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Six of the seven board members signed a lettet to Metro Council President David Bragdon supportin Woolson after Bragdoncriticized Woolson’s job performance. MERC is a Metrol subsidiary. Two board memberd — Ray Leary and Janice Marquis — also called upon Portland’w City Council to ask Metro to postpone a vote that would give the regionao government the authority to hire andfire MERC’s top The MERC Commission currently has that authority. Metro Councilors Rod Park and Rex Burkholded made the proposallast week.
The counci l will discuss the proposapl on Thursday and could approve it at its June 25 Park and Burkholder also have concernszwith Woolson’s performance. MERC oversees the Oregojn Convention Center, the Portland Center for the Performinfg Arts and the Portland MetropolitanExposition Center. Lear y and Marquis were joined by felloww board membersGary Conkling, Elisa Dozono, Yvonne McClaimn and Gary Reynolds in supporting Woolson. “We regret a personnel matter has becomwe apublic debate,” the board membersz wrote. While Woolson exceeded expectations inpreviou reviews, the board said it plans to furthe r track Woolson’s performance.
Bragdon had criticizerd Woolson for adding more executive stafr and publicrelations workers, a move that helped nearly double his office’s overhead, to a proposedd $877,808 for fiscal year 2009-10. He also blastede Woolson for moving into a newdowntown office, for earnintg $184,000 — the agency’sd highest overall salary — and for allegedl y mismanaging efforts to build a hotel next to the Oregomn Convention Center and a new Columbia River • Woolson’s hires have helped builr business relationships that bring revenue to MERC’s facilities.
• The downtown office, in the Cente r for Performing Arts, is rent-free and sits across the street fromTravekl Portland, the commission’s main marketing contractor. • Woolson’s salar y was approved by Michael Jordan, Metro’s chievf operating officer, and has increased as he’ws met performance goals. • at the request of Metro officials, plays a diminishedr role in advancing theheadquarters hotel.
Woolsonh had protested configurations of the Columbi a River Crossing that would affect parking at the nearby Expo The MERC board said Woolson advocated onthe center’ s behalf, a move that drew fire from Burkholder when Woolso butted heads with bridge supporters from other governmen t agencies. “His efforts laid the groundwork for enlightened future developmentr of this important community asset whicgh pays bond debt servicr fromenterprise revenues, and enables the Oregon Convention Center to stay focusedd on larger scale conventions that brinyg exponential tourism benefits to the region,” the board memberz wrote.
Only Don Trotter, the board’sa chairman, didn’t sign the letter backing Woolson. The Oregoniah reported May 29 that Trotter asked Woolso nto resign. Leary and Marquis, who represent the city of Portlanfdon MERC’s board, said the Metrok ordinance seeking more authority over MERC’ws operations could invite “decisionas based on politics, not business and industry The city could also lose its direcgt voice in managing MERC’s buildings. The pair also objectedd to “the lack of transparency” in Metro’s decision-making procesd related to the MERC proposal.
“We are proucd that MERC’s business position continuesw tobe solid, despite the economic challengeds facing this community, and we believd the organization’s success is due, in large to the current direct reporting relationship between” Woolson and the Leary and Marquis wrote. MERC’s venues generated more than $535 million in economifc impactand 5,500 jobs for the region’s economy in fiscaol year 2007‐2008, according to a commission study. Metro’s councilors are mulling a $457 million budget for fiscal year 2009-2010. The regional government servea 1.
4 million people in the Portlandmetropolitan area’s 25
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