that go into the gomme. Each takes two hours to produce.

“That’s my favorite part of the job,” Cavan says. “Thank God! Or else it would be so hard. Just being able to create for others, that’s what I do. It’s funny, as soon as I started making these kits, I started feeling a little more at home.”

ORDER: Quaintrelle’s Annabel Lee cocktail kit can be ordered at quaintrelle.co or by calling the restaurant at 503-200-5787 for pickup at 3936 N Mississippi Ave. They are also available for delivery through Caviar and Tock.

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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FOOD & DRINK CHRISTINE DONG

TOP 5

HOT PLATES Where to eat this week.

1. Oma’s Takeaway (aka Gado Gado)

wweek.com/support “Thank you for being a trustworthy local news source in this time of uncertainty.

We rely on you!”

– Vicki

3004 E Burnside St., 503-206-8778, gadogadopdx.com.

Like other restaurants that have abruptly pivoted to new models in the wake of the coronavirus, the co-owners of Gado Gado briefly considered selling family-style meals that can be completed at home but decided to return to what they knew best: fragrant, fiery and rib-sticking Asian American mashups, now served under the name Oma’s Takeaway. One item is a plate of green beans and brisket, which is brined in brown sugar, salt, Shaoxing wine and water, then smoked for eight to 10 hours, and topped with a savory fried egg.

How to order: See website for pickup, or order delivery through Caviar.

2. Casa Zoraya 841 N Lombard St., 503-384-2455, casazorayapdx.com.

Located next to Interstate 5 between a cheapo cellphone shop and a leather daddy bar, Casa Zoraya seems the last place one would expect an Andina alum to succeed with an unfussy Peruvian restaurant she runs with her family. A colorful plate of ceviche ($23), which bursts to life with contrasting flavors of fresh lime juice, crispy corn and soft Alaskan halibut, is generally the best place to start, but a vegetable dish made with one of Zoraya’s signature ají chile sauces should be an auto-include as well.

How to order: See website.

3. Flying Fish Co.

“I need you guys to still be around when we’re allowed out in the wild again. How else will I remember where to drink, what to eat, how to dress, and who to vote for?”

- Ashley

3004 E Burnside St., 971-806-6747, flyingfishportland.com.

For a city bisected by a river, Portland has a shocking scarcity of fish sandwiches on its restaurant menus. Stop searching, and head straight for Flying Fish Company.

The 6-ounce fillet of steelhead is prepped simply and topped with a green confetti of slightly sweet cabbage and earthy kale doused in a piquant marinade of lime, jalapeño, cilantro and Arbequina olive oil. The dressing’s citrus is so bright, it will leave you vibrating like the first sunny, 70-degree day in spring.

How to order: See website.

“Just read through the article you did highlighting those who remain working during the spread of the virus - thank you for highlighting them.”

- Margaret

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4. Hat Yai 1605 NE Killingsworth St., 503-764-9701, hatyaipdx.com.

It’s back! After shuttering early in the quarantine, Earl Ninsom has brought back his renowned Thai fried chicken for takeout and delivery. With a deep red hue and rich blend of sweet and spicy flavors like cinnamon, red chile and cumin, the house curry is the star of the show—outstanding as both a dipping sauce for the fluffy roti and the crispy, lightly sugared fried chicken.

How to order: Call restaurant or see website.

5. Mi Mero Mole 32 NW 5th Ave., 971-266-8575, mmmtacospdx.com.

Owner Nick Zukin (an occasional WW contributor) is devoted to very specific, regional Mexican food traditions—namely guisados (stewed or stir-fried fillings), moles and fresh corn tortillas. The menu is slightly more limited than usual right now, but it’s still possible to choose your own adventure by picking a guisado and pairing it with a taco, quesadilla or burrito.

How to order: Available for delivery through multiple third-party apps, or call for pickup.

TOP 5

BUZZ LIST

Where to order beer from this week.

In these uncertain times, I’ve really relied on your smart, savvy coverage of local news, and I appreciate the spirit of your publication.”

– Rachel

GADO GADO

1. Von Ebert Brewing 131 NW 13th Ave., 503-820-7721; 14021 NE Glisan St., 503-878-8708; vonebertbrewing.com.

Ordering from Von Ebert is always a difficult decision: Do you get one of the tongue-stunning IPAs brewed by Sam Pecoraro’s team, or a beautifully intricate lager or wild ale made in Sean Burke’s facility? The easiest solution is to just say screw it and get a bunch. The Volatile Substance IPA has heady pine notes—what drops of dew in a nearby forest would taste like just before evaporating.

2. Upright Brewing 240 N Broadway, Suite 2, uprightbrewing.com.

Alex Ganum’s brewery has captured numerous awards over the years and earned a stellar reputation among hardcore fans. Nonetheless, Upright remains relatively undiscovered by many. That’s probably a symptom of its location in the basement of the Leftbank Building—not the easiest place to find, even with GPS. Casual drinkers will enjoy refreshing standards like Engelberg Pilsener or Supercool IPA. To-go orders are available Saturdays only between noon-5 pm.

3. 10 Barrel Brewing 1411 NW Flanders St., 503-224-1700, 10barrel.com/pub/portland-brewery.

At this point, hardcore beer snobs drink 10 Barrel through gritted teeth, due to the Bend brewer’s 2014 sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev. But again, even the curmudgeons are still drinking, partly because the brand is too ubiquitous to avoid—and still too good to slag off. In Portland, brewer Whitney Burnside still churns out exemplary beers in just about every core style, from stouts to IPAs to Pilsners.

4. Cascade Brewing 939 SE Belmont St., 503-265-8603, cascadebrewing.com.

Most serious beer drinkers have made up their minds about sour beer by now, but even the stodgiest stout stans and chinstroking lagerheads should have a special place in their hearts for the pioneering sours poured by Cascade. The Kentucky Peach is a tart mixture of wheat and quad ales aged with the stone fruit, while the Sang Royal is a sharp and fragrant red ale aged in a barrel with Oregon pinot noir grapes.

