What ever happened to THIS Ann Rivers?

Once upon a time, there was a woman named Ann Rivers.

Like me, Ann was (is?) a political consultant.

Like me, she was a populist; in this case, defined as someone far more concerned about the will of the people than the dictates of the downtown mafia special interests.

And outwardly, at least, she was a die-hard Republican.

The key word in all of this is "was."

We worked together for various clients for a decade; she and her family became very close to me and mine.

In 2010, she made the decision to run for the open House seat left behind by Ridgefield Barbie when she ran for Congress.

She defeated several (5?  6?) men in the primary and then, using populist conservative themes, she crushed her disinterested, bottom-of-the-barrel democrat opponent and became a rising star in the GOP, delivering the GOP response to the Governor's State of the State early on in her first few weeks as a State Representative.

My job in all of this (outside of busting my ass for hours every day to get her elected) was, as she put it, to "keep her grounded," and to "keep her on track."

Visions of Congress danced in her head.  Rivers told me there was no way she'd ever think about running unless I agreed to go to DC with her and her husband, Fred.

As it turned out, Jaime Herrera soon confirmed her performance as an utterly worthless congresswoman, quite the embarrassment and a waste of a seat.

Over time, it became clear that Herrera was simply over her head.  Ineffective and utterly clueless when it came to addressing the massive transportation problems confronting her district, a situation that has remained static since her election, some 8 years ago.

Rivers shared in that conclusion and for a variety of reasons, we were always planning to announce the moment Herrera decided she'd embarrassed herself enough and failed to run for reelection for this seat.

Herrera has yet to achieve that conclusion.  After all, she mails it in like the gig is a correspondence course and it pays $174,000.  What job could she hope to get that paid anything close to that?

Many have been fooled into supporting her and chances are, she will win reelection easily.

Certainly not because she deserves it, but because that's how this district was carved out.

This brings me back to Rivers.

The death of the CRC/Loot Rail scam, which really wasn't a death as much as it was, like with most leftist positions a temporary hibernation, was brought about in large part by Rivers herself.

Back when she viewed her constituents as her reason for being in office... something we haven't seen in the last 3 years... she'd walk into fire to kill this downtown mafia idiocy.

And kill it she did, earning the nickname "Bridge Killer."

Since then, of course, she's been flipped on that and many other issues that show her for what she truly is.... which has nothing to do with conservatism, nothing to do with Republicanism, and nothing to do with her keeping her word to her constituents.

This article from the Willamette Week, Bridge End - Oregon backers of the CRC think they've won the day. They haven't met Ann Rivers. is a portrait of who Ann Rivers used to be.  That Ann Rivers has long since departed, replaced by not even a credible facsimile of the champion of the people.

She hates the project, even though she knows some residents of her Clark County district might benefit from the massive freeway bridge and light-rail. She knows the CRC has influential backers—business and labor unions, and that she will feel heat when the time comes to stop the project.

Doesn't seem to "hate" it any more, does she?

Now Senate majority whip, Rivers says the project's costs aren't worth shaving only a minute off the rush-hour commute from Portland to Vancouver.

Odd how that changed, isn't it?

How it is they weren't "worth it" then, but somehow, magically, they've seem to become "worth it" now?

The reasons to kill this insanity haven't changed.  The current I-5 Bridge is still paid for.  The bridge is still safe.  We don't have to waste $100,000,000 plus (to start with) per year in tolls to use it.

So what DID change... and why?

Rivers.

Because they got to her somehow.

Now, as her multiple massive tax increase votes that blew our property tax statements to pieces, hammered our gasoline bill and tab fees while adding billions to the state budget, and, of course, her flip on resurrecting the CRC Scam that she had worked so hard to kill a few short years ago have shown that Rivers has become that which, when we started, she allegedly so despised.

I mourn the passing of who she once was... and loath the development of what she has now become.

Which begs the question:  Whatever happened to THIS Ann Rivers?