Street roots
3
Dec. 9, 2011
Forum raises candidates views on housing, homeless policy
BY JOANNE ZUHL
STAFF WRITER
ayoral candidates squared off over
issues of the street Dec. 6 in the
Mayoral Candidates’ Forum on
Housing. The forum featured frontrunners
Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales and Jefferson
Smith, along with Joshua Nuttall, Loren
Charles Brown and Shonda Colleen Kelley
in what has become a crowded race for the
city’s top post
The event was sponsored by Oregon
Opportunity Network, Street Roots, JOIN
and 211Info, and featured questions drilling
down on the candidate’s plans for
addressing homelessness and affordable
housing in Portland during tough economic
times.
Common threads in the discussion were
streamlining city government, creating more
public-private partnerships, focusing on
finding dedicated funding sources for low-
PHOTO BY ISRAEL BAYER
Mayoral candidates Jefferson Smith, Charlie Hales, Shonda Colleen Kelley, Loren Charles
income housing, and praise for the success
Brown, Joshua N uttall and Eileen Brady answer questions during the Mayoral Candidates
of the 30. percent set aside from urban
Forum on Housing Dec. 6 at the First Unitarian Church in Portland.
renewal districts.
Questions focused on finding new revenue
sources to replace declining funding
“The federal government has abdicated
secure more federal dollars. She also
streams, job creation, gentrification, and
its responsibility. But as a city, we can’t,”
emphasized a commitment to job creation,
balancing civil rights against the homeless
Smith said.
which creates a more substantial tax base,
condition.
Charlie Hales emphasized greater
and referred several times to the Portland
Jefferson Smith pushed one option by
partnership with surrounding governments,
Plan and its stated pledge to increase and
reflecting on a nationwide lawsuit brought
and said he wanted to see the entire
maintain the city’s supply of low-income
by states, including Oregon, against
metropolitan region dedicating its share to
housing.
mortgage companies and banks that, if
the housing crisis.
Brady’s message on gentrification issues
successful, could bring a windfall of between
“We need to call the rest of the region to
was to stress revitalization in a form that
$15 million and $50 million into the state.
do their part as well as we do ours in
doesn’t create displacement.
Smith proposed that money should be
Portland,” Hales said.
“Revitalization is good. Displacement
applied as seed money to buy foreclosed
Along with support for the 30 percent set- isn’t,” she said. “We want to increase our...
homes from banks and reissue them back to
aside and incentivized public-private
tax base, but not at the expense of
families at affordable prices to preserve
partnerships, Eileen Brady said she would
destroying communities and displacing
their housing.
push to have greater lobbying efforts to
people.”
M
Smith stressed the need to incorporate
housing investment with infrastructure
investment, including public transportation,
employment opportunities and other
community amenities.
All of the candidates expressed support
for loosening restraints on anti-camping laws
to allow for legalized camping in small
measures. Such a plan, involving the faith-
based community, is under consideration in
City Hall.
“Fourth and Burnside is a good example
that it doesn’t take $100,000 to create a safe
place for people to sleep at night,” said
Joshua Nuttall.
With the opportunity to speak in general
about their intentions as mayor, Loren
Charles Brown said he would be the
“people’s mayor,” and the face and voice of
the people, especially those experiencing
homelessness, “Your voice has been
suppressed long enough,” Brown said.
Brown also proposed that as mayor, he
would join stakeholders in sleeping on the
streets to, “have everybody go out and feel
what it’s like to be homeless.”
Nuttall embraced his underdog status,
expressing support for the Occupy Portland
movement, the reduction of city
bureaucracy, and called for the creation of a
professional skills library for the creation of
self-employment enterprises.
The 90-minute forum included set
questions from organizers and several
submitted by members of the audience. In
addition to the discussion held during the
event, questions were submitted in advance
to the candidates, and their responses are
available at the candidate’s answers link
through the post on the event at www.
streetroots.wordpress.com.
Fallen Off
the Edge
A new hook by A rt Garcia
"Fallen Off the Edge" is a chronicle
of one man's experiences after returning
from the Vietnam War. Told through the
eyes of Street Roots columnist Art
Garcia, this book celebrates the major
victories born from a series of
questionable choices. Art's jocular
storytelling takes the reader along with
him in and out of the California prison
system over the course of 10 years until
he found the strength and courage to
pull himself up from the fall.
The book is available online at www.
blurb.com under searchword Art Garcia.
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