The 2012 City elections will be a watershed event in city leadership… with Mayor Adams and Commissioner Leonard declining to run for re-election, and Amanda Fritz facing a serious challenge, for the first time in decades, we could see three new faces on the City council.

The next mayor will, in all likelihood, oversee the Portland Police Bureau

To that end, over the next few months, Mid-county Memo veteran beat reporter Lee Perlman is conducting a series of interviews with mayoral and council contenders and he needs your help.
He has questions to ask them, do you? We want to ask Portland’s next mayor and commissioner your questions too….let us ask them for you.

Members of the community are invited to the Parklane Neighborhood Fair, presented in part by Portland Parks & Recreation today,  beginning at 4 p.m. at Parklane Park, Southeast 155th and Main Street.

The fair celebrates the first project in the city’s E205 Initiative, the new equipment and upgrades at Parklane Park —  and will feature family activities, a dedication and remarks by City Parks Commissioner Nick Fish and Mayor Sam Adams. The event will conclude with a tour of the future park site, live music and a  free movie in the park “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” at dusk.

Parkrose High School Community Center, 12003 N.E. Shaver St., hosts Mayor Sam Adams’ Education Summit this Saturday, April 10 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Held to discuss critical issues facing schools in Portland, hear about actions underway to increase graduations rates and access to post-secondary education.

What would help the educational opportunities in Portland? Air your concerns, offer solutions at Saturday’s summit.

Received an e-mail plea from Portland Mayor Sam Adams looking for help to find  business volunteers. There’s a Tribune editorial on the same subject here.

“Students behind on core graduation credits who attend summer school are more likely to graduate from high school. But budget cuts driven by the current recession will reduce summer school opportunities and risk increasing the dropout rate.

“We pledge to continue our efforts toward finding a long-term fix for education funding. Our schools, our teachers, and our students deserve it and our community desperately needs it.