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PORTLAND OBSERVER
USPS 959*680-855
April 13. 1983
Volume XIII, Number 26
25C Per Copy
Two Sections
<> t n r Puhluhing C o . ZttSI
Mayor Ivancie's budget rips MHRC to shreds
Mayor Frank Ivancie’s proposed
budget for 1983-1984 would gut the
M etro po litan Hum an R elation *
Commission, reducing its staff from
twelve to two.
In a period when overt racial har­
assment is increasing and even mini­
mal efforts to provide equity are dis­
appearing, why would the Metropo­
litan Human Relations Commission
be all but eliminated?
Is the culprit the sharp blade of an
uncaring mayor bent on reducing
budgets? Or is it a power trip by the
Commissioner in charge?
M ayo r Frank Ivancie it nol
known for his attention to human
rights, but during budget debates a
year ago he was protective o f
M H R C , praising its work and point­
ing out that it was the only agency
whose budget was not cut. Why has
the mayor changed his mind?
A ctually no money has been
saved by transferring M H R C pro­
grams (and money) to other bu­
reaus: Fair Housing to the Housing
Policy Council. Handicapped Pro­
gram to the Bureau of Human Re­
sources, and M ediation to the O f­
fice of Neighborhood Associations.
CONGRESSMAN HAROLD WASHINGTON
Racism defeated
in Chicago
Congressman Harold Washington
was swept into the office of Mayor
of Chicago by a tide of black voters
Tuesday. In the highest voter turn­
out in the C ity ’ s history, an esti­
mated 82 percent Washington took
about 97 percent of the black voters
and enough Hispanic and white vot­
ers to win 51 percent of the vote.
In his victory statement, Wash­
ington asked for unity.
W ashington, an attorney, first
worked for the C ity o f Chicago,
then was an arbitrator for the Illin ­
ois Industrial Commissioner. He
ran for the Illinois legislature in
1964, serving a term in the House
and three in the Senate.
His influence grew when he was
first to demand a federal investiga­
tion o f the FB I shooting o f Black
Panther members in Chicago in
1969.
W ashington, a D em ocrat, was
elected to the U.S. House of Repre­
sentatives in 1980 and immediately
became one o f the strongest sup­
porters o f the Voting Rights Act.
Washington has a strong labor rec­
ord.
Washington's election is expected
to bring 50 years of machine politics
to a close. The machine rests on a
patronage system that controls the
employment o f about h a lf o f the
40,000 city employees. Lacking civil
service protection these employees
have been at the mercy of the politi
cians.
Washington has pledged to bring
change and to include all sectors of
the population in the benefits and
responsibilities of city government.
His success is expected to depend on
his ab ility to radically shift city
spending and economic develop
ment policies toward neighborhoods
and away from downtown business.
That is the only way he can satisfy
black’s demands for redistribution
o f wealth without taking jobs and
services away from white neighbor­
hoods.
Among Washington's campaign
promises were to provide every per-
(Please turn topage 5 column 4)
"M a y o r Ivancie would not be so
refined as to move programs
a ro u n d ," one C ity employee whq^
chose to rem ain unnamed aild.
" P ra n k would just cut. H e 'd say
this is what you get; do what you
want to with it."
MAYOR IVANCIE
Attention then turns to Margaret
Strachan, the Commissioner in
charge. A month or more ago Com­
missioner Strachan met with several
M H R C staff members and let them
know that their director, Linda
Roberts, could be replaced even
though she is under civil service.
When those present said that was
not even a topic for discussion,
hothing more was said.
That Commissioner Strachah has
problems with some of her bureau
directors is well known. She re­
moved Irma Hepburn from her po-
COMMISSIONER STRACHAN
sition as executive director o f the
Hum an Resources Bureau, and
erased that position in the process.
The new H RB budget contains no
director and that bureau is run out
of the Commissioner’s office. She is
also known to attempt to become in­
volved in the inner workings of her
bureaus and to relate better to ad­
ministrators who both take her sug­
gestion* and give her credit for their
programs.