5. Baerlic Brewing 2235 SE 11th Ave., 503-477-9418, baerlicbrewing.com.

At Baerlic’s bare-bones Southeast Portland headquarters, the scene is often boisterous, with little to distract from the beers, which are generally light and sessionable but rarely boring.

The simple stuff is what brewers founders Richard Hall and Ben Parsons do best, but they can stretch out, too: Grayscale, a collaboration with Modern Times, is a coffee Vienna lager that’ll stun anyone who’s used to coffee-flavored beers having the viscosity of sludge.

POTLANDER

Burn the Feel Five weed strains to pump up your quarantine workout.

BY BRIA N N A W H E E L E R

Not to be confused with the ultra-athletic, supertoned health and fitness stoner, the gym stoner’s existence is largely reliant on having an actual business to patronize.

Health and fitness stoners are the antithesis of the couch-bound stoner archetype, but gym stoners bridge the gap between them. Less motivated by gains, it’s easy for gym stoners to feel directionless without the paint-by-numbers, choose-yourown-adventure ease of a brick-and-mortar gym, especially if they operate on the type of fitness autopilot larger gyms support.

The challenge to replicate the deep trance of 45 minutes of stoned rowing or the euphoria of dominating a complex weightlifting system in a two-bedroom apartment is real.

Thankfully, with a little guidance, even the most amateur of gym stoners can re-create the fitness regimens that once maximized our stoniest buzzes and fizziest highs.

Weight Training to Complement Food Hoarding

Like many other gym stoners, I ransacked my house in search of something that could take the place of the spongy, ergonomic free weights of my pre-COVID gym routines. I reached out to Crys Shawn, co-owner of Unique Physique and certified fitness stoner for her professional suggestions. While not as adorable as a pastelcolored free weight, Shawn recommends using a backpack, duffel bag or reusable shopping bag as a weight. Fill your bag with a selection of your hoarded canned goods or reuse empty detergent bottles filled with sand or water. Calibrate your bag to the desired weight and use it as you would a kettlebell or use two bags for dumbells Smoke this: XJ-13 is a Jack Herer phenotype that captures Jack’s therapeutic potency and amps up the vigor, enabling the user to get the most out of an otherwise challenging workout.

Yoga Flow for the Stoned and Alone

For those who depend on a yoga instructor or have grown weary of their go-to series of online coaches and/or asanas, leveling up into new positions and satisfying stretches can be a challenge.

If you’re thirsty for a definite stoner yoga series that’s both challenging and invigorating, Shawn recommends simply going with your own flow.

Just take a few forward folds and listen to where your body wants to go. “My favorite thing about moving while stoned is that your body knows what you need,” Shawn says. “Just let go of rationality and move.”

Smoke this: Snowcap pairs a silky sativa body buzz with a coolly detached head high—perfect for deep stretches and deeper thoughts.

Cardio That Won’t Exasperate Your Downstairs Neighbors

It’s easy to forget folks have been doing cardio workouts from chairs since the dawn of, well, chairs. The most common chair—or, for our purposes, couch—workouts consist of three reps each: 20 leg lifts, flutter kicks and scissor kicks, interspersed with some variation of seated twist and/ or jumping jack, all while maintaining an upright seated position. I miss the gym, but a whole cardio sesh from the comfort of my couch and in proximity to my bong is a halfway decent substitute.

Smoke this: Grape Ape is a heavier indica, which might seem a counterintuitive pre-workout puff, but we’re literally talking about working out without leaving the couch, so let’s just lean in.

Guidance for the Gym Wanderer

Like many other gym stoners, I might wander the entire gym for several minutes before arbitrarily jumping on any open machine. Abundance has 100 percent spoiled many capable gymgoers of customizing their workout plans, but if there was ever a time to discover the joys of virtual training, it’s now. For leisurely gym stoners who let fate guide their routines, 420 friendly online trainers are steadily creating new YouTube workout content geared toward the impartial gym enthusiast, and you’re a mere scroll away from finding your perfect match.

Smoke this: Gelato’s high is crystalline, cerebral and incredibly responsive. If you’re feeling energetic, Gelato will cheer you on, and if you’re in more of an intellectual mood, the strain can enhance focus and cognition.

Punch Up Your Quarantine Walk

Squats, lunges, high knees and the occasional air punch are ways not just to enhance your daily quarantine walk but also entertain your housebound neighbors. Pro tip: Protect those knees if you’ll be lunging on asphalt, and always keep a bit of CBD around for recovery.

Smoke this: Platinum Girl Scout Cookies has an attractive balance of clean, buzzy energy and deep introspection. What more do you need for a mile worth of lunges, squats and shadow boxing?

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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MUSIC support and venues will be closed for much longer.

The IVC is calling for the program to be extended until venues are fully operational. But exactly when concerts will resume in Oregon remains unclear. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti both recently said they don’t anticipate reopening concert venues before 2021. Officials haven’t given Portland venues any kind of timeline.

But unlike other industries that are capable of piecemeal reopenings, many music venues aren’t planning on holding events until they can operate at full capacity—partially because they’ve already sold tickets to a number of events they’re planning to reschedule, and also because it’s particularly difficult to keep people apart in a live music environment.

“Of the hundreds of conversations I’ve sat in on, I have not heard of a single venue across the country that would plan to reopen at a greatly reduced capacity, or any reduced capacity,” says Brunberg, who also works with the National Independent Venue Association, which advocates for goals similar to IVC’s at the federal level. “It would just reduce the income for the artist so much that it would render the whole thing unsustainable.”

In the meantime, venue staffs are still working to schedule and reschedule shows, an increasingly complicated puzzle that, for now, is all cost and no profit.

“Right now, we’re trying to schedule for winter and spring, because there’s a big question mark over the fall,” says Brunberg. “Still, the work that you do to set up the shows, to book the shows, to do preproduction and reach out and sell tickets and market and all that—all the work STAGE TIME: Chanti Darling performs at Mississippi Studios as part of WW’s that goes up to the date of the actual show, you don’t know Best New Band Showcase in 2017. if the show is going to happen.”

