Street roots
Oct. 26, 2012
Candidates talk on housing and human services
1. Inyour
yourtop
priority be
with respect
to housing
will you
accor
this?
I will continue the Council’s affirmation
of the 30% housing set-aside from urban
renewal districts. Since 2006, this
mechanism has generated more than
$152 million in direct investment to
affordable housing, and it’s led to funding
for successes like the Bud Clark
Commons, Block 49 veterans housing and
others.
Additionally, I will oversee
implementation of Commissioner Fish’s
budget note from this past year’s budget,
Charlie Hales
converting one-time housing general fund
dollars into ongoing dollars over the next two years. Our residents
should feel confident in having choices in housing, and 1 will work
to provide funding to allow for those choices.
Far too many people in our city
struggle to find a decent place to live.
Safe, decent and stable housing is a
cornerstone of a healthy society, yet
close to 5,000 people experience
homelessness in Portland, while many
more are displaced from their
neighborhoods. We can do something
about that.
My top priority will be to work to
establish a significant permanent source
of funding for housing, like a housing
Jefferson Smith
bond. We can provide thousands of
construction jobs, and make safe, decent
housing available for seniors, people on disability and other low-
income people. It won’t be easy, and we’ll have to make a case to
the voters, but I think it’s a campaign we can win.
M y top priority in my second term will be
providing more coordination of services for
vulnerable people, particularly Portlanders
struggling with mental illnesses, drug and
alcohol addictions, and houselessness.
Advocates for affordable housing know what
to expect from me after one term on the
City Council.
I will continue to support Commissioner
Fish and Commissioner Deborah Kafoury at
Multnomah County as they lead crucial work
on the full range of housing needs.
My areas of special expertise are planning and zoning, and
mental health care service coordination. I helped update the tax
abatement program and the maps of eligible areas where affordable
housing incentives are needed. I worked in psychiatry at O H SU for
22 years, and I have been improving the 9-1-1 dispatch system in
my first term.
The system has significant gaps, which the city is now
responsible for fixing due to the Department of Justice mandate
regarding unconstitutional actions by Portland police officers
against people experiencing mental illness. If re-elected, I will
continue pushing to create a seamless system of services between
the City, County, Home Forward, non-profits, and agencies
including Portland Police, Portland Fire & Rescue and mental
health care providers.
My top priority is access to safe,
appropriate and affordable housing at all
income levels with an emphasis on
preserving existing housing. This includes
efforts to prevent any further foreclosures
and give homeowners an opportunity to
protect their housing and the investment
they have made in their homes.
The recession has been hard on Portland
families, but the city can assure that civil
rights of homeowners are protected.
Mary Nolan
Individually as a city commissioner I will
use my relationships with the lending community to make sure they
respect the human needs for housing and the authentic efforts of
homeowners to meet their obligations and make sure families are
not forced out onto the street. This also includes supporting the
Portland Housing Bureau in participating with non-profits, lenders
and the state.
Street Roots,
Oregon
Opportunity
Network, JO IN ,
Community
Alliance o f Tenants
and 211info in
partnership with
the Portland
Community College
recently held a
candidates forum.
More than 150
people attended.
The candidates
were asked the
following questions
ahead o f the forum.
2. What are the revenue and policy priorities that you will work for at the state and federal levels to increase access to affordable housing and
human services?
C h a rlie H a les: At the state level the
city will work to support and advocate for
Representative Kotek’s Housing Choice Act
of 2013. Ending Section 8 voucher
discrimination would work to create more
housing choices for Portland residents. But
that’s only part of the battle, without
funding, affordable housing remains
mythical. I will direct the city government
relations team to advocate for more funding
from the legislature so that we can provide
more choices for more Portlanders. I will
also work with our congressional delegation
to provide tax abatements to those whose
houses have been overvalued on their tax
bills, but undervalued by the downturn in
the housing market.
Je ffe r s o n Sm ith : I’ll start with a
holistic approach. Take inventory of the
resources going to homelessness and
housing, from all major sources. Get a
good sense of where services and housing
are provided. Envision the ideal set of
services and structures with an eye to
those resources. Then work with the
housing community to focus the resources
toward that vision, working for ever better
alignment with the county, and not taking
Federal limitations on dedicated funding as
concrete givens (we can work with our
Congressional delegation on waivers)
I’ll push to overturn the ban on
inclusionary zoning, a practice that allows
cities to require developers to include
affordable units. The developers pushed for
a statewide ban, and Oregon is one of only
two states that prohibit local governments
from creating inclusionary zoning
practices. We need better ways to allow for
affordable housing improvements without
being limited to tax credits or statewide
subsidies that we can’t afford.
We should also look regionally. Metro
developed a regional housing strategy a
decade ago, but Portland carries much of
the weight. With leadership we will bring
in partners for regional solutions.
' A m a n d a Fritz: We need more money
from the federal and state governments. I
am open to considering all viable options.
In my first term, I established a regular
annual process where community members
participate in setting the City’s federal and
state legislative priorities. Affordable
housing advocates attended the two
community input sessions this summer,
and gave many great suggestions for
improvements. I will continue to
coordinate joint lobbying on shared
priorities when re-elected.
M a ry N olan: In the legislature, both as
co-chair of the Budget Committee and as
House majority leader, I prioritized both
direct services from Oregon Housing and
Community Services and funding for
preserving and expanding affordable
housing options.
M y working relationships with key state
leaders have been built up and deepened
over the last 12 years. I have strong
working relationships with six of our seven
congressional delegates, including having
worked directly on affordable housing and
social services with three of them as
colleagues in the legislature. I will use
those relationships to help provide ongoing
funding.
To address human services, I was a lead
negotiator for expanding funding for the
Healthy Kids program, expanded funding to
provide assisted living tind foster care
services for senior and disabled
Oregonians, and for measures that
preserved human services during the
deepest part of the recession.
I am also opposing Measure 79 that
would embed in the constitution the
prohibition of real estate transfer taxes
because I feel local communities should be
able to access that revenue source and
others to protect their local affordable
housing program.
See Candidate, page 5
M any thanks to all o f our volunteers who contribute your time and energy towards Street Roots!