Does anyone want to vote for this loser?

From the mercury blog

Sho Dozono and the Weirdest Press Conference Ever
Posted by Amy J. Ruiz on Wed, Apr 30 at 4:54 PM

Wow. For a man who wants to be mayor, Sho Dozono does not know the basic decorum or framework of a press conference.

Reporters stationed themselves inside Bush Gardens restaurant, and waited for Dozono, whose campaign had called a 3 pm press conference to discuss why the restaurant—in which he has a majority ownership—owes more than $18,000 in back taxes, rent and fees to the city (the restaurant is in the bottom of a city-owned SmartPark garage). Dozono has maintained that the restaurant withheld the rent purposefully, to give the business negotiating power to demand another rent reduction, since downtown construction has hurt business, he claims.

dozonobushgarden.jpgWhen he arrived, Dozono demanded that everyone step outside to hear his statement. He wanted the cameras and tape recorders to catch the deafening demolition noise from across the street—since it was “part of the problem” Bush Gardens has apparently been protesting by withholding rent and taxes. (Nevermind that they’ve been withholding the money since March 1, and have no record of negotiations with the city until last week when the city inquired about the back rent; Also, the demolition just started a week ago.) Reporters pointed out that they’d hardly be able to hear him over the noise. He didn’t care, and hastily read his statement. (I’d post the audio, but it’s worthless. UPDATE @ 6:09 PM: The statement went out over email, and it’s pasted at the end of the post.)

But when reporters dug in with questions, Dozono pushed his way through the crowd, and into the restaurant. (For the record, my list of questions included things like “how is a lack of parking a problem, when you’re in the bottom of a parking garage,” and “when did you first ask the city to renegotiate the rent, before or after you started withholding the rent?” and “why didn’t you put the withheld rent in an escrow account?” and “are you aware the city has forwarded the matter to the city attorney?”)

Perplexed, the gaggle of reporters trickled inside after Dozono, and tried to ask him questions again. As soon as three of us had surrounded him, he ducked away again. We tried again, and he evaded the questions.

More after the cut, including the campaign’s response to their beyond-the-cap fundraising total…

With Dozono essentially hiding in a corner, his back to reporters, the restaurant's manager, Masa Kimura, stepped in to answer what he could. He said Dozono hadn't been aware that taxes weren't paid. "He is not 100 percent involved," Kimura said. "The tax problem is my fault."

Then he said the taxes would be paid today. How much is that?, reporters asked. Kimura pulled out an envelope with the check, which had 18,469.75 scribbled in pencil on the front—the total owed. Then he pulled out a $4,253.68 check for taxes. How about the rent?, we asked. Kimura pulled out a second check, for $14,216.07.

Why Dozono didn't make those checks the centerpiece of his press conference, I have no idea. Instead, his statement focused on how the city has hurt business by allowed so much construction and development downtown (the project across from Bush Gardens is a private office and condo tower from Tom Moyer, and Dozono also referenced the bus mall project).

Tom Feely in the city's facilities department said—as of 4:45 this afternoon, an hour after the press conference wrapped up a few blocks away—that they had not received the payments. "If we receive the full amount that's due then we're all even," he says, and the city attorney would not proceed with a demand letter, the first step before taking "a tenant behind in their rent to court to evict them."

Between Dozono and his business partners and the restaurant's managers, I was unable to get an answer to my main question—when did they ask the city to renegotiate their rent to mitigate the private construction across the street? Residential tenants are always advised to document all conversations with their landlord, especially if they plan to withhold rent... where was Bush Gardens' documentation? Dozono said he didn't know, and pointed me back at the general manager, who earlier hadn't been able to answer that question. As the majority owner, I asked Dozono, isn't he ultimately accountable—as he would be accountable for problems within bureaus he'd oversee as mayor? He didn't answer, and tried to walk away.

I gave up on Dozono, and found his campaign manager to ask her about their current fundraising total—which, at $205,766.62, is more than $5K over Dozono's March 25 pledge "to cap fundraising at $200,000."

Amie Abbott said that the campaign is recording any contribution that comes in, which put them over the cap. "If we've met our cap, we can give the money back." Certainly they can—this is their own pledge, not a campaign finance rule—but Abbott didn't make it clear if they'd be returning over-the-cap contributions ASAP, or waiting until the campaign was over (an earlier conversation I'd had with the campaign treasurer—who stressed that she didn't speak for the campaign—indicated that they'd be holding themselves to $200K in spending, but keep the extra funds in reserve, in case Sam Adams suddenly broke his self-imposed cap and outspent their campaign.)