Despite their lobbying efforts, neither the IVC nor the National Independent Venue Association succeeded in getting their proposed updates added to the most recent round of funding through the Payroll Protection Program. which President Trump signed last week. But Brunberg says he feels encouraged by Sen. Ron Wyden and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici’s ongoing efforts to expand relief funding.

With or without independent venue-specific aid, though, it’s impossible to know the long-term effects that performing virtual concerts and donating all the money he such an unprecedented health crisis will have on the live raises back to the pub. music industry.

But for the city’s midsized venues that have more “I’ve been going down rabbit holes of research,” says overhead and calendars full of touring bands to manage, Brunberg. “The year after the [Spanish] flu, what was the sheer scrappiness isn’t enough. And even for small ven- music scene like in 1919? Music took a huge hit because ues like the Laurelthirst, hand-to-mouth fundraising is people didn’t want to gather.” hardly sustainable in the long term.

Longmire, too, is preparing for the worst.

So in March, local venue “It may never go back to owners founded the Indebeing the way it was,” he says. pendent Venue Coalition, to not being panicked “EVERY STATE, EVERY REGION “While lobby local and state officials about my own situation, I also NEEDS ITS OWN LOBBYING for music industry-specific am keeping a thing in the back financial relief. of my mind that I may never ORGANIZATION. IF WE WERE “Every state, every region make a living as a musician IN THIS BY OURSELVES, EACH needs its own lobbying orgaagain in the way I did.” nization,” says Jim Brunberg, INDIVIDUAL VENUE, WE WOULD Longmire is hoping—but not owner of Mississippi Studios, exactly holding out—for govJUST BE CRYING IN OUR BEER.” ernment support for the LauPolaris Hall and Revolution Hall, and the founder of the relthirst. In the meantime, —JIM BRUNBERG, IVC. “If we were in this by he hopes he can continue to INDEPENDENT VENUE COALITION ourselves, each individual lean on the venue’s fan base venue, we would just be cryto keep the pub and its furing in our beer.” loughed employees afloat.

The IVC represents over 100 independently run concert “At some point, the government may be like, ‘You spaces across Oregon. Its lobbying efforts are primar- can’t do that, you need to tax that, you need to track that,’ ily directed at acquiring financial assistance over a much or something, but I don’t care,” he says, stifling tears. “If longer period than what’s currently available to small busi- I’m not getting the support or even knowledge from the nesses. Brunberg says several local venues applied for, but government on what should be done, I don’t care what did not receive, loans from the Small Business Association’s they think about whether they’re going against business Paycheck Protection Program. But even if his business did rules or how you can move money around. Right now, receive a federal relief loan, Brunberg says it would be insuf- we’re making sure I got 10 people who can buy fucking ficient, given that it’s intended to provide only eight weeks of food.”

THOMAS TEAL

FEATURE

Sonic Boost

Oregon music venues are banding together to survive the pandemic.

BY S HA N N O N G O R M L E Y

sgormley@wweek.com

Only a few months ago, Laurelthirst Public House was packed almost every night, hosting free concerts by local musicians seven days a week to some of the most devoted patrons in Portland.

But since the pandemic shut down the city’s live music industry in March, the homey pub on Northeast Glisan Street—Portland’s longest-running independent venue—has been empty, save for the bar’s owners, who go in every few days to work on renovations and make sure the century-old building doesn’t fall into disrepair.

“People talk about how there’s, like, wildlife returning to Yellowstone Park and stuff,” says Lewi Longmire, a music scene stalwart and a co-owner of the Laurelthirst.

“That’s also true if you have some building and you just don’t go there. The spiders and bugs will take over the place when you’re gone if you’re not careful.”

Music venues were among the first businesses to close due to the pandemic, and they’ll be among the last to reopen. Businesses from neighborhood watering holes like the Laurelthirst to large halls like the McMenaminsowned Crystal Ballroom have been completely shut down and without revenue for over a month. They’ve received little government aid.

The Laurelthirst, like many other local venues, has turned to attrition measures. The club furloughed its 10 employees, eliminated nonessential bills like music licensing and is working with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to suspend its liquor license. It held a growler sale to sell off its beer stock, designed new merch, and began a donation fund for the employees who were laid off. Longmire has been 26

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

PERFORMANCE

C O U R T E S Y O F E X P E R I E N C E T H E AT R E P R O J E C T

REVIEW

Ghost in the Machine An immersive theater company has found a unique way to livestream Henry James’ classic The Turn of the Screw.

BY JAY H O RTO N

BOOKS

Editor: Andi Prewitt / Contact: aprewitt@wweek.com

@hortland

Alisa Stewart, founding artistic director of the Experience Theatre Project, took an odd path back to the stage, but so little about her company obeys traditional theatrical guidelines. Following a ’90s internship with Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf, the trending singersongwriter toured the country and then settled down in Portland to run the city’s first pub quiz franchise, which she sold to Geeks Who Drink to finance the launch of her true passion.

Beaverton’s ETP specializes in immersive dramatic productions (2017’s steampunk version of The Tempest, a 2018 Halloween burlesque romp titled The Rise of Houdini, and last year The Picture of Dorian Gray, presented promenade style) that place onlookers within classic narratives. The COVID-19 outbreak should have been especially devastating to a company that relies on physical stagecraft and manipulated crowd movements, but Stewart’s troupe has found a way to return this Friday with a livestream version of Henry James’ classic The Turn of the Screw. Teasing an ingenious advance in virtual performance, Stewart spoke with WW about the peculiar challenges of engaging an audience she’ll never see.

WW: What was your original vision for Experience Theatre Project?

Alisa Stewart: The point of theater for me has always been to lose yourself in the story like a good book. I loved shows that basically transport you to another place or time, and I realized that was missing. Immersive theater needs to bring you in and hold you there.

You can go anywhere you want and look at anything you want. You can go into a space and experience everything. What really engages people is the sense of exploration, when you can talk to the actors and they don’t ignore you during the story. You’re part of their world but not required to do anything. You’re not asked to, like, clap three times so the fairy will appear. We focus on what a good story should be all about—your imagination.

