Canzano: How much of Tom Dundon's act should be tolerated?
City of Portland made a wise play.
I don’t blame you if you bet against the foot-shuffling rubes at Portland’s City Hall, making a smart move in the poker game with the Trail Blazers’ ownership group. But that’s exactly what happened.
Faced with the prospect of negotiating behind closed doors, the local politicians and their hired negotiator hatched a novel idea. They brought the fight right out in the open, into the sunshine, where everyone could see it.
I’m eager to see whether Tom Dundon, a guy who made his fortune in subprime auto loans, knows what to do with that kind of sunlight.
Probably ignore it, I’ll bet.
The term sheet didn’t look like an initial salvo. It was polished. More like a final offer than a first one. It had the fingerprints of Carl Hirsh, the city’s mercenary negotiator, all over it.