November 2012
NEWS
Candidates Face-Off
tive and funding for improvements to
Portland State University and Portland
Community College that she helped
obtain in the state legislature. “Judge
me by the results,” she said.
Fritz replied, “I’ve been doing the
job for four years, so you know what
you can expect from me. We do better
when we actively engage citizens. In
the worst recession we’ve seen in my
lifetime, I focused on the job at hand,
and didn’t let personalities get in the
way.”
Citing her 15 years as a West Portland
Park neighborhood volunteer she said,
“You need me on Council because I
know how it looks on the ground.”
Both candidates supported a pro-
posed Portland School District levy for
building improvements and creation of
a library district. They differed on the
“arts in school” measure.
Nolan said, “I tried really, really hard
to convince myself to support this. My
daughter is an artist. But the funding
mechanism is seriously flawed. It’s
the same tax for a single mother as for
someone making $3 million a year.”
Fritz replied, “I voted to refer this to
the voters. I will vote for anything that
puts teachers in classrooms. It’s those
on welfare who most need access to the
arts. I’m tired of cuts to schools.”
Fritz was part of a unanimous, and
controversial, Council decision to add
fluoride to Portland waters. Asked
about this she said she had been in Eng-
land when the discussion started, and
by the time she returned three Council
members had declared themselves for
the measure.
She conceded the matter should have
gone to a public vote (as it now will),
and that she listened to six hours of
testimony before declaring herself,
but said she supported the measure in
principle. To the argument that fluoride
supporters can supplement the water
they or their children drink Fritz said,
“Children don’t get to choose their
(Continued from Page 1)
Hales said.
Both said they would like to fire Of-
ficer Ron Frashour, involved in a fatal
shooting, but that they saw no point in
fighting a court order to reinstate him.
Both said they supported a proposed
levy to restore art and music instruction
to public schools, albeit with strong
reservations, given the nature of the
tax. “I hate it, but I’m voting for it,”
Smith said. “I’ve seen the impact of not
having art in schools.”
“I support it, although I wince at the
choice of revenue sources,” Hales said.
“Until we get better education support
from the state, patch jobs like this are
necessary.”
Asked about providing additional
sidewalks and bike facilities, Hales said
that at the current rate it would take
2,000 years to provide paving where
needed. He suggested a citywide solu-
tion to the issue.
Smith told those present, “You
should be in cahoots with East Port-
land,” which has similar unpaved
street problems. While otherwise
critical of Mayor Sam Adams, Smith
praised his Out of the Mud initiative
for a flexible approach to street paving.
“We have to be creative with the money
we have,” Smith said.
In the City Council debate be-
tween incumbent Amanda Fritz
and challenger Mary Nolan, the
contenders were asked, “What’s
the difference between you and
your opponent?”
Public criticism of Fritz has been that
she has few tangible accomplishments
to show for her four years on Council.
Nolan focused on this, saying, “I’m
focused on delivering results and ob-
taining tangible improvements.”
Nolan cited the Healthy Kids initia-
The Southwest Portland Post • 7
parents.” She noted that Nolan had
declared that she favored fluoridation.
Nolan said, “I had a chance to look at
the issue from all sides. It’s incumbent
on leaders to lead – not blindly or ar-
rogantly – but I will tell you where I
stand on issues. You can count on me
to be honest with you.”
Asked about changes in waste col-
lection, Nolan said that she had been
head of the Bureau of Environmental
Services when curbside recycling was
introduced. Regarding the current
cutback in garbage collection and cit-
ing the needs of new mothers using
disposable diapers she said, “We didn’t
carefully think through the process.”
Fritz defended the change, saying
that the program has provisions for
people who need extra service, that it
will be reviewed by the City Council
in November, and that based on input
at a web site most Portlanders support
the system.
Asked about transportation pri-
orities, Nolan said hers was “to make
sure we preserve the usefulness of our
investment in infrastructure through
maintenance.”
Nolan added, “Many Portlanders
don’t have a 21 st Century transporta-
tion system, and they deserve to. We
need to complete it in southwest and
other areas.”
Fritz cited the recent construction of
sidewalks on Southwest Luradel Street,
and voiced her support for Mayor Ad-
ams’ Out of the Mud initiative.
DEQ to clean up South Portland property
contaminated with lead
By Lee Perlman
The Southwest Portland Post
Having spent four months investi-
gating, the Department of Environ-
mental Quality has zeroed in on three
South Portland properties in need of
cleanup from lead contamination.
Earlier this year DEQ identified
236 SW Flower St, now occupied by
a house but for 60 years the site of
Portland Metals’ lead smelter, as a
contamination source.
Last summer, DEQ’s Scott Manzano
told the South Portland Neighbor-
hood Association, the agency visited
properties within four blocks of the
site and asked to test the soil.
The agency received permission to
test the soil located at 22 addresses,
and of these found five with lead
levels in excess of DEQ’s standard of
400 parts per million. They eventu-
ally whittled this down to the Flower
Street home and two adjacent lots in
need of cleanup.
The agency has decided to remove
the soil containing the highest concen-
trations of lead to a hazardous waste
landfill, Manzano said.
DEQ will then place a “hardscape
cap” over the contaminated areas.
Manzano said there was no evidence
the lead was leaching into ground
water.
In places the soil at the Flower
Street address contained 50,000 parts
per million of lead, the neighboring
houses up to 5,000 parts per million.
Greg Ware of Multnomah County
said that subsurface concentrations
of lead pose little danger to people. A
greater danger, especially to children,
lies in lead in loose surface soil or
peeling paint.
“One paint chip can poison a child,”
Ware said. However, lead levels in
children diminish rapidly “when the
problem is abated.” He added, “We
don’t recommend growing gardens
in soils with lead above safe levels.”
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