Can that survive a prolonged period of physical distancing, though?

We are an innovative theater company. Slowly but surely, all of the theaters folded their shows, and if everybody’s canceling, we thought maybe we should do something out of the box. This can’t be just a Zoom meeting. We have to bring [viewers] into the show. Over the last month, I’ve been educating myself on how to present things over livestream that won’t just be some-

GHOST TOWN: Actors have set up cameras and lighting in their homes for Experience Theatre Project’s latest play.

one’s face reciting lines. We can’t be there physically to direct your attention, but we’re going to do our best.

Why this play?

Honestly, our board had already approved The Turn of the Screw for next winter when the pandemic hit. This is a great story with a lot of its narration that we switch up. There are only two actors. This adaptation is very minimal, even the way the stage directions are written.

At this mansion with these children, does the governess see ghosts or is it all in her head? We’re doing our best to be true to the playwright’s wishes and keep everything very ambiguous. It’s all about seeing things that aren’t really there in an isolated space. At this time in history, that just sort of spoke to me as an interesting show, but we had to do it in an innovative fashion.

What does that innovation look like behind the scenes?

The theater has sent cameras for each of the actors to set up using what amounts to a 6-by-6 space in their respective living rooms. Cameras one and two are situated so that they cross in the center, and based on what’s happening in the story, we’ll switch them live.

You can actually see them on their feet moving about the space, whole body on camera, through most of the show. We’re juxtaposing different angles. We’re blocking movements. The actors have been given lights we can pull up and down remotely through smart outlets that the stage manager can control from her own home.

She lives in Vancouver, they’re both in Northeast Portland, and I’m in Beaverton.

To a certain degree, it’s hard to be immersed in something you watch on the screen, but finding new ways of doing a live show is really thrilling. We’ve been rehearsing at night to get a sense of whether supplemental lighting is needed. The costumes are dark blue.

The backdrops are all black. We make it spooky. However, spoon-feeding familiar dark-and-stormy-night tropes just take people out of the story. I don’t want you to know what’s going to happen.

This is very different from putting you inside of the story, which is what we like to do. However, even if it’s streaming, there is some small thrill to doing a live show—like when NBC does Jesus Christ Superstar or The Little Mermaid. There’s a sense of magic knowing that this is live, and that’s something we never want to lose.

SEE IT: The Turn of the Screw streams at experiencetheatreproject.org on Friday, May 1. 7:30 pm. $5 per person donation is encouraged.

Written by: Scout Brobst / Contact: sbrobst@wweek.com

Five Books From Portland Small Press Publishers The Magical Language of Others, E. J. Koh (Tin House) “There is a Korean belief that you are born the parent of the one you hurt most,” reads one of the first lines in E. J. Koh’s The Magical Language of Others. “I was revenge when I was born in 1988 at O’Connor Hospital in San Jose, California.” The memoir, which sometimes reads like prose, other times like poetry, is Koh’s second published work, following the 2017 collection of poems A Lesser Love. The Magical Language of Others is a narrative story told through a series of letters and memories, addressing heritage and intergenerational trauma with clean, incisive writing. While some parts reveal a conversation between mother and daughter, the memoir is an exposition in identity, with Koh prising apart the self while refusing to be bogged down by sentiment.

That Hair, Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida (Tin House) In That Hair, Angolan Portuguese writer Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida introduces the reader to a “philosophy of hair”, one that feeds into a global conversation about racism, colonialism and family, not yet 50 years removed from Angola’s independence. The narrator, Mila, works through the complexity of her biracial identity with a series of vignettes. Some include haircuts, others include the “haunted houses” that hair salons can represent and the nature of Brazilian beauty treatments. With smart, lyrical storytelling, translator Eric B. M. Becker brings Pereira de Almeida’s book to an American audience, where the themes of immigration and otherness are evergreen.

This, Sisyphus, Brandon Courtney (YesYes Books) Brandon Courtney’s latest collection of poetry is chock-full of rich, moody lines that can either be read all at once or consumed in small bites, depending on how you might be feeling at the time. After all, the book has been described as a collection for those who have found themselves traveling through Death’s valley. The poems, drawn from Courtney’s years in the U.S. Navy, address grief and faith as they interact with one another, beginning with simple elegy before sprawling into a theology of loss.

Mutations: The Many Strange Faces of Hardcore Punk, Sam McPheeters (Microcosm Publishing) You can never quite tell who’s going to come out and tell you they were, or are, punk, with all the aesthetic and temperamental implications the term possesses. There isn’t one fixed identity. Sam McPheeters, writer and frontman of the ’90s radical punk band Born Against, sinks into the cultural quicksand in Mutations: The Many Faces of Hardcore Punk, relaying stories from punk’s heyday and looking further into the ways the genre has interacted with mental illness, escapism and ideology. There’s also a foreword by Toby Vail, if that helps.

Stranger in the Pen, Mohamed Asem (Perfect Day Publishing) It’s worth noting Stranger in the Pen is set almost entirely in confinement, under vastly different circumstances than our current reality, but confinement nonetheless. Mohamed Asem’s debut memoir covers just a few days in summer 2016, shortly after the terror attack on Bastille Day, when Asem was detained overnight by British immigration officials without cause. The boredom and monotony of isolation breeds contemplation, first on the nature of things that led to this moment, then on the nature of things in general. Asem has a gift for dialogue, short, conversational exchanges that draw the reader into his world, even when he is the only one we are asked to listen to.

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

27

MOVIES

SCREENER

ROCKY BURNSIDE

G ET YOUR REP S I N

Editor: Andi Prewitt / Contact: aprewitt@wweek.com

B R I T I S H L I O N F I L M C O R P O R AT I O N

While local rep theaters are out of commission, we’ll be putting together weekly watchlists of films readily available to stream. In honor of polysemantic May Day, this week’s theme centers on both the traditional spring festival and International Workers’ Day.

