Politics & Government
Fear of Change Captures All Metro Area Candidates. Voters Beware
The common denominator among all these candidates is their belief in "MORE" as the only solution to all problems related to Public Housing.
Immediately below personal and pandemic health care issues on our public agenda was, is and will remain, HOUSING. Government is in the PUBLIC HOUSING business, It is NOT in the affordable housing business.
It is disappointing although not surprising that 63 candidates for Metro area pubic offices ignorantly cling to failed status quo Public Housing policies. It is particularly disturbing that Ted Wheeler, Sam Adams, Chloe Eudaly, Loretta Smith, Sam Chase, Bob Stacy, Jessica Pederson, Lori Stegmann, Sharon Meieran, Roy Rogers et. al. have learned nothing about Pubic Housing policy during their time in office. Very depressing.
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The most glaring common denominator among all these candidates is their belief in “MORE” as the only solution to all problems related to Public Housing. It doesn’t matter to them if raising property taxes increases those at risk for losing their homes or priced out of their apartments. It doesn’t matter to them if some neighborhoods carry all the burden of Public Housing and some have none.
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It is an Indisputable fact, Public Housing is a regional issue. What does that mean? It means that every Public Housing, which includes the homeless, policy and spending decision made by any public jurisdiction MUST be considered within the parameters of REGIONAL NEEDS. Parity of Public Housing households among the Metro counties is the touchstone by which all related policy and spending decisions must be measured. Not one of these 63 candidates understand this.
In summary, here are the current status quo Public Housing policies supported by these candidates for public office in the Metro area. There is not a change agent among them. Same old. Same old. Distressing but not surprising.
Threshold Public Housing POLICY positions:
A. Continue the deliberate misdirection of citizens by using affordable housing when referring to Public Housing. Are you committed to using the terms PUBLIC HOUSING and AFFORDABLE HOUSING, as defined below, whenever you write or speak about these topics? NO. If you can’t get the language right then you can’t get the policy right.
PUBLIC HOUSING i.e. a class of housing defined as, Means Test (<=80%MFI) + Government Subsidy (any government any type) + rental agreement.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING is a mathematical construct defined as, Rent/Mortgage + Insurance + Taxes + Utilities <=30% Household Income.
Most Public Housing is NOT Affordable Housing.
B. SAFMR is the Small Area Fair Market Rents program.*1 This program is based on a goal of Equitable Distribution of Public Housing. It is supported by Multnomah county commissioner Jayapal and the Salem area Public Housing Authority. Do you support SAFMR? NO.
C. Do you reject the discredited and abhorrent current 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. NO.
D. Will you support a Public Housing policy for Multnomah county which sets GOALS of a 5% minimum and a 15% maximum of Public Housing households in every Multnomah county neighborhood? NO.
E. Will you support in whatever ways you can the creation of Metro Area Public Housing Household Location Maps as described below in Note#3? NO.
F. Do you support the stoping and abandonment of the 8005 N. Richmond Ave. project? NO. [See details below]
G. Do you support sending a meaningful amount of the $70,000,000 JOHS funds to health care professionals and other first responders throughout the Metro area? NO. [See details below]
H. Do you support providing JOHS funds to immediately house homeless individuals in temporary indoor shelters? NO. [See details below]
I. Do you support publishing a detailed, real time JOHS budget on the JOHS website? NO. [See details below]
| First | Last | Job Title | Organization |
Department
Lasey
Beaty
Mayor
Mark
Fagin
Council
Beaverton
3
John
Dugger
Council
Beaverton
Evan
Geier
Commissioner
Clackamas
3
Mark
Shull
Commissioner
Clackamas
Mary
Balbag
Councilor
Metro
3
Gerritt
Rosenthal
Councilor
Metro
LaFleur
Councilor
Metro
6
Chris
Smith
Councilor
Metro
5
Mary
Nolan
Councilor
Metro
5
Cameron
Whitten
Concilor
