LeftToTheMiddle

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@Avabelly__ Exhausted

[Portland Moderate. @pdxmoderate]

So the councilor who spent countless hours pushing and defending the foie gras ban is now complaining that public deliberation is "leading to really bad outcomes and a waste of time—not only for councilors and city staff, but for the public."

He also laments that hashing out policy in public meetings creates "moments of embarrassment, moments of lost decorum, and conflict."

Too bad.

That's exactly why Oregon has a strong public meetings law.

Elected officials aren't supposed to conduct the real decision-making behind closed doors, count votes in advance through serial conversations, and then turn council meetings into a scripted performance for the public.

Democracy can be messy. Disagreement can be uncomfortable. Public accountability can be embarrassing. None of that is an argument for weakening transparency requirements.

And if we're talking about "moments of embarrassment, lost decorum, and conflict," Dunphy should look a little closer to home. Much of that has been driven by him and his allies—especially the DSA/Peacock faction.

As for wasting time? Coming from the people who devoted enormous energy to regulating foie gras, that's a particularly rich complaint.

Confirmation that the law is working as intended.
You're there to represent your district.

I suppose whining about a meeting law shouldn't be a surprise for somebody who publicly berates a 90-year-old woman.

Don’t rank any DSA… they are communists destroying our city and state!

@jamiedunphy @mitch4portland @kanalforpdx @TeacherTiff4PDX @pnwpolicyangel @PortlandDSA

https://t.co/poqBRDioJo

[Portland Moderate. @pdxmoderate]

It was 2 a.m. when a car pulled into the empty campsite at Milo McIver State Park, about 21 miles southeast of Portland, on a cold Friday morning last month.

The driver unloaded the few possessions that belonged to his passengers, a disabled homeless woman with a documented history of mental illness and her scrawny white pit bull.
About 90 minutes later, after lighting a fire for the woman, who had no tent, sleeping bag or camping stove, the driver got into his car and made the winding 30-minute drive back to his home in Milwaukie alone.

The man behind the wheel: A top Portland City Hall staffer, who says he had let the woman stay at his home while he tried, unsuccessfully, to find her assistance she would accept.

Amani Kelekele, then-chief of staff for Councilor Jamie Dunphy, had scooped the woman off a Milwaukie street days prior in an attempt to help her avoid arrest, he wrote in a memo to his boss obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Less than 36 hours after Kelekele left her at the isolated campground, park workers asked state police to remove her.

She would not cooperate, records allege. Police used a taser to shoot electricity through her body to subdue, handcuff and arrest her on Sept. 27. The woman’s dog, which she described as an emotional support animal, bit a state trooper before it bolted into the woods and disappeared.

The episode, pieced together through interviews, incident reports, court documents and other public records, appears to represent a story of good intentions gone horribly awry and is a stark reminder of the remarkable challenges that can come with seeking to assist some of the Portland area’s most vulnerable residents.

It also raises significant questions about a senior political staffer’s series of decisions that some specialists in the field said defied professional standards and, at times, were outright appalling.

“He left a person who can barely take care of or fend for themself miles away from any services or help,” said Holden, a homeless liaison with the group LoveOne. “I think it’s horrible abuse.”

Kelekele, who earns $131,000 annually, declined to speak with The Oregonian/OregonLive for this story or answer a detailed list of questions, referring a reporter to what he included in his Sept. 30 memo.

“He’s really talented with being able to navigate through different bureaucracies to find out who the right person is,” Dunphy said of Kelekele.

I mean, obviously not. That's a mind-blowingly inaccurate description of the person described in this article.

This really doesn't reflect well on Dunphy's judgment. And Jamie under investigation for ethics violations.

https://t.co/QMIk1X3tyb

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

The face of a 192 year old tortoise, the oldest known living land animal.

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@Sbort9n @pdxmoderate Progressives for a progressively worst government. 😒

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@SaltyMommaC @pdxmoderate I'm older - Boomer - and kids depended on jobs and fast foods and mowing lawns, yard work to make money and gain work experience in their teens. My son (43) was able to work a bit at SeaWorld when he was about 17 and with a friend promoting Power Bars at events.

[Department of Housing and Urban Development @HUDgov]

Today, HUD released the 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time (PIT) Estimates, which found that 745,652 people were homeless, including 266,320 people living on the street on a single night in January 2025.

“The data is clear that the status quo of ‘housing first’ has failed to meaningfully reduce homelessness, resulting in crisis levels of people living on the streets. HUD is restoring its programs to advance recovery and self-sufficiency and to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits serve American families.” - @SecretaryTurner

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@GovTinaKotek Opinion: Oregon is failing its children - and calling it ‘compassion’ https://t.co/fijOeRcPtd

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@shouq_al90149 What about a typewriter?

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@otokyo Allowed? 🤔

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@TinaKotek It goes against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It's just that simple.

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@btctams09 @TinaKotek They should take that amount that is spent yearly on a student and give it to the family so someone can stay home and educate their children properly.

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@Kinza1278 Lost

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@albanyresist @ABC Have someone follow you around all day every day for a week and take photos. Read the medical report. Oh that's right - you have TDS and can't allow truth to register in your brain.

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@momma_pdx Is there a public record and count of these types of fires?

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@SenJeffMerkley What are you doing to make things better for Oregonians? These things do not.

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@KarenBassLA Sounds like an elderly lady (I am one too)

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@Beno10_MFC 6

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@WorkElizab 14

[LeftToTheMiddle @Worldpeaz]

@TinaKotek @LewFrederick Was there anyone else on the ballot?