Who would have thought that city insider and incoming Commissioner Sam Adams would be the person to come up with such an idea? The Portland Tribune's Jennifer Anderson reports in "City Hall may look at registering lobbyists" that the former Chief of Staff to outgoing Mayor Vera Katz has proposed a move that could clean up the image of Portland's City Hall.

One of the first things Sam Adams wants to do in office next year is bring more transparency to City Hall.

Adams, who beat Nick Fish on Nov. 2 in a surprising race for city commissioner, said he’s planning to propose an ordinance that would require lobbyists to register with the city of Portland.

Currently, there’s no such requirement in Portland, but there is for the regional Metro Council, the state Legislature, and cities including Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

[...]

The state of Oregon has required lobbyists to register since 1974 — “part of the Watergate backlash,” according to Pat Hearn, executive director of the Oregon Government Standards and Practices Commission in Salem.

And the Metro Council began requiring disclosure in 1999 for anyone who spends more than five hours lobbying the council in a three-month period. A list of 23 registered lobbyists is posted on Metro’s Web site.

This is great news overall, especially for Adams. Although many were skeptical about his ability to serve given the unpopularity of Katz, this initiative--if passed--will go a long way to improving Portland's image among it's citizens and around the country.