Picked for Current Tonight | January 23, 2009 | 68 comments

Can this punk!!!

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_re_us/portland_s_mayor

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gaiusfurius
PORTLAND, Ore. – A confession by Portland's first openly gay mayor that he lied about having sex with a teenager is dividing this famously progressive city, as well as its gay community.

Just three weeks after Sam Adams was sworn in, many gays are questioning whether he is the man they want as their trailblazer.

"Sam has been our guy forever, which makes this even harder," said Marty Davis, publisher of the newspaper Just Out, which has called for his resignation. "It's completely dividing and tearing our community right down the middle."

Portland's progressive reputation is based on its dedication to eco-friendly buildings, its large network of bike paths, an expanding mass transit system and the city's welcoming attitude toward gays and lesbians, which was reflected in Adams' easy victory in last year's election.

Adams took office on Jan. 1, making Portland the largest U.S. city with an openly gay mayor. But the community's image is taking a beating over the sex scandal.

It started earlier this week when the 45-year-old Adams admitted to an alternative newspaper, Willamette Week, that he lied during his election campaign when he denied having sex in 2005 with a teenage male who was a legislative intern.

The newspaper said it had evidence showing otherwise, although it never reported details. After being confronted about the relationship, Adams insisted he did not have sex with the young man until after he turned 18.

At a Tuesday news conference, Adams apologized for lying — and for asking the young man to lie — and left open the possibility that he could resign if doing so would be in the city's best interests.

Since then, pressure has mounted on the Democrat to do just that.

Four newspapers have called for Adams to step down, including Just Out and the city's major daily, The Oregonian. Willamette Week said Thursday that it has not taken a stand.

Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard, who defended Adams when the rumor first surfaced last year, said Thursday that a "large volume" of e-mail to his office was in favor of Adams' resignation.
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68 comments // Can this punk!!!

  • ejasun
  • Katanajon
    • 0
      Katanajon  
    • ejasun:

      So....I am not the only one who thinks that he was a little young for the Mayor to be messing with? Have you read some of these peoples rationalizations? You would think they cant get laid or something.

    • 3 years ago
  • wheelercastillo
    • 0
      wheelercastillo  

    • The sexual relationship occurred after Breedlove turned 18. This synopsis should specify this, otherwise your leading the readers into a false assumption.

    • 3 years ago
  • Katanajon
    • 0
      Katanajon  
    • wheelercastillo:

      I wasn't implying at all that the boy was under aged, everything I have heard has been to the contrary.Of course once you have Lied............. Anyway the real issue is lying, manipulating someone else to lie, hiring someone to suppress the story. And doing all these nefarious things while being on the time clock of Portland Or. The sexual behavior is typical Portland stuff, not impeachable, lying????Priceless.

    • 3 years ago
  • kennymotown
  • Time2WakeUP
  • logamorph
    • 0
      logamorph  

    • I live in Portland Oregon and I think people should just leave this poor bastard alone. At least he isn't like Senator Craig who was banging rando dudes in the airport and lying about it. Did you ever think he might have just been trying to protect his lover? Would this even be a story is some straight Mayor from another city were banging some 18 year old broad? Probably not. If you got some evidence that he was banging an underage kid then it would be different but until someone shows me some evidence I will still stand by our Mayor Sam Adams

    • 3 years ago
  • Katanajon
  • Katanajon
    • 0
      Katanajon  

    • Agreed, with out a credible WORD a politician has nothing. I wonder how many of his supporters on this post would offer up there 18 year old sons so he could sperm in them? Hey guys that's an idea, have your sons all contact him, that is how you can do your part to help America and the world. I am sure YOUR sons would love it also.

    • 3 years ago
  • wheelercastillo
    • 0
      wheelercastillo  
    • Katanajon:

      You're clearly misinformed and can only compensate by making irrational, silly conclusions.

      You should use your time and energy for critical thinking and not spiteful rhetoric that is mostly unreadable.

    • 3 years ago
  • gaiusfurius
    • 0
      gaiusfurius  

    • Not our founding fathers Sam Adams now is he. He is all done stick a fork in him. He is an embarrassment to our fine city of roses, and to the State of Oregon, and the United States of America.

    • 3 years ago
  • gaiusfurius
    • 0
      gaiusfurius  

    • It's not the legal sex that is the question, it is the elaborate lengths he went to to cover it up. Lying, hiring people, this lends credence to the probable fact that he has more skeletons which detract from his public duties. Look if you want to be a player, fine. Just don't expect the public to pay for it in these times of Hope and Change.