S taff members o f M H R C relate
Strachan's effort to have one senior
employee, who is black, removed
from the M H R C sta ff and
Executive Director Linda Roberts’
refusal to elim inate his position.
M H R C commissioners express
resentment
o f Commissioner
Strachan's attempts to intervene in
the operation of the office.
M H R C is not a City bureau, but
is an independent Commission
funded by Multnomah County and
the C ity o f P ortland. The policy
making board hires its staff, who
are civil service employees.
Armando LaGuardia, Chairman
o f M H R C , explained the budget
processes. Budgets are designed by
the M H R C Commission and staff,
and then passed to the C ity C o m ­
missioner in charge, and the Mayor.
If financial cuts are to be made the
M H R C Commission is told so it can
use its judgement o f where cuts
should be made. " N o one told us.
The entire budget has been changed
and the s ta ff reorganzied and we
didn't know anything about it," he
said. " W e ’ve never been treated like
this by any other Commissioner.
Obviously these changes were made
by Commissioner Strachan and the
M ayor."
"M any of the Commissioners are
very angry," LaGuardia said. "This
was done without any consultation.
It looks like the budget was used to
restructure the bureau. I f the Com ­
missioner in charge thinks changes
should be made there should be dia-
I Please turn to page 4 col. 4)
Neighborhood offices face severe cuts
Mayor Frank Ivancie’s proposed
budget w ill reduce the O ffic e of
Neighborhood Organizations’ bud­
get by 46 percent— to a level that
will destroy what is recognized by
the City as the spokesman for neigh­
borhood residents.
W ith the destruction of the sys­
tem of neighborhood organizations,
the average individual will have no
voice in City Hall.
The current O N A budget funds
the central administration and five
neighborhood offices. Each office
has a coordinator and clerk and also
houses the Neighborhoods Against
Crime program.
The proposed budget would re­
duce the funding for the Northeast
Neighborhood Office from approxi­
mately $65,000 to $29,994. Approx­
imately $14.165 is for rent, postage,
p rinting, d istribution and other
costs of providing services for nine
neighborhood organizations, while
about $15,000 remains for person­
nel. Thic could fund one part-time
clerk, but one person could not ful­
fill the expectations of the office.
The neighborhood crime preven­
tion program will receive a 31 per­
cent cut. These programs provide
inform ation to residents, organize
block programs, sponsor workshops
on crime prevention and distribute
locks. They are provided space and
clerical support by the neighbor­
hood offices. I f the new budget is
adopted the Northeast O ffice will
have one part-time person.
The M ayor's proposed budget
comes to $152,593,398, down ap­
proximately $500,000 from fiscal
year 1982-83.
Bureau budgets vary from a 10.9
percent increase for the Police Bu­
reau to a 10.1 percent reduction of
social and cultural services.
The Hum an Resources Bureau
proposed budget is approximately
$4,121,950, a reduction from
$4,293,533.
The Bureau, with 15 full time po­
sitions serving the Area Agency on
Aging. Youth Services, Portland/
Multnomah Commission on Aging,
M e tro p o lita n Youth Com mision
and possibly the handicapped pro­
gram transferred from the M etro­
politan Human Relations Commis­
sion, will nol have an executive d i­
rector. The agency will pay $45,973
for rent in the new Portland Build­
ing.
The hearing on the O .N .A . bud­
get will be Tuesday, A p ril 19th, at
1:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Longshoremen hit Reaganomics
by Ruben Rangel and Lincoln Smith
POR T L A N D — "Reaganomics
rewards the rich at the expease of the
poor,” said Jim Herman, president
o f the International Longshore­
m an’ s A Warehouseman's Union
(IL W U ) at the opening of their con­
vention here A pril 11. "T h e y turn
on the money spigot upon those sat­
urated with wealth, sickened with
greed and what splashes o ff them is
supposed to be what trickles down
to us," he added.
