In today's Willamette Week, Cory Pein has penned a revealing article on Wal-Mart as a campaign issue in the race for Portland's next mayor. The distinction further illustrates just who's the progressive candidate in the race.

Sam Adams, a longstanding fighter against the big-box enterprise and all its ridiculous baggage, doesn't see much of place in Portland for Wal-Mart. And who could blame him: Pein acknowledges that Wal-Mart "means trouble for local businesses forced to compete with a company that did $379 billion in sales last year." Love those unique small businesses that Portland is known for? Watch out for Wal-Mart, then. And that doesn't even begin to discuss their atrocious worker-relations problems and anti-union positions.

Sam gets what's good for Portland businesses, and that's why he has so much support from the local business community.

But Sho Dozono? He wants Wal-Mart on the table and notes that for Portland to be "open for business" we need to open the floodgates by considering other potential Wal-Marts across Portland.

Here's what it boils down to:

"Do I want to hang a sign that says, 'We're closed for business'? That's the message you send," Dozono says...

Adams calls Dozono's message-sending argument "just ridiculous." "Do we have to support an Enron, do we have to support a WorldCom in order for us to get our bona fides as a business-friendly city? I don't think so," he adds.

Portland is not closed for business, Mr. Dozono. Portland should be closed to companies like Wal-Mart, that still exhibit workplace bias, that don't really try to provide their employees with affordable healthcare, which have checkered environmental records, and which do not respect their workers or many of their fundamental rights. We can do so much better. Want to read up? Here's one good reference, but there are many out there. Is that really the sort of company we want to do business with?

I agree that Portland needs to rehab its business image, but bringing additional Wal Marts to our city is the wrong move. First Sho talks about not wanting to pull Portland out of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). Now he wants to talk about bringing additional Wal-Marts into Portland as part of a business strategy? That's not the sort of progressive leadership I want or Portland deserves.

What Sho Dozono doesn't get is that the Mayor sets the direction of the city. Portland is a progressive town, and what Sho's proposing flies in the face of our progressive values and common sense. We don't need another ambassador-mayor who doesn't offer many specifics, especially one who has continued to demonstrate bizarre conservative trends when he does pony up a few ideas.

We don't need more Wal-Marts in Portland. And, if he wants to bring them, we don't need Sho Dozono as mayor.

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