    • 3 years ago
  • hydrokat
  • gaiusfurius
    • 0
      gaiusfurius  

    • He is a public official, if he was just a deviant trolling for young stuff it would be legal. Portlands Gay community is calling for his head. So,,,,,,I don't think everything is fine now is it? He lied. LIES are the problem, Democrat or not, liars must go!!!

    • 3 years ago
  • bfcooper
  • 2hellnwait
  • gaiusfurius
  • Humdrum
    • 0
      Humdrum  

    • Scandal, PFFT.
      I had sex with an 18-year-old about six months ago. I guess that makes me a dirty pedophile. In any case, if anyone in my immediate family asked me about it while we were gathered around the dinner table at Thanksgiving, as I was carving the turkey, you can be damned sure I'd lie about it.
      The public doesn't have to know how many pieces of corn any given politician has in his/ her stool.

      (If you honestly think that this is a case of pedophilia, then you're a douche. I guess every time you look at an 18-year-old girl and get a woody, you should start flogging yourself and blurting out torrents of Hail Marys)

    • 3 years ago
  • RCS
  • Katanajon
  • Humdrum
    • 0
      Humdrum  
    • Humdrum:

      RCS - Not so common. :(
      Though, apparently outrage for the sake of outrage is.

      Jon -
      Not the point. Apparently, this particular 18-year-old did, and, since he was supposedly a legal adult at the time, and it's none of my business, I say "whatever."

    • 3 years ago
  • gaiusfurius
    • 0
      gaiusfurius  
    • Humdrum:

      Well HUM, the kid was free to choose whatever, but, the mayor should have exercised some judgment and control, he clearly did not. Now he needs to vacate the Mayors office and go open a Castle superstore or something, then it will be good business to be a predictor.

    • 3 years ago
  • Humdrum
    • 0
      Humdrum  
    • Humdrum:

      Like it's been said by some others here; if one is not a Portlander, then one doesn't know enough about the overall situation to start throwing out judgments.

      I'd go further to say that one shouldn't be throwing out judgments period when talking about a private experience between two consenting adults, but whatever.
      Our leaders are held to high standards, and for good reason. I get it. But really though; it's none of the taxpayer's f-ing business anyway. Ask him if he watches porn, and I bet he'd refrain from answering - even lie and say he doesn't watch porn - and so what?
      Whoever's asking is a nosy prick with no sense of priority. It has nothing to do with his ability to govern.

      (Note that I'm talking about this specific set of incidents, not whether or not he's corrupt or whatever)

    • 3 years ago
  • RCS
  • St_Alia_10191
    • 0
      St_Alia_10191  

    • I love how people are just assuming that of course the affair wasn't consensual.

      Look, leave the gay out of it. If they guy forced himself on a minor, then he's broken the law. If he had a consentual relationship with a minor, he should have known better, and it's up the courts to decide to find him guilty. But if he had a fling with a young, but legal POA, then it is none of our business! Done.

    • 3 years ago
  • gaiusfurius
  • dold
  • lifestudentno83
    • 0
      lifestudentno83  

    • Seems to me he's being railroaded because he's gay. He didn't take advantage of some naive little boy, the guy was only a year from legal consent. So this really isn't something to be up in arms about.

      Now, the Reagan(and Bush Sr., I believe) Era male underage prostitute scandals are something to be up in arms about...
      But of course, not many people are aware of that.

    • 3 years ago
  • Katanajon
  • lifestudentno83
    • 0
      lifestudentno83  
    • lifestudentno83:

      He made him lie? I think the "kid"(or 18-year old consent adult as us rational people call him) lied to protect his partner.

      Naive? If he was mature enough to persue and enter a relationship with an older person, he was at least partially aware of what he was getting into. This isn't some 12 year old kid straight out of puberty, this is a legally consenting adult able to live independently and make his own decisions.

      I suggest you stop making this 18 year old "the victim" as if he was sexually abused and actually read the article.

    • 3 years ago
  • gaiusfurius
  • Katanajon
    • 0
      Katanajon  
    • lifestudentno83:

      Thanks G, he said he regretted making the kid lie for him. But , "he loved the teenage booty and it was worth losing the respect of his peers and his job for". The last part was just assumed. Yes he had the kid lie to cover his worthless ass.

    • 3 years ago
  • lifestudentno83
    • 0
      lifestudentno83  
    • lifestudentno83:

      So now I'm a troll and pervert for not agreeing with you? I think you're confused on the definition of trolls and perverts in addition to pedophiles.

      And yes, I read the article; if this was a 18-year old girl this would be a cover-up instead of an news story and legal issue. The young man was a willing participant in their relationship but you are ready to scream rape for him. Ready to throw someone's life away for your own skewed sense of percieved reality and justice, which is coming off more and more like homophobia.

