In the recent story by Randy Billings about the candidates for Portland mayor he misses the most important detail about the new mayor’s “power” of vetoing the city budget. That is not that it can be overturned by six city councilors, but that it first takes seven councilors to pass the budget.

If it requires seven votes to pass the annual budget what are the chances of a veto by the new mayor ever not being overturned by six? To use that veto without having convinced at least two other councilors to publicly reverse their approval of the budget would show just how powerless this new mayor position is.

Jay York
Portland