Jul 20, 2005

Mayor's stipend: I made a big mistake

I made a big mistake when I voted last week in favor of giving the mayor of Troutdale a stipend. I voted against the stipend at April's budget committee, although I did vote to pass the entire City of Troutdale Budget.

However, when the City Council voted to change Troutdale's statutes to legally allow the mayor to receive the stipend, I should have voted no. And I didn't. I've regretted my vote ever since.

When mayor Thalhofer ran for office in 2004, he knew there wasn't any stipend.. He ran for office with the understanding that he would be a volunteer. If he couldn't afford the sacrifice of time away from his job, he shouldn't have run for mayor again.

No city council or mayor other than the City of Portland get paid in the metro area. Voting to give Troutdale's mayor a $6000/year stipend was wrong on so many levels. I apologize to Troutdale's taxpayers.

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