      I'm not afraid to admit that you could be right about this man, but I think that you are definitely afraid to admit you could be wrong. I'll give him the benifit of doubt until proven otherwise, and you keep holding your torches and pitchforks ready to put a noose around his neck.

    • 3 years ago
  • alicynx
    • 0
      alicynx  

    • People - if you don't live in Portland then bugger off. The armchair punditry is unnecessary, and without all the facts you have no real idea what's going on. Sam Adams is supported by a large number of the people in this community, who can define pedophilia and know that it does not apply here! This isn't about the act or the players, but about the active lying and coverups after the fact. This is about the public's trust being broken, and only the people of Portland can say what needs to happen. Everyone else is simply irrelevant.

    • 3 years ago
  • Incredulous
  • Incredulous
  • SamuraiDave
    • 0
      SamuraiDave  

    • 17? Big deal just one little year. People act like teens are some kind naive livestock that have to be protected at all cost. Folks used to get married before that age back in them good ole days Now if he was punking a 12 year old or younger then I'd say castrate him and hang him in that order.

    • 3 years ago
  • Katanajon
  • hydrokat
    • 0
      hydrokat  
    • SamuraiDave:

      Hmmm, and how would it look if it were a 17yr old Girl? It's a double standard. Teachers who have sexual relations with boys get shorter sentences because they loved Him..bullcrap! what's good for the goose!

    • 3 years ago
  • ballabarista
    • 0
      ballabarista  

    • Who gives a shit that he lied? he didn't lie about anything related to public policy. who he chooses to have sex with is not any business of the public's. He should be working on those sustainable buildings and public transportation instead of having to hold press conferences constantly!

      who do people have such an obsession with the personal lives of their leaders, and simultaneously have absolutely no clue what sort of laws their passing once in office?

    • 3 years ago
  • tbowman131
  • alicynx
    • 0
      alicynx  
    • ballabarista:

      It speaks to his ethics and moral compass.
      I would have no problem with my coworkers being involved in any sort of scandalous act, but then again they aren't responsible for the direction the city takes and their decisions don't have so much resting on them being right.
      I'm about to attend a keynote speech given by him and I have to wonder if he's a good choice to speak to ethics and morality in leadership positions (which is the theme of the conference). I wish that he had just come clean during the election, because then it wouldn't have been this explosive event that it is now. Hell, he probably would still have gotten elected, he's that well liked. Nevertheless, as a person that we trust with our city's well being, how can we trust what he says if he's not just lied to the public, but talked the other guy into lying as well?
      That's the real issue for us. Not many here care about the guy's age, or the fact that its a guy - Sam was out to everyone well before he ran. Lying on this scale makes a person really untrustworthy, and we need someone we can trust in that office. Consumer confidence is very important, after all...

    • 3 years ago
  • hydrokat
  • Yaemea
    • 0
      Yaemea  

    • Many people are mad that they supported him. The part that the article doesn't talk about was the Portland Mercury (another alternative paper), had discovered this in 2005, I think. One of the journalists was then offered a job by Sam in sustainability, or something like it. After this was surfaced by Willamette week, everyone assumed he gave her the job to keep her quiet. And it's extremely looking that way.

      here's the Willamette week article: http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3510/12093/

    • 3 years ago
  • Katanajon
  • unimatrix0
    • 0
      unimatrix0  

    • Sam used bad judgement because he lied. The affair itself is no big deal.

      Those who compare it to pedophilia are confused as to the meaning of the word.

      It is interesting to read the blatant homophobia. The homophobic are old and uneducated. The old will die and hopefully the uneducated will get an education.

    • 3 years ago
  • krashtype
  • unimatrix0
    • 0
      unimatrix0  
    • unimatrix0:

      I would not call a young man a child. (at the youngest he was 17 years 11 months, though Sam and the guy claim they waited until he was 18). Since when is an 17/18 year old a child?

      Check your facts.

    • 3 years ago
  • alicynx
  • gaiusfurius
    • 0
      gaiusfurius  
    • unimatrix0:

      Where there is one lie, there are many, don't delude yourselves. This guy is a skank, don't try and slide his behavior by on the, IS IS scale. A technical call won't work he is damaged goods. Feed him to the lions.

    • 3 years ago
  • hydrokat
  • hydrokat
  • hew2702
    • 0
      hew2702  

    • So liberals/gays get mad when homosexuality is compared to pedophilia, but when it actually happens they get mad and say that it doesn't matter?

