Sorry this took so long to get out. I've been swamped today and preparing for a panel that I'm going to be a part of later tonight (I'll give you more about that tomorrow). Now, onto my analysis.

If last night's Portland mayoral debate between Sam Adams and Sho Dozono made anything crystal clear, it was that Sho Dozono is not a progressive voter's candidate.

Throughout the debate, Dozono was allergic to specifics. When asked questions about how he would address various problems facing Portland (like education, transportation, etc.), he offered little more than vague platitudes on most counts. It's true that he's been an ambassador for the city and has a longstanding business background, but that doesn't mean you can run for mayor without specifics and expect to be taken seriously by the voters.

There was one specific, however, that had many jaws dropping -- both in the room and across the blogosphere. Yesterday, it came to light that Dozono disagreed with current mayor Tom Potter's decision to leave the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), a national-local partnership which would have our local officers working within the confines of the Patriot Act.

Both the Patriot Act and the unconstitutional surveillance programs promoted by the JTTF are planks of the current ultra-conservative Bush administration. That Dozono would embrace the JTTF either demonstrates that he has no grasp of the issue or that he's far more conservative than he says he is.

For more reaction and analysis on the JTTF tidbit from the debate, check out BlueOregon and the Portland Mercury's Blogtown, PDX.

As a progressive and a voter, I want people who will stand up for good progressive values while laying out a plan for how to move our city forward. Last night, the only candidate who did that was Sam Adams.

In this case, Sho's ubiquitous and vague campaign slogan really applies more to Sam: for progressive voters, Sam's the one who really gets it and Sam's the one who really gets it done. Whether it's on education, transportation, or issues of homelessness and safety, Sam talked about the issues and offered specifics on how he's gotten it done or will get it done.

To see the debate for yourself, head on over to KGW's website and load the videos.

Did you see the debate last night? What did you think? I'll be back later this evening and tomorrow to answer comments and follow-up.

Disclaimer: I worked for Sam Adams' office in 2005 and I'm an ardent support, but I speak and write only for myself.