The Wicker Man (1973) Not to be confused with the infamous 2006 remake featuring Nicolas Cage’s head enveloped by bees, the original Wicker Man follows a police sergeant sent to the remote island of Summerisle to investigate a girl’s disappearance. Instead, he stumbles upon a hypersexual pagan cult in the midst of their May Day celebration, and it seems he unwittingly plays a crucial part. Google Play, iTunes, Netflix, Vudu, YouTube.

Midsommar (2019) If your emotionally distant boyfriend and his shady friends invite you (Florence Pugh) to Sweden for a special midsummer festival, don’t go! Unless you’re into maypole dancing, flower crowns, shrooms, Pagan cults, witnessing unforgettable violence and communal cathartic screaming. Amazon Prime, Kanopy, Vudu, YouTube.

Edge of the City (1957) Groundbreaking for its portrayal of interracial friendship and gay subtext, this gripping social drama centers on an Army deserter (John Cassavetes) who, after snagging a job as a dock worker, becomes fast friends with his charming co-worker (Sidney Poitier). Together, the pair teams up to take on a corrupt union official. Amazon Prime, Criterion Channel, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube.

Support the Girls (2018) Regina Hall stars as Lisa, the overworked and underappreciated manager of a Hooters-style diner called Double Whammies, where she fiercely protects her employees. Set over the course of just two days, Lisa must deal with a series of personal and work-related crises in this comedy from mumblecore king Andrew Bujalski.

Amazon Prime, Google Play, Hulu, Vudu, YouTube.

Sorry to Bother You (2018) After a frustrated Black telemarketer (LaKeith Stanfield) deigns to use his “white voice” to garner a promotion, he finds himself straddling two worlds: the low-paying union led by his activist friends (Steven Yeun, Tessa Thompson) and the high-paying corporation led by a coke-snorting CEO (Armie Hammer). Absurd, subversive and hilarious. Amazon Prime, Google Play, Hulu, Vudu, YouTube.

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SCREEN TIME: Hollywood Theatre’s head programmer and top kung fu movie fan, Dan Halsted, is hosting educational screenings with post-film discussions.

Welcome to Film School

Hollywood Theatre is partnering with studios and distributors to bring you new streaming options and post-film discussions.

BY D O NOVAN FA R LEY

@DonovanFarley

Although almost every facet of the economy has been brought to its knees by the COVID-19 outbreak, there are few industries that have been quite as decimated as the film business.

Independent theaters are perhaps feeling the worst of the financial sting, since they often rely on donations and special events to make ends meet. That’s certainly the case for Portland’s beloved Hollywood Theatre, but thankfully for film lovers, the nonprofit has developed a streaming program to bring in some money that also allows audiences to stay connected.

It’s one thing to set up a virtual cinema, it’s another entirely to attempt to replicate the Hollywood’s unique atmosphere—one that has charmed Portlanders for decades, but has also hosted celebrities like Quentin Tarantino and RZA. But by partnering with studios, distributors and filmmakers to create digital events, head programmer Dan Halsted and his team have gotten as close as you can to the real deal.

“We’re going to be doing an education series starting soon,” he explains. “People will pay to get an introduction and postscreening discussion that they can be a

part of. The first one will be hosted by me and will be Chinese Boxer.”

Halsted, who’s fresh off hosting a podcast discussion about kung fu cinema with Tarantino, says the Hollywood’s tradition of showcasing a wonderfully curated mélange of old and new will continue during the temporary closure. For instance, one of the partnering cinemas—Austin, Texas’ Alamo Drafthouse—is bringing Portland audiences Roar, an absolutely bonkers 1981 cult film about big cats and the weirdos who love them—a topic Tiger King has made popular in recent weeks.

Other movies the Hollywood is pulling out of the vault include Rififi (1955) and Band of Outsiders (1964). Both are required viewing for any serious film buff, since they continue to influence motion pictures to this day. The underappreciated Rififi, for example, is a stunning French heist film from director Jules Dassin, who was blacklisted in the U.S. for his ties to the Communist Party. The 28-minute safe-cracking scene alone is worth the price of admission, and its echoes can be found in the Ocean’s trilogy and, really, the overall Steven Soderberg aesthetic.

Jean-Luc Godard’s Band of Outsiders is probably the French New Wave pioneer’s most accessible film, and it stars the great Anna Karina—his longtime muse. Though

the movie flopped after its initial release, the standout iconography and cafe dance sequence turned it into a cinematic touchstone. Tarantino’s production company, A Band Apart, is named after the film’s French title, Bande à part. If you’re the type of viewer who feels intimidated by foreign cinema, either of these seminal works are a highly approachable place to start.

Viewers can also count on rare and exciting offerings, like Sátántangó, Bélla Tar’s masterful 1994 “slow cinema” project about a Hungarian village dealing with the fall of communism that clocks in at over seven hours. While that may sound daunting, consider that legendary critic Susan Sontag once called it “devastating and enthralling for every minute of its seven hours.” If that’s not enough to get you to hunker down with the episodic film, keep in mind that the beauty of watching this from home is the ability to take breaks whenever you want (that— and you can smoke weed in the cinema, aka your living room). Anyway, you’re not going anywhere, so forget rewatching The Office again and let your homeschool film education commence.

SEE IT: To purchase access to the Hollywood Theatre’s streaming films, go to hollywoodtheatre.org.

April 29-May 5 COURTESY OF HBO FILMS

OUR KEY

: T H I S M O V I E I S E XC E L L E N T, O N E O F T H E B E S T O F T H E Y E A R. : T H I S M O V I E I S G O O D. W E R E C O M M E N D YO U WATC H I T. : T H I S M O V I E I S E N T E R TA I N I N G B U T F L AW E D. : T H I S M O V I E I S A P I E C E O F S H I T.

