Dan Ryan & Loretta Smith Public Housing Reality Show - Episode 4

Dan Ryan and Loretta Smith Public Housing Reality Show - Episodes 1 - 3 RECAP (see below)

Dan Ryan and Loretta Smith Public Housing Reality Show - Episode 4

SAFMR allows redistribution of Section 8 voucher amounts to promote their use in more upscale neighborhood’s while reducing concentration in low income neighborhoods.

SAFMR History

Hundreds of thousands of poor Americans will soon be able to move to better areas, thanks to this judge

Dec. 28, 2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/28/hundreds-of-thousands-of-poor-americans-will-soon-be-able-to-move-to-better-areas-thanks-to-this-judge/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_wb-housing-130p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.2ae44dfc54cb

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement an Obama-era rule on Jan. 1 that would give low-income families greater access to housing in more affluent neighborhoods.

The 2016 rule was designed to break up areas of concentrated poverty in two dozen metro regions, from Atlanta and Charlotte to San Diego and Honolulu. It would operate by taking into account the rental prices in specific neighborhoods — instead of averaging across an entire metropolitan area — making it easier for poor people to afford apartments in middle-class neighborhoods with better schools, lower crime rates and more job opportunities.

Families with incomes low enough to receive Section 8 vouchers have little say over where to live because it is generally left up to individual landlords whether to accept the housing vouchers. And those vouchers are often too low to cover rent in more affluent neighborhoods, relegating families to clusters of apartments in poor, highly segregated areas.

The new rule addressing that problem was issued in November 2016 by then-HUD Secretary Julián Castro after years of study and public debate.

Housing agencies in 23 metro areas will now be required to adopt “small area fair market rents,” which tie voucher subsidies to specific Zip codes. It would, in essence, redistribute the value of Section 8 rental vouchers, providing higher government subsidies for apartments in more expensive communities and lower subsidies for units in poor neighborhoods.

Studies have shown that moving low-income families into wealthier communities results in better lives for their children, who are eventually more likely to attend college, earn more money, and reside in better neighborhoods as adults.

Multnomah county commissioner Susheela Jayapal supports SAFMR, which is based on a goal of Equitable Distribution of Public Housing, as part of her statewide Public Housing voucher proposal. The Public Housing Authority in Salem has already introduced a SAFMR program.

So the question arises: Have you demonstrated your support for SAFMR by telling the Public Housing Authority of Multnomah county that you support SAFMR and you would like their opinion on how SAFMR would enhance Equitable Distribution of Public Housing in Multnomah county?

Dan Ryan

NO. I do NOT support the SAFMR program NOR Equitable Distribution of Public Housing in Multnomah county. My policy preference has been and continues to be the current status quo policy of Targeted, Unlimited Neighborhood Concentration of Public Housing which allows government to load the neighborhoods of its choosing with up to 100% Public Housing.

Loretta Smith

NO. I do NOT support the SAFMR program NOR Equitable Distribution of Public Housing in Multnomah county. My policy preference has been and continues to be the current status quo policy of Targeted, Unlimited Neighborhood Concentration of Public Housing which allows government to load the neighborhoods of its choosing with up to 100% Public Housing.

Richard Ellmyer

North Portland

Author of more stories on the politics, players and policies of Public Housing in Oregon over the last nineteen years than all other journalists and elected officials combined.

Author of The Ellmyer Report, a newsletter that informs, educates and influences on public policy. Occasionally distributed to more than a quarter of million readers in Oregon and beyond. Facebook, Portland Politics Plus . Opinion contributor to Patch.com news.

Dan Ryan and Loretta Smith Public Housing Reality Show - Episode 3 RECAP

Will you publicly acknowledge that Parity of Public Housing Households among Metro counties is the touchstone by which all related policy and spending decisions must be measured before the special election on August 11th?

Dan Ryan

NO. I do not accept the Metro voters' decision to recognize Public Housing as a regional issue.

Loretta Smith

NO. I do not accept the Metro voters' decision to recognize Public Housing as a regional issue.

Dan Ryan and Loretta Smith Public Housing Reality Show - Episode 2 RECAP

Will you publicly call for an end to funding the St. Johns hard-walled homeless camp before the special election on August 11th?

Dan Ryan

NO. I support the current status quo policy of Targeted, Unlimited Neighborhood Concentration of Public Housing which allows government to load the neighborhoods of its choosing with up to 100% Public Housing. I also support the current status quo policy of denying the establishment of goals which would aim public policy and funding toward of a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 15% Public Housing households per neighborhood in Portland and Multnomah county. Despite the inevitable upcoming massive revenue losses to governments the cost effectiveness of this and other Public Housing projects by the JOHS is of no concern to me. I do not accept the Metro voters' decision to recognize Public Housing as a regional issue.

Loretta Smith

NO. I support the current status quo policy of Targeted, Unlimited Neighborhood Concentration of Public Housing which allows government to load the neighborhoods of its choosing with up to 100% Public Housing. I also support the current status quo policy of denying the establishment of goals which would aim public policy and funding toward of a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 15% Public Housing households per neighborhood in Portland and Multnomah county. Despite the inevitable upcoming massive revenue losses to governments the cost effectiveness of this and other Public Housing projects by the JOHS is of no concern to me. I do not accept the Metro voters' decision to recognize Public Housing as a regional issue.

Dan Ryan and Loretta Smith Public Housing Reality Show - Episode 1 RECAP

So the most basic question related to Public Housing policy is this: When you speak or write about households whose current access to housing involved meeting the following criteria i.e. Means Test (<=80%MFI) + Government Subsidy (any government any type) + Rental Agreement, what words do you use?

Dan Ryan

I haven’t given it much thought. The easiest position for me to take is to support the status quo which conflates the mutually exclusive definitions of PUBLIC HOUSING with AFFORDABLE HOUSING. Since everyone supports the idea of Affordable Housing but there is considerable controversy over Public Housing it’s politically convenient to avoid defending the facts and obfuscate the truth.

Loretta Smith

I haven’t given it much thought. The easiest position for me to take is to support the status quo which conflates the mutually exclusive definitions of PUBLIC HOUSING with AFFORDABLE HOUSING. Since everyone supports the idea of Affordable Housing but there is considerable controversy over Public Housing it’s politically convenient to avoid defending the facts and obfuscate the truth.