Lost and found

I see that the socialistas and the normies on the Portland City Council are duking it out over how to spend something like $40 million in unspent money that has been "discovered" in the city housing bureau's bank accounts over the last couple of months. That the bobbleheads on the council are squabbling with each other is no surprise; it's all they've done for the past 13 months, and all they're likely to do for the rest of the year ahead. But the more important question is, how did the council members "lose" $40 million?

To me, it reflects badly on the city auditor, Simone Rede. I believe it's her job to make sure that all things financial stay on the up-and-up, without the games of hide-and-seek that are apparently going on. The losing and the finding are also not a great swan song for the recently retired city administrator, Michael Jordan (no, not that one). But of course, we've replaced Jordan, who mostly behaved like an adult, with Raymond Lee, a suit full of political hot air from ag-town Colorado, and so compared with where we're going next, this little eight-figure fiasco may turn out to be small potatoes.

The bureaucrat I'd watch most closely in this situation is Jonas Biery, who was Jordan's deputy in charge of money, and now Lee's. If anyone's in the hot seat with the City Council over this, it's probably him. The housing bureau director, with the amazing name of Helmi Hisserich, has already been handed her walking papers by the mayor, Keith What's-His-Name. And so when council face cards like Loretta Smith take to huffing and puffing about "where's my people's rent money" these days, I suspect it's Biery who gets to do the squirming. Between that grief and dealing with Lee's antics, old Biery may find himself looking for greener pastures. I know I would be.

Meanwhile, you have to wonder how all this plays with the banks that hold the city's bonds. As long as they get their debt service, maybe they don't care. But if I were lending money to outfits that leave mid-eight figures lying around under the couch cushions, I'd be keeping a close eye on them.