Hi Ted Wheeler:
I don't mean to throw cold water on your efforts to enlarge Multnomah county's piece of the tax pie by negotiating a "new covenant" with the chief Portland pastry cutters but it would be useful to keep a few historical facts in mind. Despite our delusional propensity to believe that we are a government of laws not men/women the evidence continues to challenge that assumption.
Example #1.
Here is a brief summary of testimony given by former long time Portland Planning Commissioner Amanda Fritz in October 2006 against a resolution put forward by commissioner Dan Saltzman:
1. Resolution A assigned social services to Multnomah County. Foster care is a county responsibility. The City should fund its own obligations before those of the County. Portland does not have a spare $1.4 million to donate to support a private non-profit social service agency.
2. There has been no open RFP process to determine that if the City does want to give a non-profit agency rent-free use of this newly-purchased city property, Hope Meadows is the best choice.
3. The Portsmouth neighborhood already is challenged with higher levels of subsidized housing and families struggling to stay in Portland than most other neighborhoods. [Portsmouth has the highest total number and the second highest percentage of public housing clients of all 117 neighborhoods in Multnomah county.] Even if city funding of such a program is appropriate, and even if Hope Meadows is the best provider found in a fair RFP process, is Portsmouth and the Ball School site the best place in Portland for its location?
4. The Portsmouth neighborhood needs owner-occupied housing. There are too many questions that must be answered before you move forward with any plan for this site. It is public property - what does the public, specifically the neighborhood, want it used for? Two years ago, HAP documents report Hope Meadows was interested in buying an area of New Columbia. Why did this not happen, and why has a separate site been purchased specifically to give to this organization? Who are the Board members of Generations of Hope (the parent organization) and of Hope Meadows Portland? I am unable to find this information on the web.
Why is this the city's responsibility to fund?
Take particular note of the mention of Resolution A, a covenant if you will, between city and county government and the total disregard given it by Saltzman, Potter, Sten and later Adams and Leonard - to say nothing of their blithe dismissal of due process. Amanda's arguments are as valid today as they were in October 2006 and yet today commissioner Amanda Fritz ignores her own justified position to go along to get along with her new colleagues.
And watch your back with your colleague Cohen. Jeff's election debt to Saltzman, as evidenced by his indefensible public support for the John Ball School giveaway, easily squashed any recognition of Multnomah County's responsibility as elucidated by Amanda Fritz in her accurate description of the Resolution A covenant. Saltzman's former chief of staff, now Multnomah county commissioner Jeff Cogen, still dances to Dan's tune before yours and his constituents who overwhelmingly opposed the Portland Hope Meadows Corporation takeover of public property by brute political force not democratic due process.
3 Votes At City Hall Trump A Covenant Every Time.
Example#2.
Urban Renewal Area money is always up for grabs to those with the political strength to take it for whatever personal political purposes suit them at the time. Like Cogen's debt to Saltzman, Tom Potter had a huge IOU out to Sten. In order to enhance his own political capital Erik collected his due by commandeering more than 100 million dollars in URA money for so-called "affordable" housing which turned out to be mostly PUBLIC housing Sten intended to dump in the same old neighborhoods unable to resist.
In literally a late afternoon surprise raid under mayor Sam Adams' direction the Portland city council recently confiscated 42 employees and more than 100 million dollars in URA money from the Portland Development Commission.
Whatever "covenants" existed between the Portland city council and the Portland Development Commission have been shattered.
3 Votes At City Hall Trump A Covenant Every Time.
Politics is always a contact sport. It is often a blood sport. If you are not prepared to bleed and draw blood you must get off the field.
You have recently shown your mettle in the city hall arena where you bled and drew blood. Bravo! Be careful out there.
Most of all, remember this. When dealing with Urban Renewal Area money and boundaries that can involve public housing, mayor Sam Adams has NO credibility and CANNOT be trusted.
Richard Ellmyer