Street roots
S e p t 2, 2011
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‘I have a sen se o f urgency, but we need to do it right’
Controversy over the city’s fa ir housing a u d it doesn’t sway efforts to push forward on a pla n fo r more tests
BY JOANNE ZUHL
STAFF WRITER
V \ o r the past several months, the
H pendulum has been in full swing over
X the issue of fair housing
discrimination in Portland. It began with a
preliminary report from the Fair Housing
Council of Oregon (FHCO) indicating
rampant discrimination, prompting a
demand from the public and media for
enforcement and transparency on the
information.
Subsequently, Housing Commissioner
Nick Fish crafted a Fair Housing Action
Plan, unveiled m June with state and federal
officials by his side, including Labor
Commissioner Brad Avakian, with the state
Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), |
which investigates housing discrimination
reports.
Then in August, the BOLI gave an
unflattering review of the Fair Housing
Council’s report, calling into question its
practices and results, and ultimately
dismissing the one complaint filed against a
Portland landlord as a result of the survey.
A swing and a miss.
Nonetheless, Fish and his Portland
Housing Bureau say they stand by the
proposed Fair Housing Action Plan, even as
the credibility of the fair housing audit that
fueled its creation it has been deemed
unreliable by the city. The plan is slated for
a vote; by the City Council in September.
“If we’re serious about ending
discrimination, and maintaining the public
confidence in our work, we’ve got to have
good reliable data. And that will be one of
our first orders of business, once we adopt
our fair housing plan, to work with HUD to
get better data,” Fish said.
FOR
RENT
J.N3U
ROd
in the'report “does not rise to a level
sufficient for serious consideration of a
Commissioner’s complaint.”
n February, the FHCO presented the city
with its results of 50 housing tests? Out of
those 50 tests, the Fair Housing Council
reported finding discrimination based on
race or national origin in more than 32.
Among the disparities in treatment were
African Americans and Latinos being told
higher move-in costs and higher rent, and
additional costs that were not applied to
white applicants.
JV h en -it w asd isclo se.d in A pril, th e a u d it ,•
I
FOR
RENT
J.N3R
R Od
"There has been a lot of
misunderstanding about
what the original intent of
the study was, and what can
be done with it now that it
has been completed —
especially with the public
disclosure of who the targets
were. That made it harder
for us to move forward."
M OLOY GOOD
F A IK H O U S IN G
C O U N C IL O F O R E G O N
(with discrimination),” said Portland
Housing Bureau Director Margaret Van
Vliet “I know that there’s a big problem out
there and I don’t want that undermined by
this.” |
On Aug. 23, BOLI dismissed the only
complaint by the FHCO resulting from last
year’s audit of fair housing practices in ,
Portland. BOLI released the decision after a
contentious giveand take with FHCO oyer
the testing methodology that ultimately
implicated Cascade Community
Management in treating potential renters
differently based on their national origin. |
BOLI, the statewide agency that enforces
housing daw and civil rights, said the testing
Veterans Stand Down &
Job Fair event, Sept 20
A
11 veterans and their families
are welcome at the Veterans
X j L s t a n d Down & Job Fair - a free
event with access to dozens of
employers and agencies on Tuesday,
September *20th from 9 a.m. until 4
p.m. at the Oregon Convention
Center. Attendees are urged to bring
their resumes; 50-plus employers are
expected.
In times of war, Stand Downs were
the opportunity for combat units to
take time to rest and recover at
secure base camp areas. This year,
there will be nearly 100 Stand Down
events held across the country. Last
year, the Portland Stand Down
attracted more than 600 veterans.
Portland’s Stand Down is organized
by Central City Concern in
collaboration Department of Veterans
Affairs, Returning Veterans, Oregon
Paralyzed Veterans of America,
WorkSource Oregon and other
community organizations. Call Central
City Concern at 503-226-7387ur visit
www.portlandstanddown.org for more
Van V lie t sa y s t h e city w a n ts to s e e FH C O
bTOUght up toxapacityv With proper training,
“I t ’s in o u r in te re s t to h e lp th is
critics, alike. F ish cam e u n d e r a tta ck for n o t
releasing the results publicly and the targets
of the audit sooner, and for appearing lax on
enforcement against the alleged offenders.
The results of the survey were turned over
to BOLI for further investigation and to
determine if they were substantial enough
to proceed with a legal, case.
