Dear Mayor Adams, Commissioner Nick Fish And HAP Chair Jeff Bachrach:

As a candidate for state senate district 22 I will be presenting to the voters, i.e. the Multnomah County Democratic Party and the Multnomah County Commission, my public policy legislative proposals for the 2011 legislative assembly. They will include several plans related to Public Housing (means test + government subsidy + rental agreement) which is totally under government control.

In order for the voters and other candidates to evaluate, support or challenge my public policy legislative proposals it will be necessary for them to have authentic, accurate, complete and timely public housing statistical data from the Housing Authority of Portland and the Bureau of Housing whose combined annual budget approaches $200,000,000.

The mayor of Portland has the authority to remove any member of the HAP board at will. The mayor of Portland has the authority to remove control of city bureaus from any commissioner at will. Given these powers it is the mayor of Portland who will ultimately be responsible for providing or withholding the requested public housing statistical data.

Time Is Of The Essence

The following data SHOULD be on computer files which can generate the requested reports in a matter of minutes if not seconds. If this public data is NOT on computer files then an immediate investigation must be conducted.

Please provide the following authentic, accurate, complete and timely public housing statistical data from the Housing Authority of Portland:

Report #1. HAP Public Housing Program

A tab delimited text file with the following fields: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Income 4. Neighborhood 5. Last Modification Date, for ALL clients in this database.

Report #2. HAP Section 8 Housing Voucher Program

A tab delimited text file with the following fields: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Income 4. Neighborhood 5. Last Modification Date, for ALL clients in this database.

Report #3. New Columbia in North Portland's Portsmouth Neighborhood Program

A tab delimited text file with the following fields: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Income 4. Neighborhood 5. Last Modification Date, for ALL HAP public housing clients (means test + government subsidy + rental agreement) living in New Columbia as of September 1, 2009. 

Report #4. HAP Affordable Housing Program

A tab delimited text file, including the total number of public housing (means test + government subsidy + rental agreement) HAP clients living in all of HAP's 32 properties in Multnomah county as of September 1, 2009, with the following fields: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Income 4. Neighborhood 5. Last Modification Date.

Please provide the following authentic, accurate, complete and timely public housing statistical data from the Bureau of Housing:

1. What is the current total budget for the Bureau of Housing including the newly acquired funds from the Portland Development Commission?

2. How much of the current total budget for the Bureau of Housing including the newly acquired funds from the Portland Development Commission is dedicated to PUBLIC Housing? (Public Housing = Means Test + Government Subsidy + Rental Agreement)

3. What is the total number of PUBLIC Housing clients the Bureau of Housing is expected to serve in the current and next fiscal years.

4. Please provide a tab delimited text file with the following Bureau of Housing statistical data:

A record for every PUBLIC Housing client that includes fields for age, gender, neighborhood, income and last modification date.


It is my intention to transmit the data you provide immediately to the voters in this election to appoint a state senator to district 22 i.e. the Multnomah County Democratic Party and the Multnomah County Commission, and other candidates, prior to the election convention on Thursday September 17, 2009.

FYI

The following letter has been endorsed by three groups in senate district 22, The Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee, the North Portland Business Association and the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee.  

November 7, 2007

Dear Portland Development Commission:

We, the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee, support a public housing location policy of equitable distribution of public housing (defined as requiring three components: means test + government subsidy + rental agreement). This is consistent with the public housing location policy of the Portland Bureau of Housing and Community Development's published public housing location policy which is:

1. Maximize housing choice, especially for low-income people who have traditionally been limited in the location of housing that they could afford; 

2. Discourage the concentration of low- or no- income households in any one area of the city; 

3. Encourage the creation of additional housing resources for low-income households integrated throughout the community.

Much of the work of the citizen volunteers on the ICURAAC involves advising the PDC on how to spend public funds on public housing. Acknowledging equitable distribution of public housing as a policy gives us the foundation upon which we can make reasonable, justifiable and defensible decisions.

As an operational imperative of a public housing location policy of equitable distribution of public housing, we have set 15% as a cap on the percentage of public housing clients in any of the 10 neighborhoods included in the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area which would allow future PDC funding for public housing projects. The Portsmouth neighborhood, which has more than 30% public housing clients, is indisputably in this category. As a result, we, the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee, exercise our advisory responsibility by advising you, the Portland Development Commission, to stop all future funding for pubic housing projects in the Portsmouth neighborhood and redirect those funds to other Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area neighborhoods with a population of less than 15% public housing clients.

Thank you for your support of this recommendation by the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee.


Sincerely,

Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee


On behalf of the voters in this election to appoint a state senator to district 22 i.e. the Multnomah County Democratic Party and the Multnomah County Commission, other candidates and all the citizens living in state senate district 22 I thank you for your authentic, accurate, complete and timely response.

Richard Ellmyer