the COUVES!
Pollard puts Potter through his paces
Potter’s Top 15Portland Mayor Tom Potter’s 15 reasons Vancouver is better than Portland:
15. Mayor Royce Pollard was the last commander at Fort Vancouver, and it’s always exciting to meet a Civil War veteran.
14. Vancouver gave one of my favorite musicians, Willie Nelson, his big break into show biz as a radio announcer.
13. Its annual Fourth of July fireworks display saves Portlanders lots of money because we get to watch it from the south banks of the mighty Columbia for free.
12. Home of Burgerville, the only fast-food restaurant in America considered one of the four basic food groups.
11. Home to the oldest apple tree in the state of Washington, and I believe it was planted in 1826 by Bob Miller.
10. It has a really cool nickname: The Coooooouv.
9. Your sales tax means you have great schools, and we have the busiest shopping malls just across the river.
8. Mayor Pollard told me Vancouver is better because you can buy a Portland coffee mug just about anywhere in Vancouver.
7. It’s a lot easier to get to than the other Vancouver.
6. It is so safe because a lot of Portland police officers live here.
5. You can still use duct tape at your parades.
4. To get here, I get to cross the I-5 Bridge that apparently was built by the Lewis and Clark expedition.
3. Just a short distance from here, the statue of George Vancouver points south across the river, to apparently where he meant to settle.
2. You have a great mayor in Royce Pollard, who I consider a good friend to Portland and a great champion for Vancouver.
1. Vancouver is great because you folks have made it a great city, green and welcoming and fun. Vancouver has a great farmers market, a wonderful Fourth of July celebration at Fort Vancouver, a terrific summer concert series at Esther Short Park and the oldest continually operating airfield in the country in Pearson Field.
N. Scott Trimble/The Columbian
Portland Mayor Tom Potter, left, accepts a gift basket — complete with copies of Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard’s last four State of the City speeches — Monday from Pollard. Potter, after losing a bet to his counterpart, came here to recite his 15 reasons why Vancouver is better than Portland.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
By JEFFREY MIZE, Columbian staff writer It was time for Portland Mayor Tom Potter to pay up and give Vancouver its due.
Last December, Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard whipped his fellow mayor in a good-natured competition to see who could raise most for military families suffering financial hardship during the holidays.
So late Monday afternoon, Potter climbed into his city-issued Toyota Prius and, with his wife Karin Hansen in the passenger seat, used the Interstate 5 HOV lane for a 20-minute rush hour drive to pay off the bet.
As television cameras recorded his every word at Vancouver City Hall, Potter recited his 15 reasons why Vancouver is better than Portland, a mix of witty observations, a few zingers and a couple of heartfelt tributes to a city and a mayor he considers more friend than foe.
“We’re honored to have you as our neighbor,” Potter said in closing.
Pollard listened to the barbs and accolades after proclaiming Bob Miller, the KPAM radio morning host who organizes the annual “Operation Santa Claus” fundraiser with The Salvation Army, the city’s unofficial “Mayor for the Moment.”
Pollard surrendered his seat to Miller, along with a warning, “Don’t get too comfortable,” and even presented the radio host with his gavel.
“Ikea. Hmmm,” Miller said as he examined the symbol of authority.
Pollard was irked that Miller didn’t freely wield his short-lived power. After one of Potter’s more cutting remarks — that the Capt. George Vancouver statue near Esther Short Park looks south, “to apparently where he meant to settle.” — Pollard asked the Mayor for the Moment if he was going to let Potter get away with the wisecrack.
“I live in Beaverton,” Miller replied nonchalantly.
Miller might have gotten the biggest laugh when he presented Pollard with a certificate for the future: $5 off a new Interstate bridge, with one purchase of light rail.
Light rail remains a friction point in Clark County, but the two mayors share a common goal. Last week, the Portland City Council signaled it wasn’t prepared to support a new I-5 bridge unless it brought light rail to Vancouver. Pollard embraced the same idea more than a year ago in his 2007 State of the City speech.
Pollard mentioned light rail in his own tribute to Portland, which lauded the innovation of the Portland aerial tram and noted that former Vancouver Police Chief Brian Martinek now works for Portland police. He also opined that Portland International Airport should have “Vancouver” added to its name.
Portland has more than three times as many people as Vancouver. But the small-city mayor is apparently much better than his big-city counterpart at dialing for dollars. Pollard raised $22,000, or 20 times as much as Potter’s comparatively puny $1,100 total.
Potter, as he pulled up to Vancouver City Hall a full 45 minutes before the designated 6 p.m. time, complained that he had been “sandbagged” by Pollard and that it wasn’t a fair competition. He characterized Pollard as a former military commander and himself as a liberal ex-cop.
But there was no mention of unfair competition as Potter stood at the podium inside the Vancouver council chambers and showered Vancouver with some Portland-style love.
Potter’s research department was long on humor but a little short on accuracy. He called Pollard the last commander at Fort Vancouver when, in fact, Bob Knight, current Clark College president, was the last commander at Vancouver Barracks.
The error didn’t detract from Potter’s dig at Pollard, that it’s “always exciting to meet a Civil War veteran.” The Vancouver mayor took the ribbing well and presented Potter with a basket of souvenirs.
One item was a roll of duct tape, a reminder of Portland Commissioner Randy Leonard’s complaint last year that out-of-town invaders were using duct tape to stake out prime viewing spots for the Grand Floral Parade.
Another was a coffee mug, a reminder of when Pollard went on a highly publicized cup-smashing spree after finding local Starbucks shops were selling mugs bearing Portland’s name.
“It would break my heart if you would do something destructive with this cup,” Pollard told Potter.
Pollard said he would like to repeat the competition this year. Potter, who isn’t running for re-election and will leave office at the end of 2008, made no promises.
But if he loses for a second year in a row, it might not be so newsworthy to see an out-of-office mayor shower a neighboring city with love.
For Portlanders, yes it's shame, but not for the Vancouverites 
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