5
street roots
Dec. 23, 2011
SMITH, from page 4
housing support, it is a perniciously thin
reed upon which to restall our hopes. At
some point, we’ll have a lot of urban renewal
zones. We already do.
J.T. What are your ideas to sustain or
increase funding for affordable housing?
J.S.: To some degree, I’m looking to the
housing community for their best ideas. The
first I’d say is a commitment not to make it
worse. The second is to work with our
federal delegation to make housing a
priority. Third is to consistently
communicate that the 30-percent set-aside
needs to be a floor not a ceiling. Four, we
need to highlight the challenges of housing
and homelessness in our community and the
public dialogue. I’m not prepared to call it a
silver lining, it’s a bronze lining at best, that
the economic crisis reminded people how
connected our homes are to our lives and
our economy. The other thing that I’m
looking to — and it’s different than
sustaining, hopefully amplifying — is for
mechanisms to increase funding, including
potentially using currently vacant property
that will help us with resources as distinct
from tax increases and tax breaks.
J.T.: I was hoping you could talk about
getting communities that haven’t been engaged
in politics to become politically active.
J.S.: Somebody said something to me
recently that I’m pretty close to adopting:
“The only ideology I have that I’m sure
about is civic engagement.” There has to be
a city in America where the people rule.
I’ve spent a better part of my adult life on
that question, imperfectly, but, working on
•it And here are some thoughts. Generally, it
takes two things to get somebody engaged: a
relationship, or a set of relationships, and
so m e th in g th e y ca re about. And as w e look
at a changing city a city that’s not getting
whiter, we need to be thinking about how to
engage new communities, both by expanding
on our relationship sets and by working on
relevant purposes.
That is one of the reasons why I think I’m
orie of the only candidates not to come out
swinging against the Communities of Color
proposal for an Office of Equity. Because we
should get smarter about our changing city,
and because we have to be looking for ways
to engage communities in a political
discourse. There are still issues about
reducing barriers to government, making it
easier for us to understand what we do,
bringing City Hall to the people.
I can’t promise it in the first or second
year, until we get a handle on our genera)
fund, but I think we should get orie
telephone number for all non-emergency
government telephone calls as they’ve done
in Minneapolis and New York. It also doesn’t
answer questions of barriers in peoples’
lives, from having to work a bunch of jobs,
and facing a more challenging situation of
having the wherewithal to engage in
community activities.
J.T. Do you have any ideas on how the
county and the city can collaborate on meeting
the needs of people living in poverty?
limited to our homeless and low-income
populations. We have youth passes for
Portland Public Schools students. We don’t
have them for Parkrose, David Douglas,
J.T. You mentioned the Office of Equity. I ’d
J.S.: At least more joint-budgeting.
Reynolds and Centennial school district
like to get your thoughts on it, and if there’s
We risk forgetting that we have to worry ’ And those are in areas where it’s harder to
anything you’d like to see come out of that
about both the big C City and the little c
ride a bike and harder to walk and more
office.
city. For instance, when I came in I said, I
dangerous. But it also limits opportunities to
want to reduce crime, and one way I want to get an after school or summer job, or be
J.S.: I hope that we would do at least
do that is by increasing police officers on
part of an after school or summer program.
three things. One is to improve our
the beat and by increasing our presence that So having access to transportation has
occasionally good track record on minority-
would also increase the need for jail beds
appropriately been a priority for the city.
women-emerging-small-business contracting.
and for services at the county. If I’m mayor,
Two, improve our ability to hire and retain
it’s not my problem. But of course it is my
J.T.: There’s been a lot of money raised in
top-flight people from various walks. Three,
problem. It is all of our problem; we are all
the mayor’s race. I wanted to know if you
have a better sense of evaluating and how
in this together.
worry that there’s too much private money in
we can come to grips with our changing
Politics?
