PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland's mayor is relishing a legal victory after Oregon's attorney general said there's not enough evidence linking the mayor to sexual contact with his former lover, Beau Breedlove, while Breedlove was still a minor. FULL COVERAGE: Adams investigation

Adams is not the only one hoping to put his scandal in the past.

The Portland Business Alliance had been waiting for the attorney's decision before passing judgment.

Today, the organization's president is hoping Adams can flourish for the sake of the economy.

KGW-TV

Portland Mayor Sam Adams

"Frankly it's up to Sam now," said CEO Sandra McDonough. He needs to "resolve this leadership issue and move onto, frankly, the issues that are really critical in this region which are how we create jobs for all those people who don't have jobs."

City commissioner Dan Saltzman hopes the public can rally behind the now-cleared -- but still embattled-mayor.

"On top of everything else that's been going on in his life he's done an extraordinary job of getting us through a tough budget, focusing on the economy and education issues," said Saltzman.

But lest you think the attorney general's bulky investigation exonerates the mayor completely, former county prosecutor David Lesh says the report is merely practical in its conclusion, not definitive on whether Adams actually kissed Breedlove while the young man was still 17.

"You can't exonerate him based on this report or any other information that I've read because there was only two people that were there when this incident took place and those are the only two people who really know what happened," said Lesh who agrees the case was not prosecutable.

Adams now faces a potentially contentious, long recall battle with his critics.

Saltzman predicts Adams will survive and thrive with the weight of the criminal justice system off his shoulders.

Saltzman doubts whether Adams' critics will gather enough signatures to put a recall on the ballot.

That process begins July 7th.