TOP PICK OF THE WEEK

Bad Education Midway through this school embezzlement saga based on a true story, Cory Finley’s sophomore film (following 2018’s Thoroughbreds) breaks out its version of a Goodfellas montage. Elvis Presley croons “Blue Christmas,” but in lieu of cocaine packing, we see PTA baskets stuffed. And instead of cash counting, a PowerPoint presentation shows off early-decision college acceptance rates. It’s a dash ironic, but the HBO original is critically revealing how corruption can guzzle accomplishment as its fuel. Embodying that consumption is charismatic superintendent Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman), who strives to keep his Long Island school district’s reputation gleaming despite a brewing scandal. Backed by Allison Janney and Ray Romano, Jackman inhabits his best mode here: a gifted ringleader with a dry rot problem. Every lie is wrapped in an ideal, and it takes the full film to figure out which came first: the ideal or the lie. And while there’s not a gun, narcotic or punch in the entire film, Bad Education is a crime movie with guts. After all, it’s easy to critique conspicuously wealthy South Shore hypocrites, but connecting those trappings to more widely accepted American aspirations—blue-ribbon public schools and the high-achieving students they produce—well, that’s a far more bitter pill. There hasn’t been a smarter streaming original this quarantine season. TV-MA. CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER. Amazon Prime, HBO.

ALSO PLAYING

Blow the Man Down

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

While trapped at home under quarantine, it’s only natural to look for ways to escape. Right now, it seems one of our only options is using streaming services as virtual trips to new places. Amazon Prime’s new release Blow the Man Down takes audiences to Maine, where the atmosphere washes over you with its chilly blues and frosty whites. In a gritty fishing village called Easter Cove, director of photography Todd Banhazl captures the hardscrabble lives of its residents by using a lot of natural lighting and digitally re-created Super 8 footage of the town. Things get darker once bodies start washing ashore. The police are Fargo-level dumb. And that’s actually good for sisters Priscilla (Sophie Lowe) and Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor), who end up stabbing a rapist with a harpoon and stealing his bag of cash.

“Someone’s going to miss this,” says Mary Beth. Duh. Don’t go fishing for meaning why this neo-noir flips gender roles, with two girls pulling the strings, but it’s a refreshing twist. Blow the Man Down may not be the idyllic vacation you’re looking for, but it sure is fun. R. ASHER LUBERTO. Amazon Prime.

The opening moments of the new documentary Crip Camp are immediately heartwarming: We see kids with disabilities jumping and rolling with joy as Richie Havens’ iconic ad lib Woodstock anthem “Freedom” plays in the background. Before the title card even appears, you’re already inspired by Nicole Newnham and James Lebrecht’s archival-footage film. The origin story of the disability rights movement in the 1970s has largely gone untold until now: It all began with Camp Jened, a summer getaway in the Catskills for disabled youth, who were encouraged to use the time to explore their interests and identities. Co-director Lebrecht was a camper at Jened, and intentionally uses the term “crip” in the title as a way of reclaiming the slur. The camp was also a place where teens and young adults could simply let their guard down: They played baseball, pranked each other, smoked pot with the counselors, and sometimes even had sex. But before long, the filmmakers expand their narrative arc by illustrating how youths were empowered by their experiences there, particularly Judy Heumann, a former camper who went on to become a disability rights activist and helped pass the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The ultimate message is, revolution can start with the young, which aligns perfectly with the opening song’s theme of liberation. R. ASHER LUBERTO. Netflix.

Deerskin The latest from French DJ-turned-director Quentin Dupieux begins with a man shelling out 8,000 euros for a used deerskin jacket. The fringe-fronted coat doesn’t really even fit Georges (Jean Dujardin, Oscar winner from The Artist), but he’s obsessed nonetheless. What

BAD EDUCATION follows belongs to a very specific subgenre: Cherished object takes hold of its owner. Think Lars and the Real Girl with Ryan Gosling or William Goldman’s Magic. While those titles are set in something like our reality, Deerskin follows a man trying to rid a remote French mountain town of all its other jackets. In the process, Georges begins accidentally making a DIY art film with a local barkeep (Adèle Haenel of Portrait of a Lady on Fire).

Given that ridiculousness, the tone is a small miracle. Dujardin keeps Georges innocent, almost paternally daffy, as he shuffles toward madness, trying to goad strangers into discussing his new David Crosby-esque duds. Granted, Deerskin at some point simply runs out of ideas or tricks (or both) and shrugs into its destiny as a 75-minute curio.

But that’s not the worst sin for a bit of absurd diversion. Two of France’s biggest stars sell the material for, let’s say, 7,950 euros more than it’s worth.

NR. CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER. On Demand.

The Platform The Platform works on two levels: First and foremost, Galder GazteluUrrutia’s horror flick is a master class in building atmosphere, but it also functions as an allegory about the detrimental effects of trickle-down economics. Inside a prison with 250 floors, you can practically feel the cold cement enveloping the inmates. When a platter of food descends from one level to the next, with a minute for cellmates to scarf down what’s left, it’s clear the lower classes are merely feeding on the upper echelon’s scraps.

While there is nothing subtle about the message, there is a mysterious tone to the story. Since it moves at a snail’s pace (in a good way), we spend much of the film trying to figure out what is going on, just like the protagonist, Goreng (Iván Massagué). His goal is to restore order to this rotten world, but that’s no easy task when other inmates are considering cannibalism to stay alive. A dash of Camus, a sprinkle of Kafka and helpings of Lovecraft, The Platform will leave you both sick and satisfied. R. ASHER LUBERTO. Netflix.

Vanilla I’m typically wary of any indie romantic comedy that has “quirky” in the synopsis, but Vanilla writer, director and star Will Dennis manages to infuse the film with enough self-awareness and charm to keep the eye-rolling at bay. The story centers on Elliot (Dennis), a well-meaning elder millennial whose trust fund keeps him aimless; Kimmie (Kelsea BaumanMurphy), a free-spirited (and, dare I say, quirky) would-be comedian; and the New York City-to-New Orleans road trip they suddenly find themselves on together. A large part of the film’s success lies in Dennis’ skewering of Elliot’s false wokeness, whether via his square reaction to sex work or the use of that golden emblem of pseudo-hip guys around the globe: a copy of David Foster Wallace’s magnum opus, Infinite Jest. Bauman-Murphy possesses a magnetic screen presence and affability on par with the Broad City crew, making her the perfect vehicle for the audience to share “man dudes are stupid” laughs with. Like any good road movie, Vanilla features a fair amount of philosophical discussion—the philosophy here being white, cis men are often cluelessly presumptive, selfishly unaware and, well, vanilla. Wisely presenting a story about communication between the sexes from the perspective of Kimmie, Vanilla is among the rare romcoms that smartly dissects our evolving ideas of gender roles. NR. DONOVAN FARLEY. On Demand.