Portland and making sure that an
J.T.: Every year public transportation gets
increasingly diverse Portland is not
more expensive and free public transportation
J.S.: There is. The interface of political
decaying, but is one that is getting more
in downtown keeps getting chipped away. I
power with the money that dominates our
rich and more robust and more competitive
know that TriMet is beyond the purview of City campaigns and the linkage between that
Council, but I was wondering if you had any
and more compassionate.
money and largely narrower and generally
And that third one is where I think there
ideas of how to preserve the Free Rail Zone.
economic self-interest is tied to the biggest
was some consternation among critics that
problem facing our system of governance.
somehow learning things is some how a
If there is a book written about the failure
J.S.: We have seen the advantage in
wasteful exercise in government. I t isn’t
of the United States democratic elected
cities, not just in terms of social justice, but
republic, one of the most important
The best institutions in the public, private
also in terms of economic development and
chapters will be that we were unable to
and nonprofit sectors are learning
retail. Denver, Colorado’s downtown has
make a good amount of decisions based on
made its relatively spread-out downtown
institutions that are figuring out what
functioning, in
public interest outcomes. We were too often
they’re doing better.
making them based on who was paying the
significant part,
That’s not a waste of
because you can hop
freight
resources; that’s a
on free rail and go
The campaign contribution is the only
valuable thing. We
"If we're not doing
can have a plan to
everything we can to reduce around. When we had financial transaction, that I’m aware, after
greater support for
which both parties insist that nothing has
learn from the
homelessness on the front
changed. This is why I have proposed
free rail, my
success and failures
end or provide services to
impression is that
campaign finance bills in each of my
of other
sessions in the Legislature. That’s why I was
one elemerit of that
municipalities that
end people's experiences
one of the leading fund raisers, ironically, in
have faced a changing
initiative is that it
with homelessness on the
population. That’s
would help with the
the public-financing campaign in Portland.
back end, then It feels
functioning of
one of the most
The failure of that is one of the reasons I
important things we
am running for mayor. If that’s restored, it
downtown retail. So
somewhat disingenuous to
will be a question for the people not the
one answer is
can do in the next 30 make It a crime to find
thinking about the
years of our city. A
mayor. It reflects some of the challenges
somewhere to sleep."
that our city is facing. I wish and hope that
politics and the
single office, or a
single employee, or
the candidates for mayor would agree upon
economics of a
a maximum spending limit on each of our
revitalized downtown
even a few isn’t
i
campaigns. There needs to be a city and
that has even the
enough to do that,
country where the people rule.
business owners wanting free rail. I don’t
but if they can help shape the culture and
Let me say something else. The problem
have a brilliant funding idea. Although I’m
shape the strategy of what the City is facing
is not too much money, or at least we should
hoping to.
then that’s a noble pursuit.
state the problem differently. Think about
I have a question that I haven’t yet got
how much money gets spent on marketing a
answered, which, is, if depending on what
J.T.: I ’d like to get your thoughts on the
product. Do you know how much money
happens with the elimination of the free rail
Right to Dream Too encampment and the
Coca Cola spends to sell a product you can
camping ordinance that the city has.
zone, what is the desirability or doability
get in any location just about any time just
with charging, but then having a remote
about any day and it gives you a sweet taste
J.S.: I’m about a week behind in what’s
system of vouchers to allow for a Street
on your lips? We have to do something, I
currently happening with the camping
Roots vendor or somebody who goes to
lawsuit, but I have said, and will repeat here, Outside In or somebody who is working with don’t mean canvas, we have to do something
to communicate with people about engaging
that a settlement offers us a good
JOIN to get rail passes? And I acknowledge
in an activity that has to be done in a
opportunity to look at what Eugene is doing, that it is not only beyond the area of control
relatively particular way in a relatively
which is using willing church properly as a
of the office of which I seek, but the
particular time at a relatively particular
camping opportunity. We can’t make
granularities are beyond my ambit of
expertise, but I am probably at least as open place and doesn’t give you an obvious sweet
homelessness itself a crime. If we’re not
taste on your lips. I do think that somebody
as you are to thinking about how we can
doing everything we can to reduce
has to communicate with the people, but we
make it possible for people to get around.
homelessness on the front end or provide
I was talking to the parks department and have to make sure that we are cognizant of
services to end people’s experiences with
how much that looks like purchasing
those that do summer programs, and they
homelessness on the back end, then it feels
influence or access and how much it looks
somewhat disingenuous to make it a crime
were saying that one of the biggest barriers
like engagement of the public.
to summer and after school programs is
to find somewhere to sleep.
transportation. The challenge isn’t just
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