Portland observer., August 20, 1986, Image 1

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PORTLAND OBSERVER
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“ Precious Mother
Justice" Promoting
Candidacy
The home of Madeline Nosbush was the scene of a "Coming
O ut" party for "Precious Mother Justice", promoting her can
didacy for the Honorary Mayor's Race for the Histuric "C ity of
Albina".
1 he Albina Council For Historical Preservation and Tourism
is sponsored by the N./N.E. Business Boosters for the purpose
Cleveland W illiam s
. . “ The P ortland parks are in b e tte r co n d itio n
than m o st
Photo by Richard J B ro w n
New Park Superintendent Gives City
Parks High Marks
by Jerry Garner
"The Portland parks are in better
condition than most; I would rank
them in the top ten in the country
Furthermore, Portland's park sys
tern is unique because of their size
and the level of maintenance they
receive. The parks are well kept,
and the people who use the parks
(even the homeless) seem to have
respect for them ."
The above quotes were rrade by
Cleveland "Cleve" Williams, the
new superintendent of Portland's
Bureau of Parks and Recreation.
Williams, 48. was Senior Executive
Recreation Policy Administrator for
the city of Oakland, California, be
fore taking over the Portland Parks
Bureau. He replaced William V.
Owens who retired August 1st after
serving 30 years with the Bureau
VVilliams, who holds a M S. de
gree in Parks and Recreation Ad
ministration and a B A in psycho
logy from San Jose State Univer
sity, San Jose, California, is well
qualified for his new position as
parks superintendent.
Besides serving as recreation ser
vices manager for the Parks and Re
creation Department in Oakland,
Williams formerly had jobs as assis
tant to the city manager in Seaside,
California, acting city manager of
Seaside and director of Parks and
Recreation foi Seaside
He has worked as a protect direc
tor for the California Youth Author
ity, managing an 18 month research
protect to incorporate recreation in
to the state penal institutions for
youth.
Williams said another area in
which Portland parks differ from
others is in trash volume He said
in other cities, the parks bureaus
have trouble with trash "In Oak
land we had problems with keeping
trash out of the parks The stan
dards of maintenance wasn’t as
high as here."
According to Williams the reason
for the difference is the higher stan
dard of living in Portland than in
Oakland "In what we might term
as low income areas in Portland, the
parks are still maintained at a high
level In my opinion, they 9eem to
be maintained as well as the ones
downtown and in the wealthier
communities Usually one doesn't
see this "
As superintendent of the Park
Bureau. Williams is responsible for
300 full time employees, 160 parks,
and administers a $20 million bud
get He said rt's importer^ that a>.
administrator keep in touch with his
employees I see myself as the facil
itator of all the different functions
within the Park Bureau In addition,
I must make sure the employees
have the resources and tools to do
their |ob," said Williams
Williams said the role of the Park
Bureau will be different in the fu
ture He envisions the Bureau as a
visitors' service attraction
"Our
park system can be used to bring in
tourism and have a direct impact on
economic development in the com
munity This will create new |o b s "
"Myself and Commissioner Mike
Lindberg are looking at the park
system and preparing to do a need
analysis for the future."
Williams said they will be looking
to see how development and parks
can compliment each other
"A
good example of this concept is the
Riverfront Park, with the condomin
iums, restaurants, etc., along with
the park Such attractions will bring
your downtown community alive on
the weekends, not just during the
week when you've got all the people
living in the suburbs coming into the
city working and taking their money
back out. We want these people to
stay here in the city "
ArxSther erne WHiems »ees the
Park Bureau playing a greater role in
in the future is providing child care
service
He said the whole child
care issue is booming nationally
"The Oakland Park and Recreation
Bureau had an after school child
program from 2:30 to 5 00 Before
I resigned. I had proposed to Oak
land city officials to expand this
program until 7:00 in the evening
and pick it up early in the m orning."
Williams was asked whether he
would implement such a plan hare
in Portland.
Williams replied, "I
haven't recommender) the program
to city officials yet, but may do so in
the future."
Williams' administrative style,
along with his qualifications, make
him an excellent choice to head the
city Park Bureau "Administratively,
my style is to work with the commu
nity and be a representative of the
community, to listen to the con
earns of the community, and to try
to solve any problems that may
occur. Rather than say "N o ," I
prefer to say "Yes, we can," unless
it can't be done."
" If you're in government and
aren't willing to share the office with
the public, that individual should be
in the private sector,” said Williams
W o rtha J u s tic e (L), candidntn for M ayor o f Albina, and M adeline
N osbush (R) jo in Ed M itc h n ll in a song d urin g a party to p ro m o te
J u s tic e 's ca nd id acy M ary Sauter plays fo r the trio
Photo by R ichard J B ro w n
of revitalizing this aiea known in the 1870's as "The City of
Albina".
The Council s tw o leading candidates are Mrs
Wortha Justice, whose campaign managers are Bill Green and
Madeline Nosbush, and Sam Brooks, whose campaign mana
ger is his daughter Marion.
"Precious Mother Justice” announced her platform, part of
which reads: Purchase a Victorian Home in the "C ity of Al
bina" (from Justice Reality); Furnish your Victorian Home with
Chandeliers from Juvenation House on Skidmore and Albina;
Get Rid of All Cars Within Albina and Bring Back the Horse
and Buggy; Have more Potluck Picnics at Penninsula Park
Fun and entertainment filled the afternoon
M i. Emmett
Justice, an Irish B-tllad singer, entertained guests from 4 p.m
until 6 p.m ., then our own Ed Mitchell, well know singer, enter
tained from 6 p.m., inviting all to join him in a “ Mitch M iller"
sing a long. "Precious Mother Justice" and the Hostess were
serenaded. Refreshments wore plentiful, and the Silver Bowl
was brimming with donations. Votes for the "Mayor, Mother
Justice" were bought for one dollar each. The candidate turn
ing in the most money will win the Mayor's Race.
More parties w ill ensue toward this cause, culm inating w ith
a Mayor's Ball in October at the Portland Meadows Racetrack
All donations are tax deductible, and will go toward the promo
ting of tourism, a good image, and jobs for the area.
Register Now For Overlook Preschool Classes
Of the many activities made available during the Black United
Front's annual Community Unity Day. the rappers attracted the
youngsters in the crowd. Other activities were live bands, recorded
music, bar-b-que. picnic and speakers from the community. There
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were also trophies awarded for track events and a Black history
quiz for the kids. The event was held Saturday at Peninsular Park.
Photo by Richard J. Brown
• ». » >
Three and four year olds can
learn social skills at preschool class
es held at Overlook Community
Center, 3839 N Melrose Drive.
Registration is now open for the
classes that meet Mondays and
Wednesdays, September 7 October
22, from 10'15-11 46 a m
Through music, movies, stories,
games, cooking, and craft activities,
children will experience a wide van
ety of concepts. Focus will be on
colors, shapes, letters, and num
bers Children must be three years
old by September 1 The fee is $30