      Oh, super intellectual. I'm glad we have people like this running our country and religious nut-heads who can't use "logic."

    • 3 years ago
  • alicynx
    • 0
      alicynx  
    • hew2702:

      Wow, learn your terminology before you start spouting off.
      "Pedophilia is also a psychosexual disorder in which the fantasy or actual act of engaging in sexual activity with prepubertal children is the preferred or exclusive means of achieving sexual excitement and gratification."
      (http://www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Pedophilia.html)

      An eighteen year old man is not prepubertal, and its really offensive that you would accuse the mayor of being a pedophile.

    • 3 years ago
  • St_Alia_10191
    • 0
      St_Alia_10191  
    • hew2702:

      Also the gay community is very sensitive about pedophilia because for decades close-minded people have kept gays out of many professions like teaching or the Boy Scouts because they're afraid that the children will be either molested or "taught" to be gay.

      And as for the age thing, my cousin told me that a lot of gay men when they are in their late teens will seek out an older gay man to teach them the ropes. And isn't that the straight guy's fantasy? Boning the teacher or the babysitter or the hot wife next door, so she can coax them into manhood? Why is that okay, but this is disgusting and wrong?????

    • 3 years ago
  • hew2702
    • 0
      hew2702  
    • hew2702:

      "Closed-minded" people? Maybe your closed-minded for saying homosexuality is okay. Ever try to see it the other way?

      And who-ever said that "boning your teacher" was okay? Adultery and fornication are just as wrong as homosexuality, pedophilia, beastiality, etc.

      (And, I might add, pedophilia and beastiality are exactly the kinds of things gay-supporting liberals will be pushing for once our morals fall to the point of "accepting" homosexuality.)

    • 3 years ago
  • gaiusfurius
    • 0
      gaiusfurius  
    • hew2702:

      This really has nothing to do with Homosexuality, it is just an inert factor. The problem is lying, cover up, and scheming on the public's nickle. Trying to make it about him being gay is just childish and self serving. Public officials don't devote enough time to work as it is. With playing scandal manager it cuts in to the peoples money.

    • 3 years ago
  • tbowman131
    • 0
      tbowman131  

    • jamie lynn spears can have a kid at 16 but a openly gay man can't have a consensual relationship with an 18 year old?

      how does his lie about a highly personal, consenting relationship bare any relevance to the way he will govern?

      so here is the final tally:

      lying about a consensual relationship - WRONG
      lying a country into war that kills hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians - RIGHT

      pardon the pun, but can we please get our priorities straight?

    • 3 years ago
  • Katanajon
  • cantucwearebrothers
    • 0
      cantucwearebrothers  

    • If this happened in a state where the age of sexual consent is younger than 18 this would not be an issue.

      I'm confused as to why people raise their hand and say "pick me, pick me...I want to represent you" knowing full well that they've got skeletons in their closet.

    • 3 years ago
  • gaiusfurius
  • mutedmajority
  • Katanajon
  • marlaynek
    • 0
      marlaynek  

    • It is sad that he was embraced by the community and was seen as a champion for their cause, and now it will only fuel hatred towards their gay community because they backed him. He should resign, and seriously, why are there so many interns involved sexually with politicians, has this not been happening for so long that there are not saftey nets to catch these sort of things?

    • 3 years ago
  • Katanajon
    • 0
      Katanajon  
    • marlaynek:

      50% percent of Portland's gay community wants his head on a platter. He made them look bad. Gays get made too!!! And Gays have a brain and don't just think with their politics like these morons on current. most anyway.

    • 3 years ago
  • sirach481
  • Katanajon
  • TonyDukes
    • 0
      TonyDukes  

    • FIRE THE IMMORAL SLUG, either offence is unacceptable for a person seeking to serve the public, regardless which or both offenses he is guilty of, he had by his own admission, declared his actions are those that are not acceptable, nor can be trusted.

      Anyone that supported him, would be subject and infested with the same lack of moral integrity.

      May he can move to N Orleans and work with Naglin, where slims is allowed to exist.

    • 3 years ago
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  

    • The kid was 17, boo hoo.

      Technically speaking he broke the law, but only cunts care.

      This isn't a giant corruption scandal, gimme a fucking break.

    • 3 years ago
  • gaiusfurius
    • 0
      gaiusfurius  

    • What is it nowadays anyway? Corruption is worse than ever, while politicians act like they are smarter and more above reproach than ever. This guy probablt is guilty of having sex with a minor. Or else he would have never lied in the first place, and he wouldn't have hired that reporter. JAIL TIME anyone? He will be the toast OSP. "AH could you pass me the mayor please"

    • 3 years ago
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