By then, the Oregon Senate Republicans
had jumped into the fray with a letter to
Attorney General John Kroger and Labor
CQnunissioner Bsad Avakian calling for ihore
aggressive investigating and prosecuting
violations of fair housing laws. Avakian fired
back, defending the work of BOLI and
FHCO. |
In June, in an open meeting at City Hall,
and, capacity b uilding m oving forw ard.
sta ff and accoun tab ility.
c a u sed a fury am on g h o u sin g a d v o ca tes and
-believe th a t th e.re isn’t actually a pro b lem
Fair Housing Advocacy Committee, which
will review data on rental processes, and
ensure that reports and complaints are sent
to BOLI for enforcement
But the thunder behind this plan began to
wane after the city and BOLI began
reviewing the data and methodology behind
the FHCO. survey. Among their concerns
were that many of the tests were conducted
over the phone, were inconsistent with
FHCO’s own standards, and that they were
simply too limited in scope to be conclusive.
By June, only one formal complaint had
moved forward to BOLI as a result of the
FHCO’s survey. And when BOLI and the
city raised questions about the methodology
of the testing, FHCO refused to turn over
the additional documents, saying they
included trade secrets. Eventually, BOLI
responded on June 22 with a subpoena for
the information, with which FHCO
complied.
On Aug. 9, the city suspended contract
negotiations with FHCO for the coming
year.
“Our concerns are based on interactions
and communications with staff, feedback
from our partners, and a preliminary review
of the audit tests and supporting data,”
wrote Portland Housing Bureau Director
Margaret Van Vliet in a letter to FHC
Executive Director Moloy Good. Van Vliet
said the city had concerns over FHCO’s
capacity to perform the scope of the work
moving forward, and that those concerns
have been passed on to the Department of
Housing and U rb an D evelopm ent, asking i€
to provide technical a ssistan c e w ith auditing
City Commissioner Nick Fish unveiled his
new plan. He was joined by Avakian and
John Trasvina, the assistant secretary for
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at
HUD.
The plan includes a mix of enforcement,
education arid outreach, coupled with annual
fair housing audits covering more protected
classes than FHCO’s initial survey. All
results would be referred to the Civil Rights
Division of BOLI for further action. It also
includes streamlining the intake and referral
process, in collaboration with many
organizations and government agencies.
All of this would be overseen by a new
organization be a high-performing nonprofit
that serves its public mission,” Van Vliet
told Street Roots. “We’re disappointed in
the results, but we’re not going to throw
them underthe bus. We have not given up
on them.”
(Van Vliet announced on Aug. 12 that she.
would be leaving the Portland Housing
Bureau in September to head up the Oregon
Housing and Community Services
Department, the, state’s housing finance
agency.) •.
In the past year, the Fair Housing Council
has conducted audits of fair housing .
See FAIR HOUSING, page 5
Veterans educational and organizing resources available
In August, the Veterans for Peace
National Conference wrapped up four
days of work and networking here in
The Ground Truth, dir. Patricia
Portland. Here is a list of recources for
Foulkrod, 2006.72 min.
Sir! No Sir!, dir. David Zeiger, 2005.
Why We Fight, dir. Eugene Jarecki,
education and collaboration in reflection
2006.
of that event:
Books
Military & Draft Counseling Project -
War Resisters League Portland: provides
To End all Wars: A Story of Loyalty and
free counseling on conscientious
objection, selective service requirements,
the delayed enlistment program and pre-
enlistment; coordinates classroom
presentations featuring veterans and
military families. Email: contact@wrlpdx.
Adam (2011)
Road from ar Ramadi: The Private
Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia: An
Iraq War Memoir, Mejia, Camilo (2008)
Blood on the Tracks: The Life and
Times of S. Brian Willson, Willson,
org or phone (503) 238-0605.
Brian (2011)
Recruiter Watch PDX: educates youth
and communities about the realities of
war and military life, the fine-print of the
military contact and the “poverty draft”
and provides alternatives to the military.
Contact: rwpdxcoalition@gmail.com
Gl Rights Hotline: gives free, private
counseling for people wanting out of the
military, 1-877-477-4487.
Rebellion, 1914-1918, Hochschild,
Online
Before You Enlist! (14-min video) -
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=kcz7NFrPUgO
Not Your Soldier - http://
notyoursoldier.org/index.php
Ya-Ya Network - http://www.
yayanetwork.org/
Illustrator Tomer H anuka donated this prin t to
Veterans for Peace with proceeds to go to the
organization.