If they've met the cap, I asked Abbott, why would they go ahead with the May 9 $20-100 per person fundraiser? "If we have to give the money back, we will," she said. So have they changed the rules of their pledged cap? No, Abbott said. Then it seems like they've violated their own cap. No, she said, but didn't explain the distinction. "We haven't started the conversation about what we're doing," she added.

UPDATED WITH DOZONO'S OFFICIAL STATEMENT:

PORTLAND, Or.-Mayoral candidate Sho Dozono made the following statement today at a press conference today at Bush Garden restaurant. "Bush Garden is a landmark restaurant that has been in Portland for forty five years. It was a pioneer in the redevelopment of downtown, and as the first tenant of this building in 1978. In the past 30 years, it has paid $5 million in rent, taxes & fees. Now, for $16,000, the city wants to shut down a business that employs 30 people," Dozono said.

"The current construction across the street, the closing of the entire street in front of Bush Garden and the removal of two sides of parking are hurting the restaurant. Three feet from the entrance is a stairwell that is used as a public restroom and around the corner is a MAX stop that has crime issues that the business has asked the city to address," Dozono said.

"We have been without a lease since January because the city has been unable to provide us, or any other businesses assurances that they will work with us to help us stay open for business, and keep people employed. That is my bottom line - providing people with good jobs," Dozono said.

"I have helped fill the gap the last couple months to help the restaurant's operations manager, Masa Kimura make payroll during the construction across the street," Dozono said.

Dozono stated further, "I am disappointed that the city has turned this into a political football when we have been actively working with the city on negotiations."

This is about a much bigger issue, the city treats small businesses this way on a regular basis. The only reason it's an issue for the media is because I am running for mayor, but I'm glad they've called attention to it because we should be talking about it. How many of us have purposely avoided going to a business downtown in the last 6 months because you have no idea how to get through the construction? How many of us have been late for meetings going around the endless detours? The others go unnoticed and they go out of business without any attention," Dozono said.

"Under my leadership, I'll work with businesses to make sure that the grand plans for our future don't drive out family jobs today. TriMet ran a very successful program when they redeveloped Interstate Avenue. I'd like to see that kind of teamwork replicated throughout the city," Dozono said. "It is interesting to note," campaign manager, Amie Abott states, "that Commissioner Adams hired a research firm in Mississippi to dig up
information that could be used to eliminate his only competition. Even more interesting is that this all comes about during the Sauvie Island Bridge Project, a pet project proposed by Commissioner Adams and is not supported by most Portlanders. He intended to divert the public's attention away from an unfavorable project."

Another great reason to vote for Hilary

INDIANAPOLIS — It's a story Hillary Clinton loves to tell, about how the Chinese government bought a good American company in Indiana, laid off all its workers and moved its critical defense technology work to China.

And it's a story with a dramatic, political ending. Republican President George W. Bush could have stopped it, but didn't.

If she were president, she says, she'd fight to protect those jobs. It's just the kind of talk that's helping her win support form working-class Democrats worried about jobs and paychecks, not to mention their country's security.

What Clinton never tells in the oft-repeated tale is the role prominent Democrats played in selling the company and its technology to the Chinese. She never mentions that big-time Democratic contributor George Soros helped put together the deal to sell the company, or that the sale was approved by the administration of her husband. "Hillary Clinton must have been hoping we Hoosiers have short memories," Ed Dixon of Valparaiso said in a letter to a local newspaper after a recent Clinton visit. "Her husband was president at the time and allowed this to happen."

"They would have us believe Bush was behind this sale," added Fred Sliger of Valparaiso in another letter, "when in fact the Clinton administration rubber-stamped this along with the sale of numerous other high-tech secrets to the Chinese. …Let's get the facts straight."

Random thoughts:

- My Blog readership has spiked like 300%, whats up with that?

- I'm going to miss all these pollsters calling me at all hours of the day

- Papa G's Deli (http://pappags.com/) is awesome, Amber and I went there tonight and I enjoyed walnut loaf (cruelty free meatloaf) and mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy (w/ whole mushrooms no less) and amber enjoyed spaghetti squash with taters as well.