Metro
5
Mary
Peveto
Councilor
Metro
5
Bob
Stacey
Councilor
Metro
6
Karen
Spencer
Concilor
Metro
5
Jessica
Pederson
Commissioner
Multnomah
3
Lori
Stegmann
Commissioner
Multnomah
4
Sharon
Meieran
Commissioner
Multnomah
1
Jason
Tokuda
Commissioner
Multnomah
1
Loretta
Smith
Council
Porltand
2
Teressa
Raiford
Mayor
Portland
Dan
Ryan
Council
Portland
2
Jeffrey
Lang
Council
Portland
2
Carmen
Rubio
Council
Portland
Position 1
Bruce
Broussard
Mayor
Portland
Keith
Wilson
Commissioner
Portland
4
Chloe
Eudaly
Council
Portland
4
Seth
Woolley
Council
Portland
4
Timothy
DuBois
Council
Portland
Position 1
Ozzie
Gonzalez
Mayor
Portland
Ronault
Catalani
Council
Portland
2
Margot
Black
Council
Portland
2
Robert
MacKay
Commissioner
Portland
4
Osvaldo
Gonzalez
Mayor
Portland
Julia
DeGraw
Council
Portland
Position 2
Michael
Burleson
Mayor
Portland
Cynthia
Castro
Council
Portland
2
Ryan
Farmer
Council
Portland
2
Candace
Avalos
Council
Portland
Position 1
Willie
Banks
Mayor
Portland
Kevin
McKay
Council
Portland
Position 4
Mark
White
Mayor
Portland
James
Davis
Council
Portland
2
Sarah
Iannarone
Mayor
Portland
Ted
Wheeler
Mayor
Portland
Sam
Chase
Council
Portland
2
Sam
Adams
Council
Portland
4
Tera
Hurst
Council
Portland
2
Mingus
Mapps
Council
Portland
Position 4
Jeffery
Hindley
Commissioner
Washington
1
Ben
Marcotte
Commissioner
Washington
3
Roy
Rogers
Commissioner
Washington
3
Manuel
Castaneda
Commissioner
Washington
1
Nafisa
Fai
Commissioner
Washington
1
Dear Reader, our community can NOT make progress dealing with Public Housing matters unless and until our candidates and government leaders are challenged by us to stop lying and misleading us with obfuscatory language and start telling us the truth. Please take whatever action that reflects your response to this disturbing reality.
Thank you. Stay in. Stay safe. Vote By Mail.
Richard Ellmyer
North Portland - Portsmouth - 43% Public Housing Households.
Former campaign manager and Personal Staff to state senator Bill McCoy 1980-81 and Multnomah County Commissioner Gladys McCoy 1981-84.
Certified by former governor John Kitzhaber as an Oregon Change Agent 2011.
Recognized by Celebrate North Portland for volunteer work and service with political and social issues impacting North Portland 2016.
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.
*1
https://nlihc.org/resource/hud-provides-guidance-small-area-fmrs
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/smallarea/index.html
https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/a-guide-to-small-area-fair-market-rents-safmrs
Notes:
*1 Public Housing Statistical Data can be found online here Clackamas, here Washington and here Multnomah .
http://macsolve.org/PublicHousingData/ClackamasPH.html
http://macsolve.org/PublicHousingData/WashingtonPH.html
http://macsolve.org/PublicHousingData/MultnomahPH.html
*2
35 neighborhoods in Multnomah county have zero Public Housing households, including mayor Wheeler’s neighborhood, Southwest Hills
http://macsolve.org/PublicHousingData/MultnomahPH.html
*3
The first iteration of a fully developed, interactive, online Metro Area Public Housing Household Location Map should be available this spring. Discussions for online publishing include the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies. Public jurisdictions throughout Oregon will be offered these maps to share with their citizens. An early, but still useful, PREdraft can be found here: http://macsolve.org/PublicHousingData/MetroMap.jpg Graduated color scale. White areas equal 0 Public Housing Households. Red areas equal 100% Public Housing Households. See note*1 above for details.
Below is a test given to sixty-three Metro area candidates to reveal how they would respond to a current, real life, Public Housing decision making crisis. Spoiler alert. They all failed.
Testing Metro Area Candidates Understanding Of And Their Role In The REGIONAL Framework Of Public Housing Policy
Hi Candidates for Public Office In The Metro Area: [March 30, 2020]
Indisputable fact, Public Housing is a regional issue. What does that mean? It means that every Public Housing, which includes the homeless, policy and spending decision by any public jurisdiction MUST be considered within the parameters of REGIONAL NEEDS. Parity of Public Housing households among the Metro counties is the touchstone by which all related policy and spending decisions must be measured.
