2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session 2013 special election arts arts and culture author ballot measures bomb books budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration international internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal portland mayor president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes television terrorism theater third parties timber payments transportation union university of oregon violence washington water wildfire women

While I commend Mr. Branam for attempting to bring some diversity to Oregon politics, besides being bi-racial any comparison of him and Senator Barack Obama is laughable.

Senator Obama repeatedly shows good judgment, has surrounded himself with a talented group of non self serving individuals, and has the experience and background to bring people together. From what I?ve learned about Mr. Branam he shows none of these characteristics.

On the judgment issue and who you surround yourself with: According to the Willamette Week, ?Busse, a former Portland Mercury editor and 2004 mayoral candidate, has been paid $16,000 to manage Branam's campaign since Branam got his first check, for nearly $135,000, from the city in late February. This is Busse's first campaign manager job besides his own 2004 mayoral bid. For comparison?s sake, Jennifer Yocom, the sought-after campaigner who?s managing Commissioner Sam Adams? mayoral bid, has made just over $10,000 since January.?

Also a recent issue of the Portland Mercury said, " February 28 was Phil Busse's lucky day. That's the day that the John Branam campaign for city council cut him a check for $15,000, for Busse's work as campaign manager. (March 6 and March 14 were also good days for Busse, the Mercury's former managing editor. He picked up another $1,000 on each, and says he'll ultimately rake in $25,000 between now and the May 20 election.)

The big payday came just two days after Branam deposited $134,745 in public campaign funds, following certification as a "clean money" candidate.

From the size and timing of the check, it sure looks like Branam is paying Busse back for the hours he put in while the campaign was seeking public financing certification?a big no-no under the terms of the program, which limit pre-certification spending (or pledges to spend) the cash you've got in the bank from $5 to contributions and small seed-money donations. Branam and Busse, who's been managing the campaign since last fall, insist the prior work was strictly volunteer, and the check isn't back pay.

But if it's not a back payment, the big check looks even more ridiculous. With a three-month campaign, Busse's $25,000 works out to more than $8,000 a month?about twice what mayoral Campaign Manager Jennifer Yocom is pulling in for wrangling Sam Adams' campaign, and more than double what any other campaign manager in Branam's race is making, though they're all working with the same $150,000 public financing budget. (Three make between $3,250 and $3,500 a month.)

Branam explains the difference: "I believe in having people that are on my team that are willing to work their tails off, and Phil is doing that. This is compensation for his tremendous work that he has put in since we received public funding as well as what he's going to continue to do given his expansive role." In addition to managing the campaign, Busse's "expansive role" includes political consulting and writing copy for the website and political ads. And Branam touts Busse's expertise from running his own prior mayoral campaign. (The lump payment was for "efficiency," says Branam.)

Branam's intentions might be noble?that someone should be well paid "to work intensely for three months, 'round the clock, with no vacation time, no health care, no retirement benefits, none of that." But the city code on public financing isn't as generous. Campaign staffers are to be "compensated at fair market value"?which, if you ask around, is a lot less than eight grand a month.

Emilie Boyles sure felt her daughter was worth the $12,500 she paid her for "internet marketing," a move that, among others, led to her decertification as a publicly financed candidate in 2006.

As we went to press, no one had filed a complaint but the auditor's office will "likely look into it." Branam tells me that, were he "to do it all over again, would I have written a $15,000 check right off the bat? No, I wouldn't. It's a lesson learned." One that hopefully didn't also teach voters to be even more skeptical of public financing."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The continuing episode, Mr. Busse is still being paid $1,000 a week on top of his lump payment, makes a mockery out of the voter owned elections system that many of us support to try remove special interest money and influence from our local elections. The abuse of this system will end our efforts to try and remove corporate money for politics. This doesn?t sound anything like Barack Obama, this stinks of Dick Cheney and payments to his buddies at Halliburton.

Mr. Branam also claims to be a person to bring people together when in fact even before he ever thought of running for office he was passing out a book that comes from the opposite spectrum of thinking from Senator Barack Obama?s values.

Again according to the Willamette Week;

[url]http://wweek.com/editorial/3302/8238/[/url]

Mr. Branam passed out a book to his fellow co-workers written by a conservative journalist which places much of the blame of the failures of the African American community and their efforts to move forward, not on the government and conservatives who have failed them but on the community itself.

Watch this piece posted on ?the Nation? where the author of the book not only defends his inflammatory piece but also his relationship with the outrageous Bill O?Reilly and the ?Bush network? Fox News. Portland voters, think long and hard about this. Does this in any way reflect your core values?

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=239338

Mr. Branam, I find it offensive that you would compare yourself to Senator Obama and his campaign. You have every right to run for public office but please stop manipulating the truth. You John Branam are no Barack

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context