- Barck Obama and Bruce Springsteen are both in North Carolina. Surprise campaign appearance please? Random fact: Hilary has been endorsed by the current NC governor but the two people battling in the NC DEM Primary to replace him have both endorsed Obama.

Concert Review: The Swell Season - Keller Auditorium

This is my 4th Glen Hansard related show and I can say with confidence that the man does not disappoint. This was, believe it or not, my first show at the Keller, I've almost been to three shows here (Neil Young, White Stripes and Ben Harper) but never managed to pull the trigger. Living in downtown Portland kicks ass in these kinds of circumstances as it was a 10-15 minute walk from our apartment. For those of you not familiar with Glen Hansard, hes the frontman of the frames and star of the indie megahit (a legitimate indie hit, not a pseudoindie suckfest like Juno) film ONCE.

Now, I've been to a lot of shows, and have encountered some pretty annoying people, but the guy we sat next to tonight gets the award for most annoying concert neighbor of all time. Now, this guy was obviously a steep up from the drunk lady who stole Ambers purse that one time, but that was so far beyond annoying she wasn't really in the running. The guy laughed. Constantly. Let me explain this further. When Glen would say ANYTHING, he laughed. During the middle of songs in unexpected places, he laughed. The minute a song started, he laughed. The minute a song ended, he laughed. During the encore, he laughed. He talked to his neighbors so I was able to tell he wasn't mentally retarded or anything. He was dressed like an insurance salesman and looked around 50 years old. I was in the fourth row though, so I had little to bitch about.

Beyond that guy, who went from annoying to entertaining as the night went on, the show was great. I first saw the frames open for damien rice in 2003 but didn't really become a big fan until I saw them live at the Aladdin in 2007. I was obviously stoked when Once came out, was surprised it did so well at sundance and was flabbergasted it won an Oscar (many a quality musician has left the oscars empty handed from Elliot Smith to Aimee Mann). Things have definitely changed since the swell season show I saw in November of last year. The amount of people over 40 doubled at least (note to Baby boomer women: You're already messing up the democratic primary, can you please leave my concerts alone?) and few people seemed to have any awareness of the frames material that was played. My hope is that Glen records a very rocking record playing more to the influence the pixies have had on the frames and these new (read: lame) fans drop off as time goes by. If he goes back and does another swell season record I'm afraid he may be playing zoo amphitheaters right quick.

The show opened with Glen solo playing "Say it to me now", just like the show in November. There are these moments during his live show where he just lets loose, its hard to explain but fantastic to witness. The set itself from that point on was a great mix of Once songs and frames stuff, with a couple of new tunes and some covers worked in. Their backing band was The Frames minus the drummer (and I missed him terribly) along with some irish musicians that opened the show filling in from time to time. Some standouts included Glen playing a solo version of "what happens when the heart just stops" and their transcendent cover of Van the Man's "Into the Mystic". This local musician that Glen had just met that day came up and did a song I recognized but didn't know the name, the crowd went wild and it was a very special moment, the kind of moments where you realize you're actually part of a unique experience and the band you're seeing isn't doing the same set ad nauseum. The encore was great, it opened with Marketa Irglova doing "If You Want Me", Colm doing a solo piece, and "Fitzcarraldo" which was surprisingly powerful for an acoustic arrangement. They closed with "Star Star", one of the songs that I never get tired of hearing live (amongst such classics like "RVM" by PJ, "The promised land" by Bruce Springsteen and "Easy Plateau" by Ryan Adams) complete with a tag by frames bassist Joe, whose backing vocals I definitely missed during the show.

All in all it was a great night, although a good concert for me is always a great night , and a great concert for me is a fantastic night, and a fantastic concert for me is an amazing night and so on. Among shows this year it probably won't rank very high just because of the double shot of springsteen and future double shot of pearl jam, as well as a Ryan Adams show I still listen to on a weekly basis, and an emotionally resonant show by Steve Earle. That being said it was definitely worth the price of admission.