Butt Boy With an unruly midnight movie setting unavailable, the time seems ripe for demented schlock at home— like, say, a half-spoof about a serial killer addicted to sticking objects up his butt. Just by themselves, the title and premise of Tyler Cornack’s Butt Boy earn your double take. Cornack costars as Chip, an IT guy anesthetized by the drudgery of work and family until a prostate exam stirs something deep within (one guess where). Chip’s descent into anal fixation is committed and hilarious, but parody isn’t the larger aim here. No, Butt Boy aspires to be a straight cat-and-mouse thriller— with Tyler Rice as a dogged, alco-

holic detective—that belies the absurd comedic hysteria of the setup. That (perhaps noble) genre aspiration runs the film up against a litany of banal low-budget problems, unbecoming of the insanity you want from a movie called Butt Boy: shaky dramatic acting, unnecessary night driving and a POV imbalance that handicaps suspense.

(Nobody wants a Mindhunter episode that’s 65 percent BTK interludes.) The execution of Butt Boy is a little like holding court with a one-of-a-kind dirty joke but pausing constantly to insist it’s not a joke. The punchline may still kill, but the approach is a little up its own ass. NR. CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER. On Demand.

The Sound of the Wind While increased mental health awareness is an unequivocal positive for society, the jury is still out on how it impacts our movies. After all, if cumulative awareness equaled improved storytelling, Deadpool 2 would be the best movie ever made.

On paper, The Sound of the Wind knows what it’s up to, mounting a stock thriller premise: Man finds a bag of money, believes he’s pursued by its shadowy owners, skips town; but is this all in his head? Only that last question isn’t a question. Writerdirector Jared Douglas tamps down all the thriller possibilities. Instead, we infer from the jump that the bag’s finder, Lucio (Christian Gnecco Quintero), is suffering from paranoid delusions. On the one hand, that’s a socially responsible choice. On the other, we’re then stuck for 80 minutes watching an unwell man willfully misinterpret gestures from strangers and loved ones that aren’t enough to convince the audience of any conspiracy. No one would doubt the effort here. Douglas is clearly stretching the film’s last dime, tumbling into harrowing reaches of California mountains and desert, and Gnecco Quintero gives as committed a performance of pure agony as you’ll ever see. It’s just…committed to what? He’s a vessel for unambiguous pain, not a character. NR. CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER. On Demand.

Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

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Spotlight

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Featured artist: Jim Vinson

jimmy.workofartz@gmail.com Be a Willamette Week featured artist!

Contact us at art@wweek.com.

THINK ABOUT STAYING HOME FOREVER

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Willamette Week APRIL 29, 2020 wweek.com

by Tabitha Edmunds

1. Dead Kennedys Government Flu

6. Tears for Fears Pale Shelter

2. Killing Joke I Am the Virus

7. The Modern Lovers Hospital

3. The Cure - Grinding Halt

8. Accept - Pandemic

4. Charlie Sexton Beat’s So Lonely

9. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes

Share your own Top 10 playlist!

5. Flesh For Lulu - I Go Crazy

10. Madonna - Burning Up

ART@WWEEK.COM

JONESIN’

Week of APRIL 29

©2020 Rob Brezsny

by Matt Jones

"In Storage" - walk-ins accepted.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) I always hesitate to advise Aries people to slow down, be more deliberate, and pay closer attention to boring details. The Rams to whom I provide such counsel may be rebelliously annoyed with me—so much so that they move even faster, and with less attention to the details. Nevertheless, I'll risk offering you this advisory right now. Here's my reasoning, which I hope will make the prospect more appealing: If you commit to a phase in which you temporarily invoke more prudence, discretion, and watchfulness than usual, it will ultimately reward you with a specific opportunity to make rapid progress.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Is there an area of your life where you would like a do-over? A chance to cancel the past and erase lingering messiness and clear a path for who-knowswhat new possibility? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to prepare—not to actually take the leap, but rather make yourself ready for the leap.

You will have God and fate and warm fuzzy vibes on your side as you dare to dream and scheme about a fresh start. Any mistakes you committed once upon a time could become irrelevant as you fantasize practically about a future breakthrough.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

Across 1 NATO Phonetic Alphabet vowel 5 Socially distance from 10 Kind of D.A. 14 Hawaiian party 15 Cape ___ (westernmost African point) 16 Tea-based drink 17 ___ Blanc (highest peak in the Alps)

49 With 53-Across, what a 7-Down helps keep

12 "Cheers!" in France

53 See 49-Across

24 Really irk

57 "First Blood" protagonist

25 "Live With Kelly and Ryan" cohost

58 France on the new "Queer Eye"

28 *Steph Curry's sport

60 "A Fish Called Wanda" Oscar winner Kevin 61 Sicilian mountain 62 Madcap

18 About 1% of the Earth's atmosphere

64 Americana lithographer

19 Prefix for "medicine" seen more often recently

66 Multiple-choice choice, sometimes

20 Heart charts, briefly

67 Infamous fiddling emperor

21 Is a huge fan of, slangily 22 Garden gastropod 23 Nigiri sushi option 24 Come back inside 26 Army outposts (abbr.)

27 Squeeze bunt stat (or so I'm told... it's sports) 29 Pen name?

30 "Meatspace," for short 32 Like some sprays 34 Wu-Tang Clan member born Robert Diggs 35 Balance 38 Got high 39 ___ Arann (former airline) 40 Charge to a sponsor 41 "Hurts 2B Human" singer 42 Rosie of "Birds of Prey" 44 Gasket, e.g.

