In an unnecessarily long afternoon of testimony orchestrated by self-interested temporary presiding council president Dan Salztman, important players in this game of public property theft that are currently or soon will be looking for votes were nowhere to be found.

Alicia Fuchs, elected Multnomah county circuit court judge and Portland Hope Meadows board member failed to appear in the court of public opinion and tell us why she supports Due Process in her courtroom and not at city hall. 

Representative Tina Kotek who opposed the project in 2006 has apparently been swallowed up by the public housing establishment as she has been by the failed for-profit private health insurance industry.

Dan Saltzman’s obedient protégé, Multnomah county commissioner Jeff Cogen, may have been hiding out at the still empty Wapato jail rather than tell us why North Portland voters should show him respect much less endorse his reelection based on his support for a policy of unlimited neighborhood concentration of public housing in his own district.

City council candidate Charles Lewis was a no show. Amanda Fritz, who testified quite forcefully against the illegitimate process and the Portland Hope Meadows plan in October of 2006 watched the proceeding but refused to testify. When asked why she didn't speak up she grabbed her cell phone and literally ran like a scared rabbit out of the council chambers. If Amanda is elected she's going to fit in just fine with the city hall culture of fear and disingenuousness. So much for all the Planning Commission fastidiousness to rules and detail and unflinching support for neighborhood participation in public decision making. Lewis and Fritz, especially Fritz, have turned me, a strong supporter of taxpayer financed elections, completely against it. If taxpayer financed candidates reject sunshine and due process for darkness and back room vote swapping, I don't want to pay for it.

Not a single member of the Portland city council nor a single member of the Portland Hope Meadows board ever acknowledged that the Portsmouth neighborhood has the highest total and the second highest percentage of public housing clients of any neighborhood in Oregon.


Not a single member of the Portland city council nor a single member of the Portland Hope Meadows board ever acknowledged the complete and utter abandonment of Due Process.

Not a single member of the Portland city council nor a single member of the Portland Hope Meadows board ever acknowledged that this entire matter was a farce requiring vote trading, back room deals and NO Public discussion and debate about the disposition of surplus city property, the John Ball School site.

Not once did mayor-elect Sam Adams mention that he had sold his soul, and Randy Leonard's, to Dan Saltzman for a pocketful of IOU Votes.

All of the Portland Hope Meadows corporate testimony consisted entirely of self-serving personal, yet irrelevant, stories and never mentioned the harsh reality of economic, social, educational and security issues to be foisted upon the neighborhood that has overwhelmingly rejected this destined to fail experiment in social engineering.

Since Sam Adams secretly authorized this deal some months ago the rules of the game became irrelevant, again. The resolution which Adams and Leonard voted against in October 2006, required the Portland Hope Meadows corporation to return to the council by the end of October 2008 and demonstrate that they had full hard dollar funding. They showed up with barely minimal funding asking the council to change the rules and give them the lease first and they would get the money later. When the fix is in at city hall the rules, the law, the democratic process go right out the window just like at the federal level. The President, the Vice-President and the Attorney General of the United States have nothing on the Portland city council when it comes to ignoring everything and everyone to get what they want. Bravo progressive Portland politicians. You and Sarah Palin play just like the big boys.

This game is far from over. Adams and Leonard have sold out but there are many other targets on the Portland Hope Meadows board and amongst its funders that have yet to be put to the test.

At the end of the day the majority of North Portland property owners, business owners and residents just want more owner occupied market rate housing. The Portsmouth neighborhood and much of North Portland is already full and beyond capacity with government subsidized low-income housing. We've done our part. Enough is enough. It's got to stop.

The NIMBY do-gooders from West Linn, PHM Corp. Chair, and the West Hills, Dan Saltzman, need to stop too.


Richard Ellmyer

Prepared Portland City Council Testimony 10-2-08

The president of the North Portland Business Association has authorized me to quote the following: “We are against the development by the Portland Hope Meadows corporation at the former John Ball School site. North Portland has been a landing ground for government assisted housing to the point of over saturation. The businesses of North Portland need a community that has an equitable share of disposable income. We feel government funded housing is necessary, but should be equitably distributed throughout the entire city, rather than misappropriated to historically impoverished areas. We feel placing another government funded housing community of any flavor in North Portland is not only discriminative but criminal.”

But I didn’t come here to persuade any of you. That shipped sailed long ago.

I’m hear to listen to Alicia Fuchs, elected Multnomah county circuit court judge and Portland Hope Meadows board member tell us why she supports Due Process in her courtroom and not at city hall. 

I’m hear to listen to the President of Legend homes tell us how his bankrupt company can afford to contribute $250,000 to this morally bankrupt project.

I’m hear to listen to Portland Hope Meadows funders, Windermere real estate agents in Kenton, the managers of both North Portland branchs of  the Bank of America, the managers of the Interstate and Peninsula Fred Meyer stores,  the manager of the N. Interstate branch of Parr Lumber, Adidas America headquartered in North Portland and the Children’s relief nursery in St. John s, tell us why we should continue to do business with them.

I’m hear to listen to representative Tina Kotek who opposed the project in 2006 but since then has apparently been swallowed up by the public housing establishment.

I’m hear to listen to Saltzman’s protégé Multnomah county commissioner Jeff Cogen tell us why North Portland voters should show him respect much less endorse his reelection based on his support for a policy of unlimited neighborhood concentration of public housing in his own district.

I’m hear to listen to city council candidates Charles Lewis and Amanda Fritz tell us why they support Due Process and oppose back room political deals.

Most importantly l’m hear to listen to anyone who will argue against the proposition that mayor-elect Sam Adams should be held totally and singularly accountable for forcing this terrible plan on to the Portsmouth neighborhood and North Portland.

This is a battle of property owners, business owners and residents of North Portland versus the taxpayer financed public housing establishment. Elected officials will vote with whichever group has the biggest numbers and the most clout. At the moment that is not us. But, in time, it will be because we’re mad as hell and were not going to take it anymore.