Chick magnet

Let the work week not slip away without noting some of the latest from Portland's hapless boy wonder district attorney, Mikey Schmidt. And I might as well start with the good stuff: He's scheduled his re-election campaign kickoff event, and it's going to be hosted by none other than Jo Ann With the Bullhorn! You cannot make this stuff up.

Apparently it's going to be a "house party." Make up your own joke.

Meanwhile, Mikey's deficiencies in supervising female attorneys continue to draw the spotlight. Now the county has paid $62,500, and the state another $62,500, to settle claims that Schmidt discriminated against an assistant D.A. because of her gender, and then retaliated against her.

Counting the $200,000 the county spent on a pro-employer law firm that ended up predictably downplaying the whole thing, the taxpayers are now out $325,000 and counting over Mikey's human resources skills.

We may get Hardesty back because of the infernal rank-choice voting that Portland has so foolishly adopted for electing its new City Council. But heaven help us, let's send Mikey packing. If Kohoutek won't make him a judge, maybe he can go back to defending criminals on the up-and-up, as opposed to letting them walk.