45 Flub 47 Fluffy grazer

13 '70s supermodel Cheryl

65 Punxsutawney notable

31 *"The Twilight Zone" creator 32 Forty winks 33 "Dutch" actress Meyers 36 The briny 37 "Jellied" British fish 42 Lead-in to lude 43 "Your Moment of ___" ("The Daily Show" feature) 46 17th letter of the Greek alphabet

68 Blue-green shade

48 Panda Express vessel

69 Showtime series set in Agrestic Township

49 Crawled cautiously

70 Spring up Down

50 Wood shop equipment 51 "___ vincit amor" 52 Texas, for one

1 Fudd who bugs Bugs

53 Did some comic book work

2 Actress Kaley of "The Big Bang Theory"

54 Coral reef visitor

3 *Sycophants 4 Escape clauses 5 "Three Sunflowers in ___" (1888 Van Gogh painting) 6 Spine components 7 *It helps out in the closet (as demonstrated by the other starred answers) 8 "Meh, whatever" 9 Packed 10 Does something 11 *Product's freshness period

55 Start of el aÒo nuevo 56 Implant again 59 Dull pain 62 "That's great" 63 '19 and '20, e.g.

last week’s answers

In 1855, Gemini-born Walt Whitman published his book of poetry Leaves of Grass. A literary critic named Rufus Wilmot Griswold did not approve. In a review, he derided the work that would eventually be regarded as one of America's literary masterpieces. "It is impossible to imagine how any man's fancy could have conceived such a mass of stupid filth," Griswold wrote, adding that Whitman had a "degrading, beastly sensuality" driven by "the vilest imaginings."

Whitman's crafty Gemini intelligence responded ingeniously to the criticism. In the next edition of Leaves of Grass, the author printed Griswold's full review. It helped sell even more books! I invite you to consider comparable twists and tricks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) In your efforts to develop a vibrant community and foster a vital network of connections, you have an advantage. Your emotionally rich, nurturing spirit instills trust in people. They're drawn to you because they sense you will treat them with care and sensitivity. On the other hand, these fine attributes of yours may sometimes cause problems. Extra-needy, manipulative folks may interpret your softness as weakness. They might try to exploit your kindness to take advantage of you. So the challenge for you is to be your generous, welcoming self without allowing anyone to violate your boundaries or rip you off.

Everything I just said will be helpful to meditate on in the coming weeks, as you reinvent yourself for the future time when the coronavirus crisis will have lost much of its power to disrupt our lives.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Now is an excellent time to take inventory of your integrity. You're likely to get crucial insights if you evaluate the state of your ethics, your authenticity, and your compassion. Is it time to boost your commitment to a noble cause that transcends your narrow self-interest? Are there ways you've been less than fully fair and honest in your dealings with people? Is it possible you have sometimes failed to give your best? I'm not saying that you are guilty of any of those sins. But most of us are indeed guilty of them, at least now and then. And if you are, Leo, now is your special time to check in with yourself—and make any necessary adjustments and corrections.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) I predict that you will have more flying dreams than usual in the coming weeks—as well as more dreams in which you're traveling around the world in the company of rebel angels and dreams in which you're leading revolutionary uprisings of oppressed people against tyrannical overlords and dreams of enjoying eight-course gourmet feasts with sexy geniuses in the year 2022. You may also, even while not asleep, well up

with outlandish fantasies and exotic desires. I don't regard any of these likelihoods as problematical.

In fact, I applaud them and encourage them.

They're healthy for you! Bonus: All the wild action transpiring in your psyche may prompt you to generate good ideas about fun adventures you could embark on once the coronavirus crisis has ebbed.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) It's time to work your way below the surface level of things, Libra; to dig and dive into the lower reaches where the mysteries are darker and richer; to marshal your courage as you go in quest of the rest of the story. Are you willing to suspend some of your assumptions about the way things work so as to become fully alert for hidden agendas and dormant potentials? Here's a piece of advice: Your fine analytical intelligence won't be enough to guide you through this enigmatic terrain. If you hope to get face to face with the core source, you'll have to call on your deeper intuition and non-rational hunches.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) When was the last time you researched the intricacies of what you don't like and don't desire and don't want to become? Now is a favorable time to take a thorough inventory. You'll generate good fortune for yourself by naming the following truths: 1. goals and dreams that are distractions from your primary mission; 2. attitudes and approaches that aren't suitable for your temperament and that don't contribute to your maximum health; 3. people and influences that are not in alignment with your highest good.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky believed that the cleverest people are those who regularly call themselves fools.

In other words, they feel humble amusement as they acknowledge their failings and ignorance—thereby paving the way for creative growth. They steadily renew their commitment to avoid being know-it-alls, celebrating the curiosity that such blessed innocence enables them to nurture. They give themselves permission to ask dumb questions! Now is a favorable time for you to employ these strategies.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) What wonderful improvements and beautiful influences would you love to be basking in by May 1, 2021? What masterpieces would you love to have as key elements of your life by then? I invite you to have fun brainstorming about these possibilities in the next two weeks. If an exciting idea bubbles up into your awareness, formulate a plan that outlines the details you'll need to put in place so as to bring it to fruition when the time is right. I hereby authorize you to describe yourself with these terms: begetter; originator; maker; designer; founder; producer; framer; generator.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) If I asked you to hug and kiss yourself regularly, would you think I was being too cute? If I encouraged you to gaze into a mirror once a day and tell yourself how beautiful and interesting you are, would you say, "That's too woo-woo for me." I hope you will respond more favorably than that, Aquarius. In fact, I will be praying for you to ascend to new heights of selflove between now and May 25. I will be rooting for you to be unabashed as you treat yourself with more compassionate tenderness than you have ever dared to before. And I do mean EVER!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) In the coming weeks, I'd love to see you get excited about refining and upgrading the ways you communicate. I don't mean to imply that you're a poor communicator now; it's just that you're in a phase when you're especially empowered to enhance the clarity and candor with which you express yourself. You'll have an uncanny knack for knowing the right thing to say at the right moment. You'll generate blessings for yourself as you fine-tune your listening skills. Much of this may have to happen online and over the phone, of course.

But you can still accomplish a lot!

HOMEWORK: What's the bravest thing you ever did?

What will be the next brave thing you do? Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com Check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes & Daily Text Message Horoscopes

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