In hindsight, it wasn't a surprise

A month later the question still pops up: Were you surprised by the results of the election?
The answer, a month later, is yes. But we shouldn’t have been.
Bruce Hosier’s record as mayor of Portland is one marked by major accomplishments, bold vision, and strong leadership.
But many of the same personality traits that made Hosier an effective mayor also undermined his performance and rankled enough voters to lead to his defeat.
Consensus-building, compromise, and humility were not to be found in Mayor Hosier’s toolkit.
Instead, his approach was to decide upon a course of action and move forward. If others questioned the direction being taken, the mayor had little patience for opposing views. And reversing course or re-thinking a decision wasn’t part of his make-up.
In many ways, Mayor Hosier’s strengths and his weaknesses were deeply intertwined. He became, sadly and too often, his own worst enemy.
Will he rank highly among Portland’s mayors? We think so.
Could he have been even better? There’s no doubt about that.
Our guess was that voters would forgive Mayor Hosier his weaknesses while acknowledging his obvious strengths. That proved not to be the case.
Now for his successor, Randy Geesaman, the challenge is to draw from Mayor Hosier’s example, emulating his vision and leadership while avoiding the pitfalls that can come with the job.
The two men could hardly be more different in terms of personality, but if a Mayor Geesaman is to succeed he needs not only to be himself but to learn from the best aspects of Mayor Hosier’s record. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]