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W EEK EN D FOR T W O AT
by Inga Sorensen
re gay men and lesbians throughout
Portland being denied housing due to
their sexual orientation? Maybe, at
least according to an organization that
Fields housing discrimination claims.
“W e’ve had several people call to say
thought they had been evicted or denied a renting
opportunity because of their sexual orientation,”
says Pam Slaughter, a fair housing specialist for
the Portland Housing Center, a private, nonprofit
organization that provides a host of housing-
related services. “ In most of these cases these
people are gay or lesbian, but a few were simply
perceived to be gay.”
Under a pilot program approved last year by the
Portland City Council, the Portland Housing Center
became the starting point for discrimination com
plaints in Multnomah County. According to Slaugh
ter, the center receives the initial calls from people
who think they may have been discriminated against,
and then refers the cases to Multnomah County
Legal Aid.
“A typical case may in
volve two women who show
up together to take a look at
a rental apartment. The land
lord assumes they are lesbi
ans and chooses to rent to
someone else,” she says.
“We had one case where a young man had already
moved into an apartment. The landlady seemed to
love him at first. T w o w eeks a fte r he m oved
in, she commented on how sparse his apartment
was and wanted to know when he was going to get
some more furniture. He told her he was planning
to do that when his boyfriend moved up from San
Francisco. Two days later the man received a ‘no
cause’ eviction notice.”
According to Slaughter, landlords can issue
30-day “ with cause” eviction notices which cite
the reasons for evicting a tenant, or “no cause”
notices, in which the landlord is not required to
cite the cause. She says during the past year she
has Filed 50 claims o f housing discrimination
based on familial status (for example, parents
claim landlords w on’t rent to them because they
have children); about 40 race-based claims; and
15 sexual orientation claims.
State and federal laws ban housing discrimina
tion on the basis o f race, sex, age, national origin,
marital status and religion. A Portland city ordi
nance also bans discrimination on the basis of
A
sexual orientation, source o f income and age.
After handling the intake calls, the Portland
Housing C enter passes the cases on to Legal Aid,
which works with state and federal agencies to
track and investigate housing discrimination claims
involving
protected groups in M ultnomah County.
they
The Housing Center, which serves low- to moder
ate-income citizens, can only handle sexual orien
tation cases involving Portland residents because it
is the only locality within M ultnomah County to
legally bar housing discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
“I’ve dealt with a handful o f [sexual orienta
tion-based] cases,” says Hannah Callaghan, super
visor o f M ultnomah County Legal A id’s housing
unit. “There were more cases, but because these
folks didn’t live in Portland, they were not a
protected class. Basically there was nothing we
could do.”
According to Callaghan, most of the Portland
cases have been resolved. “Many o f those cases
involved a landlord send
ing the tenant an eviction
notice. In m ost o f these
cases a fte r intervention
from either ourselves or
BOLI [the state Bureau of
Labor and Industries, which
has contracted with the city
to investigate sexual orientation discrimination
claims], the landlord has withdrawn the eviction
notice.”
Legal Aid also works with the U.S. Department
o f Housing and Urban Development, a federal
agency that investigates housing discrimination
claims. Because there are no federal protections
based on sexual orientation, HUD will not handle
discrimination claims based on sexual orientation.
Callaghan says, “ I would imagine this is a
bigger problem than the numbers would indicate.
For one, a lot o f people aren’t sure where to go
when they think they ’ ve been discriminated against.
Secondly, unless a landlord says something bla
tant, it’s really difFicult to test for sexual orienta
tion discrimination. And, o f course, if you are gay
and you don’t live in a place that has approved
housing protections, you’re basically stuck. You
can be discrim inated against and there’s nothing
you can do.”
If you think you may have been discriminated
against in housing, contact the Portland Housing
Center at (503) 282-7744.
If you are gay and you
don’t live in a place that
has approved housing
protections , you ’re
basically stuck.
SATURDAY OCT. 29TH
N W. 13TH AND HOYT
8PM TILL 1:30PM
THEME COSTUME CONTEST
A local agency can help Portlanders with bias-based
rental or eviction problems
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OdWMTOWM US S I 1SU12MSJS » U l i OSKSO SI I STATE ST I » 4121
Coastal mayor proclaims
“I’m no racist”
Lincoln City’s mayor says he hopes assertions
that he is a racist will Finally be put to rest following
the recent passage o f a city council resolution
condemning intolerance and discrimination.
“ I’m no racist. Things just got blown out o f
shape, that’s all,” says 73-year-old Sam Cribbs,
who has been Lincoln City’s mayor for the past six
years.
Cribbs came under fire in August after he made
what many feel was a racist remark while on a local
radio talk show. Cribbs, who had previously been
involved in a recall effort o f four city councilors
after they voted to cut the city attorney’s budget—
a move Cribbs opposed— says he simply became
angry at a particular caller. Two days before, the
caller, Jack Byrnes, had a letter published in the
local newspaper criticizing the mayor and the
recall effort.
Bymes reportedly called in to the radio talk
program and challenged Cribbs to hold more town
meetings. At that point, Cribbs says he became
agitated and remarked, “L et’s get to a white man.”
“I guess I should have ju st called him a son of
a bitch instead,” Cribbs reflects. “I had a slip of the
tongue. That happens to everybody.”
“ It was ju st incredible,” says Lincoln City
resident Jim Boyer. “ I understand that h e’s part of
the good o l’ boys network and has been involved
in small-town politics for 30 years, but that’s no
excuse for that type of rem ark.”
Oct. 10, the Lincoln City Council approved a
resolution denouncing bigotry, which Cribbs says
he “totally supports.”
For his part, Boyer says he wants city ofFicials
to do more than simply pass a resolution. “How
about we strive for real change?” he says. “ I’d like
to see a city-sponsored multicultural festival or
something along those lines. A resolution is a First
step, but it really doesn’t do m uch.”
inga Sorenson