Below is an ongoing Public Housing policy and spending decision that all of you need to confront.
When asked, every Portland and Multnomah county commissioner acknowledged and accepted the following line item proposed budget by Joint Office of Homeless Services director Marc Jolin for a hard-walled homeless camp at 8005 N. Richmond.
| Capital Expenditures | |
| 20 Hard Walled Dwellings @ $10,500 per unit | $210,000.00 |
| Utilities Electric | $11,154.00 |
| Utilities Gas | $11,154.00 |
| Utilities Water | $11,154.00 |
| Utilities Sewer | $11,154.00 |
| Total | $254,616.00 |
| | |
| Recurring Annual Expenses | |
| Rent | $40,800.00 |
| Professional Services | $40,000.00 |
| Utilities | $45,000.00 |
| Staff Wages | $141,600.00 |
| Staff Benefits | $4,000.00 |
| Staff Taxes | $20,384.00 |
| Insurance | $2,400.00 |
| Accounting | $1,200.00 |
| Total | $295,384.00 |
| Capital + Expenses FY1 | $550,000.00 |
SALIENT FACTS
1. This project was motivated by successful lobbying of mayor Wheeler by the Overlook NA to get rid of the homeless campsite in that neighborhood.
2. The task to find a different location for the Overlook campers was assigned to the Joint Office of Homeless Services.
3. JOHS could have proposed a campsite or another solution anywhere within Metro’s geography.
4. JOHS first choice was a publicly owned property in the St. Johns neighborhood that already had 15% Public Housing households which is 5% above Multnomah county’s 10% Public Housing households, 11% higher than Washington county’s 4% and 12% above Clackamas county’s 3%.
5. Lobbying from a business nearby the proposed location caused JOHS to move the proposal to a private property site in St. Johns at 8005 N. Richmond Ave.
6. JOHS and the St. Johns NA held a public meeting in May 2019 attended by 400 concerned citizens. Not one citizen was allowed to comment or ask a question.
7. In October 2019 all 15 positions in the SJNA board were up for election. Citizens who campaigned against the proposed hard-walled homeless at 8005 N. Richmond Ave. won all fifteen seats.
8. No majority of Portland and Multnomah county commissioners has approved Marc Jolin’s unilateral location policy and spending decision for the proposed hard-walled homeless camp at 8005 N. Richmond Ave.
9. Do Good Multnomah, the organization that is eventually supposed to manage this project, has suspiciously signed a contract with the St. Johns Christian church to proceed with this project despite the apparent fact that no contract has been signed between DGM and JOHS nor have any JOHS funds been distributed to DGM for this project. This, of course, raises DGM efficacy and credibility issues.
9. Both the location in the St. Johns neighborhood and the FY1 outlay of $550,000 are both indefensible and highly controversial.
10. The economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus and the guaranteed massive government revenue shortfalls which are sure to affect all governments including Portland and Multnomah county, demand that such an unnecessary, ill-advised and indefensibly extravagant expenditure of public funds on the 8005 N. Richmond project must be stopped and abandoned.
All JOHS funds should be immediately redirected to:
1. Help health care professionals and other first responders throughout the Metro area deal with this crisis by funding whatever are their most critical needs such a personal protective equipment, testing kits etc.
2. Provide funding to immediately house homeless individuals in temporary indoor shelters.
Portland, Multnomah county and JOHS fiscal transparency and credibility demand that a revised JOHS budget with detailed real time expenditures must be published on the JOHS website.
So, the critical question arises for those who aspire to be public decision makers in the Metro area:
1. Have you sent an email to all the Portland and Multnomah county commissioners asking them to -
A. Stop and abandon the 8005 N. Richmond Ave. project?
AND
B. Send a meaningful amount of the $70,000,000 JOHS funds to health care professionals and other first responders throughout the Metro area?
AND
C. Provide immediate funding to house homeless individuals in temporary indoor shelters?
AND
D. Publish a detailed, real time JOHS budget on the JOHS website?
[All candidates FAILED to take any action.]
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