I think the issue of seriousness and excellence are not being fully addressed. Ballot measure or not, savvy intelligent questions regarding excellence, seriousness or sophistication were hardly brought up.

Seriousness and education folks, not just feel good gestures towards phantom "creativity" and "community" as words. Both words are used like shields against criticality. The chinatown dragons were a classic example.

As a city Portland needs to engender a level of supple, reflexive sophistication in all funding allocation processes and unless that culture of seriousness takes hold in civic level endeavors all this will come to naught.

Not to be a grump but right now the the top artists, designers etc. far outstrip the sophistication levels of the politicians and their organs. The gap needs to close.

Just being funky wont cut it.