Street Roots • Nov. 25-Dec. 1,2016
Mayor Hales and a legacy to build upon
è are only weeks away from Donald
have adequate ongoing revenue to support
Trump taking over as the new leader of
housing and homelessness?
the free world. People are both scared
You throw the playbook out and create a
and angry. We see the dark clouds gathering on
homeless emergency is what you do. You work
the horizon. We know a storm is coming. Still,
to immediately create policies that should have
we must remain steadfast in the work we all
been in place 20 years ago. You work to help
collectively do for the
create the city’s first affordable housing ballot
common good. We must
measure. You create local taxes, like a short
continue marching toward
term rental tax to secure ongoing revenue. You
the light.
throw out two decades of failed criminalization
efforts against the homeless and turn the city on
Locally, mayor-elect
Ted Wheeler will take
its head. You stand up to powerful interests in
order to deliver something bigger than the next
over Portland in both
By Israel Bayer
election. You buck the trends. And that’s exactly
_______ prosperous and turbulent
times. The tale of two
what Hales has done in his time in office.
cities has never been
It’s easy for the homeless emergency to get
more apparent. For some, Portland is the
lost in the many things that plague our
“Garden of Eden, a paradise for those to live
community and world. The reality on the streets
and see,” to quote the late Woody Guthrie. For
is that the actions of the current mayor helped
others, it’s hard times in the city.
save lives - period. It created a political climate
The new mayor, his team and commissioners
coupled with market realities that made it
have their work cut out for them.
possible to call all hands on deck to
Working to navigate new federal
respond to our housing crisis. Would
realities, a looming state deficit and
it solve the problem? Absolutely not,-
Could he have but doing nothing wasn’t an option.
a growing housing crisis will not be
easy. It will take great leadership to
Without the housing emergency I
gone further
weather the storm.
have no doubt that even more people
with housing
That brings me to outgoing
would be sleeping on our streets this
policies?
Mayor Charlie Hales, a man that
winter.
Possibly. But he
The thing about being a leader is
has faced many critics, myself
stood up to some that you have to do your best given
included. There are many things
of the most
the experience you have and the
that I would have done differently,
but hindsight is 20/20. It’s easy to
p o w e rfu l p la y e r s realities laid out before you. Everyone
W
JU
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots. org
or follow h im on
Twitter @israelbayer.
OIRECTOlt'S
BISK
b e a critic hid ing b eh in d a p en . It’s
In th e c it y to
g iv e p e o p le th e
o p p o r tu n ity to
w ill critiqu e you . E v er y o n e co u ld Eave
done it better or differently. It’s a slog
at times. When it’s good, it’s good,
and when it’s bad, it’s not so good.
I have taken flack from both the
have a good
Hales experienced both in trying to
left and the establishment over my
respond to the housing crisis. Could
night's sleep
criticism or praise of the Hales
he have gone further with housing
administration. This column will
and the
policies? Possibly. But he stood up to
probably be no different.
possibility of a some of the most powerful players in
I can think of no other mayor in
safe place to
the city to give people the
my tenure that has done more for
call home.
opportunity to have a good night’s
the homeless than Hales. You
sleep and the possibility of a safe
might say, what are you talking
place to call home.
about, Israel? The same mayor that
It’s easy to simply look at what’s in
ordered sweeps of the Springwater
front of you and judge a book by its
Corridor or has at times battled the
cover. In the case of Mayor Hales, from day one,
business community of homeless policies? Fair
he stood up against the idea of criminalizing
enough.
people on the streets through sidewalk
Here’s the thing. What happens when even
ordinances, panhandling laws and aggressive
the smartest minds in our city aren’t exactly
enforcement of camping policies.
clear on how to climb out of years of failed
Let’s hope that all of Portland’s future mayors
policies on homelessness? We know that after
have the same kind of courage. That at the end
40 years of federal disinvestment in homeless
of their tenure, we can proudly say we worked
and housing services that our local community
our hardest to find solutions in an impossible
will never be able to scale up to actually solve
situation and tried to be a friend of the poor. It’s
the problem. It’s too big.
more courage than most.
So, what does a mayor do
much harder to be a leader in times
o f g rea t uncertainty.
when they inherit a
city that
doesn’t
Page 3
E d ito ria l
If you would like
to have
something
that you’ve
written published
in our pages, or would
like to get involved as a
member of our reporting staff,
contact Managing Editor Joanne Zuhiat
503*228-5657, joanne@streetroots.org.
We ask that all submissions include the
author’s name and contact information,
if available
Street Roots
211 NW Davis $ t
Portland, OR 97209
503-228-5657
Fax:503-227-3117
www.streetroots.org
www.news.streetroots.org
Hours: 7:30 a.m.*3 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 7:30
a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. and 7:30-11 a m . Sun.
Advertising
Interested in advertising in Street Roots?
Contact Israel Bayer at israel@streetroots.org
Staff
Executive Director Israel Bayer
israetoeetroots.org
Managing Editor Joanne 2uht
joanne@streetfoots.org .
Vendor P ro gram Stre e te r Ctite W fk e t
. cole@streetroots.org
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Development Director Sarah Cloud
Program Assistant Meghann Van Pelt,
Jesuit Volunteer
Development Assistant Patricia Romero
Reporters Emily Green, Suzanne Zalokar,
Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Jared Paben,
Amanda Waldroupe, Stephen Quirke
Photographers Diego Diaz, Joe Glode
Editorial Assistant Monica Kwasnik
Canvasser Desmond Hardison
Board of Directors
Chairman Brad Taylor
Vice-Chairman Rachel Langford
Treasurer Heather Stadick
Secretary Dan Jones
Directors Rich Rodgers, Michael Anderson,
Leo Rhodes, Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Marcus
Swift
Volunteers
Jan Bayer, John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali
Rathore, Zoe Klingmann, Haven Herrin, Dan
Jones, Dennis Hogan, Tom Wright, Judy Taylor,
Karen Allen, Monica McKune, Susan Wolfe,
Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas Buell Jr., Jeanie
Lunsford, Yasmin Amirsoleymani, Jason Cohen,
Tom Ray, Doug Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Jon
Raymond, Hilary Smith, Diana Richardson,
Cherie Manning, Paul and Madeline Gefroh,
Mary Anne Joyce and Faye Powell.
If you're interested In volunteering with Street
Roots, please submit a volunteer application at
streetroots.org/volunteer. Or you can call our
volunteer coordinator for more information at
503-228-5657.