If Emilie Boyles didn't exist . . .

. . . would it be necessary for The Oregonian to invent her?

The satisfaction is palpable over at the Big O this morning, where they editorialize thusly:

The flawed and unnecessary system of publicly financed campaigns provided her $150,000 in tax money to run for the Portland City Council. After The Oregonian's Anna Griffin exposed how Boyles had qualified by bending rules and then spent the money wildly and improperly, the city ordered the return of $145,000 and payment of $14,000 in fines.

Boyles coughed up just $68,565 before missing this week's payment deadline and making herself scarce. Bottom line: On Boyles, the city blew enough money to put another cop on the street. On the overall "voter-owned" boondoggle, the city blew enough to put several cops on the street.

Yes, and Jesse James was proof that banks weren't a good idea, either.

So here's the choice that the Big O is wrestling with:

• A one-time loss $92K from voter-owned elections, in which a chisler will eventually get hers (despite her recent experiments in Christian Martyrdom)?


• Or the old system, where big-ticket donors (making them the owners, really) spend much more, and expect much more in return, not as a fluke but as a fundamental feature of the system?

The math isn't very tricky, really.