On the same day it was announced that Tom Greene had filed bankruptcy, the 58-year-old real estate agent turned Bend City Councilor, declared he would run for a Deschutes County Commission seat in next November’s election.
Coincidence?
“It’s not my fault that real-estate industry has been so slow,” Greene said during a phone interview. “No one out there will hire someone that’s almost 60 years old,” he added, noting that he had acquired the “public service bug.”
The move to County Commissioner would certainly be a big financial step up for Greene. The base salary for commissioners is $80,033 per year while city councilors receive $2,400 per year for their time.
When asked if he was looking for a new job given the obvious toll the real estate market has taken on his own business, Greene answered in the negative.
“That’s the wrong way to look at it,” he said, though he did admit some voters might view his bankruptcy as a strike against him. Sitting on the Bend City Council has only “fueled his appetite” to work in public sector.
Greene, who was elected to the Bend City Council in 2008, has voted in favor of cutting the affordable housing fee—a fee which now charges builders one-fifth of 1 percent on construction projects, instead of one-third of 1 percent as it previously did. The real estate agent has also voted against putting the issue of an elected mayor to the voters as a ballot measure, a decidedly undemocratic position. Currently, city councilors appoint our mayor.
During Monday’s phone interview, Greene noted that if elected next November he would endeavor to put Deschutes County workers back to work.
“Open up the forest, we got all this federal land,” Greene said of the potential employment opportunities that rest in the surrounding landscape.
“There’s so many opportunities, but there’s also lots of road blocks and federal rules that prohibit what we can do to get people back to work,” said Greene, presumably referring to environmental regulations.
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2011.
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he does not grasp what the Occupy movement is about, we do not need him on the County commission. do away with EPA and cut down the forests? He must be having conversations with the right wing nuts. he will not get my vote.
i will actively work to see this phony opportunist does not get elected.
My question to Tom is: What are you going to do for the small business’ in Bend? Remove the tax on our equipment? Tell us where that money goes? Lower rates on fees so more business’ can occupy Bend? How about low interest loans for us? Why is $450,000 going to COBA? Is that same amount available to other organizations or small business? Seems like with 10 years of housing inventory that is throwing good money after bad. Will you actually go outside of your sphere of influence and listen to the people?
I would not vote Tom green to be an ungloved sewer drain cleaner. The man is crooked
Mark Twain: ‘Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason”,”Looking for an honest politician is like looking for an ethical burglar.” Mark Twain
So what your nearly 60 and no one wants to hire you. Get in line behind the rest us. Crooked and arrogant. Maybe this will be your wakeup call.
A failed realtor for County Commissioner?
A person who just took the weasel way out and filed bankruptcy? (How about bucking it uo and paying your debts?)
Why would we trust a bankrupt “businessman” to run the county?
If you can’t pay the bills, don’t get in the mess of overspending to begin with.
How about possibly electing someone who actually established a personal budget, maintained it, and paid all his bills to manage the county finances?
I know you need a job, but don’t eat off the public trough just to make up for your ineptitude.
Welcome to the real world, Tom.
Let the socialists wallow in thier despicable self loathing, such as they do well. Oddly it is the socialists who got the “entitlement” bug, so why can’t a capitalist get the public service bug? It will take dedicated people like Green to help turn this nation around from the destructive actions of the socialists now running the nation. By the way, the real estate industry has always had its ebb and flow due to economic slowdowns… so, get over it. Green is a smart and business savvy guy…encourage him, don’t slap a man just because he’s taken personal bankruptcy.