Oh, so now you give a shit about Oregon

I notice the Clintons are paying much more attention to Oregon now than they ever did when they were in the white house. We've got Bill here this weekend, Joe Wilson to follow. I guess we're supposed to forget that time that Hilary came here to raise money for her senate run. There was a piece about this on Blue Oregon, but I can't seen to find it right now. Typically when national candidates for the Senate (recently Al Franken used us as an ATM in the same fashion) they give a certain amount to the state party to cover the cost of the event. Hilary gave our party jack shit. Gee, I wonder why all our 4 party SD's have remained neutral. Some folks (okay, so like 1 person) have asked me to do a rundown of how this race will go down in the Beaver state, my projections are as follows.

Okay, so rather than making this over 20 pages and going county by county (and believe me, I could do that if I wanted to) I'll talk about how I think the presidential race will play out congressional district by congressional district (hereby referred to as CD).

For folks who don't know, Oregon has five Congressional districts (we may get six after the next census, I would love to nerd out over where the boundaries get drawn!).

First District: Represented by Obama supporter and first Chinese-American Congressman David Wu this CD stretches from west Portland all the way to clatsop county on the coast. Major population centers include Portland (duh), as well as suburbs like Beaverton and Hillsboro as well as towns on the coast like Astoria. 65.3% of workers in this district are white collar, many of them employees of Nike, Intel and Tek. The amount of college educated folks in this district is high which favors Obama, but Hilrod will have some strength with the soccer moms and elderly folks. Prediction: Lean Obama

Second District: Represented by Republican and supposed future Gubernatorial Candidate Greg Walden (don't laugh, hes sitting on a 9 million dollar war chest) this district is the 7th largest in the nation. it covers the entire eastern part of the state and goes down into southern Oregon. Major (chuckle) population centers include Bend, Medford and Ashland. This is Hilary's best hope as this region is chock full of retirees, most of them from California. Obama's best hope is SOU students turning out in Ashland. Prediction: Lean Clinton

Third District: Represented by Earl Blumenauer, my favorite elected official in Oregon and the first OR SD to endorse Obama this district covers most of Multnomah county. I'm not sure why Hilary even has an office here, because shes going to get pwned. If Obama's performance in King county (Seattle area) is any indication and this city and this city is by some accounts more progressive than Seattle, his MOV may be above 15 points here. Prediction: Stumptown is Obama country.

Fourth District: Represented by Peter DeFazio, my favorite elected official in Oregon to watch on CSPAN. This district starts just south of Salem and covers Roseburg through the southern Oregon coast. The major population center here is Lane county which has the reputation as being one of the most anti-war counties in the nation, needless to say Hilary is not too popular here. She'll do well in Roseburg however, and the southern coast is populated by a lot of folks who work in a nearby prison in CA. Prediction: Lean Obama

Fifth District: Represented by retiring congresswoman Darlene Hooley this is the district to watch. This district covers northern clackamas and part of southern multnomah county as well as the Salem area and the central Oregon coast. This CD will also play witness to one of the most hotly contested house races of the 2008 election. Salem is probably the most conservative major city in the state, and basically the arm pit of the state and Hooley's endorsement of Hilary Clinton may carry some weight as she remains pretty popular. Obama's strength will be in those areas of Portland and will College students. Prediction: Tie.

The Super-Delegate Race: Oregon has 12 super-delegates and only four of them have endorsed with Barack and Hilary tied with 2 each. Unlike many states, our Governors endorsement of Hilary Clinton doesn't mean a whole lot as he is widely regarded (somewhat undeservably so) as a do-nothing, Mayor of Portland Tom Potter is staying neutral as is our city council, most of Oregon's mayors are weak mayors anyway with the exception of Beaverton Mayor Robert Drake, who could make a difference in the 1st district, but he isn't. The most important endorsement on the table is Ron Wyden, who was recently ranked the 11th most important undecided super-delegate who I predict will wait as late as possible to act. DeFazio knows that without Lane county he would be toast, so him endorsing Obama is more of a "when" and not an "if"question although he may wait until after our primary. That leaves SOS Bill Bradbury and our four DPO officials who I have little pulse on. It should be noted though that Obama has the endorsement of both of our major US senate candidates, former Mayor of Portland Vera Katz and former governors John Kitzhaber (who still has a large following) and Barbara Roberts (who is often an add-on delegate after our state convention).

Conclusion: If Obama wins IN and has a good margin in NC our primary may be moot but should Hilary win IN and keep NC close Obama's survival may depend on his popular vote margin here. Yet another reason to GO OUT AND VOTE!!! Your last day to register is Monday people!

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More to follow (seriously this time)