In response to the "nightmare of
unemployment and bankruptcy,”
the IL W U has called for nationali-
zation , economic planning and
" W P A -lik e projects" that would
put several million people back to
w ork. An emergency resolution
passed by the convention demanded
"unlimited unemployment benefits
for a l l . . jobs at union wages” and
"n o evictions of unemployed work­
ers.” The IL W U suggested closing
corporate tax loopholes and reduc­
ing spending to pay for this emer­
gency program.
Other resolutions passed by the
298 delegates were those in defense
of civil rights and immigrants, not­
ing the "racist edge” of Reagan’ s
economic policy. "This professional
performing President has not in a
single instance come to the aid of
the 42 percent black unemployed,”
Herman said.
It is expected that pending resolu­
tions in support o f congressman
Ron Dellums and M a rtin Luther
King, J r., w ill pass unanimously.
Dellums has “ become the target of a
so-called investigation into drug use
on Capitol H ill,” the IL W U resolu­
tion states, at a time when Congress
is debating on the Bilateral Nuclear
Freeze. The attack is "p o litic a lly
motivated” because Dellums is "an
advocate o f transferring m ilitary
I Please turn to page 4 col. 4 )
'Poaching' trial renewed attack on Indian fishing rights
When the Indian people o f the
Northwest ceded most o f their land
to the United States through treat­
ies, they retained the right Jo fish in
their accustomed places and agreed
to share the fish with the white set­
tlers.
Following years o f harassment,
inlimitadion and denial of this right
the Indian nations fin a lly won a
series of federal court decisions up­
holding their rights. Among these
was the Boldt decision which inter­
preted the treaties as guaranteeing
the Indian people 50 percent of the
catch.
The Boldt decision did nol end
the war on Indian fishing. In addi-
tion to hostility by non-Indian fish­
erman, government regulatory bod­
ies have denied the Indians their
share by manipulating the fishing
season and allowing commercial
fisherman to take the best runs be­
fore they reach the Indian fishing
grounds upstream. Offshore fish­
ing, dams and pollution have deplet­
ed the salmon runs.
O f even greater importance to the
government and the corporate
world are the side elfects o f the
Boldt decision. I f the Indian tribes
have the right to 50 percent o f the
fish, how far does their right to pro­
tect this resource go? This question
has far-reaching implications for the
timber and agricultural interests, ef­
fects power plant siting and
hazardous waste storage, and in­
volves the quantity and quality of
water supplies.
The latest battle is now being
fought in Los Angeles, where 17 Co­
lumbia River Indian fishermen are
being tried for "poaching."
Indian people still living the tradi­
tional life along the river are a l­
lowed to catch fish for ceremonial
purposes and for food out of season
but not to sell their catch. Regula­
tion of this rule is the responsibility
of the tribes under tribal law.
The 17 people who are being pro­
secuted by the U.S. government are
traditional people. The first group,
now being tried in Los Angeles, is
David SoHappy and his son, David.
Jr., who live at Cooks Landing fish­
ing village in W ashington, and
Bruce Jim and his wife, Barbara, of
W arm Springs. They believe they
have the right, as Indians have for
centuries, to use the salmon of the
Columbia River at any time.
The case is being tried under the
1981 Lacy Act which makes it a fed
eral violation for anyone to import,
export, sell, receive, acquire or pur­
chase any fish or wildlife taken or
possessed in violation of any other
federal, state or Indian tribal law or
rule. It carries penalties of five-year
imprisonment and $20,000 fines for
each act (each fish).
The act is new and untested so
these trials will be important in es­
tablishing the constitutionality and
application of the law. At question
is whether ihe U.S. government can
prosecute an Indian for breaking tri­
bal laws. If this prosecution is suc­
cessful it broadens the U.S. govern­
ment’s right to intervene and endan
ger the sovereignty of the Indian na­
tions.
The case contains a number o f
Constitutional question: The evi­
dence was gathered over 14 months
by federal agents who acted as fish
(Please turn to page 2 column I)
Liao Manning, a Jaffaraon atu-
dent, haa boon named a 1983
U.S. National Award winner by
the U.S. Achievem ent Aca­
demy. She la the deughter of Mr.
and Mra. Vollle Manning.