The unlikely journey of Tom Potter (Oregonian on the new PDX mayor)

Found this to be an interesting article about the new mayor, and winning on the ground with less money. I missed it when it first ran during my post-election nihilism, but I think there's something more to be gleaned from this than "Portland is a city of gay business-hating hippies." If Dems nationwide can find and field more candidates like Potter on state and local levels, we can rebuild from the ground up, on a shoestring.

The unlikely journey of Tom Potter

Friday, November 05, 2004

HENRY STERN and SCOTT LEARN

On Sept. 23, 2003, Tom Potter gathered a dozen friends for a kickoff strategy session in the living room of his Woodstock bungalow.

As they spilled onto an ottoman and the floor, Potter calmly dropped his bombshell: He wasn't going to accept a dime of campaign money in his race for Portland mayor.

Participants recall a collective gasp. The ex-police chief's high-minded idea was politically stupid.

"Everybody agreed, forcefully, that he was out of his mind," said Mark Rosenbaum, a financial planner who became Potter's campaign chairman.

Who's stupid now? Potter, who for better or worse doesn't sweat naysayers, bent only slightly that night, agreeing to accept $25 contributions. Anybody could afford that, he figured.

more: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1099659501171811.xml