^ ^ J iir t k u t ït (O b s e ru e r M E D
Page B 2
W e e k
O ctober 0 8 . 2003
Business Triples for Ex-Legislator and Consultant
JoAnn Bowman
advocates for the
community
by L ee P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
What does a grass-roots politician do
when she finds herself out o f a job? She
becomes a consultant and learns all over
again about what it's like to be on the
outside trying to get in.
At least that’s how it’s been for JoAnn
Bowman, former three-term representative
o f Oregon State Mouse District 19 (now
D istrict 43). Tw o years ago, w hen
Multnomah County Commission chair
Beverly Stein resigned to run for gover
nor, Bowman quit her own post to run for
chair. Both lost, Stein to Ted Kulongoski,
Bowman to Diane Linn.
Since then Bowman has done consult
ing work for Portland Public Schools, the
Housing Authority o f Portland, the Port
land Office o f Transportation and the
Albina Ministerial Alliance. She helped a
consortium ofthe A frican-American Cham-
berofCom m erceand other minority inter
ests win a city contract for managing
downtown’s Smart Park garages. She also
works with theCommunity Alliance, which
is seeking to ensure minority and women
participation in the development o f the
South Waterfront area, and the Office of
Neighborhood Association’s Citizen In
volvement Task Force.
After the lost election, Bowman said
she took a few months off to explore what
she "wanted to do when I grew up." Work
ing for another public official was out.
“There were only two people I would
have worked for and neither one was hir
ing,” she said.
Encouraged by "mentors” such as fel
low consultant Joan Brown-Kline, she
entered the consultant field. She helped
the Housing Authority o f Portland with
community outreach and planning for the
redevelopment o f Columbia Villa under a
federal HOPE VI grant.
"There w asn’t a lot o f public trust in
theirearly decisions," Bowman said. “Be
cause I knew a lot o f the residents, because
I have a reputation o f listening to the
community, 1 was seen as a credible out
side entity.”
She is currently part of a consultant
team helping the Portland School District
P hoto by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
JoAnn Bowman steps outside after testifying before a recent meeting ofthe OregQn Commission for Woman. A former
state representative from northeast Portland, Bowman is busy working as a private business consultant and commu
nity advocate.
plan the future o f the di lapidated and aban
doned John Adams-Whitaker school prop
erty in northeast Portland. The head ofthe
team, Sumner Sharpe, said o f Bowman,
"S he’s worked well with a wide range of
people, and gotten them all involved in the
process.”
“ My business has tripled in the last
year, mostly from people who have seen
me in action,” Bowman said.
It didn’t begin that way.
“ I was on the city’s pre-approved list
for public consultants for a year, but I
wasn’t getting any work," she said. “Agen
cies tend to use the people they’ve always
used; they don’t do a wide search for new
people. T hat's one reason why I'm volun
teering with Citizen Involvement Task
Force. If we come up with a good system,
there’ll be more opportunity for people to
access the system from the grass roots.”
Bowman feels the "good old (white)
boy network" applies to construction con
tracts, and differs with her former fellow
legislator Randy Leonard on the issue o f
requiring "prevailing wages" on public
projects.
“ I had a wonderful working relation-"
ship with Randy; his only blind spot was
unions," Bowman said. "If unions actually
hired minorities and women, and moved
them through the apprenticeship pro
grams, I would beacham pionofprevailing
wages. But all you need to do is visit a work
site and you know there’s a problem.
T here’s no checking, no accountability
and no penalty.”
The prevailing wage requirement “pre
cludes the ability o f minority contractors’
to get contracts; James Posey is a perfect
example,” Bowman said.
C on versely, her work with the African-
American ChamberofC'ommerce and the
Contract Management Group shows how
things could happen. The group’s suc
cess in winning the parking contract from
City Center Parking shows that “you don’t
have to have minority set-asides; if there’s
a level playing field we can compete with
anyone," Bowman said.
Bowman was bom in Baltimore, and
moved to Portland from Walnut Park, Calif,
in 19 9 1. Looking fora new place to live, she
chose Portland because o f its high quality
o f life, proximity to both beaches and
mountains, and affordability. Although it
lived up to its reputation, she said, “ I had
to get acclimated to it. This was the first
place I ’d lived in with such a small African-
American population.”
Her first job was director o f develop
ment and marketing for the Black United
Fund.
“It was an opportunity to travel around
the state and see what incredible work
people were doing with very little money.” »
She later went to work for Stein before»
winning the District 19 post.
The most satisfying part o f her job, she»
said, was acting as an advocate for her
constituents. Once she was approached
by a single father whose car had broken
down on a freeway two days after pur
chase, and the dealer insisted he had no
responsibility.
When Bowman called and threatened
to introduce a "lemon law,” the dealer
agreed to make the repairs and provide the
continued
on page H8
AAHC IS REACHING O U T
Join the Team!
Eat Right, Get Screened!
African American
Health Coalition, tnc.
Join Us for the 8th Annual Wellness Village
Saturday, October 18, 2003
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
at The Blazers Boys & Girls Club
5250 N.E. Martin Luther King |r. Blvd.
Schedule of Activities
' <-
\
*
9am
10
10:30
Doors open
Opening Drum Ceremony
Keynote Speaker: Joyce
Dougherty, Ph.D, R.D.
11 - 1 pm Gourmet Cooking Demo
12pm
Gospel Choir
12:30
Wellness Walk
1-1:30
Salsa Dancing
1:30-3:30 Gourmet Cooking Demo
3:30-4
Salsa Dancing
Free Health Screenings
V Arterial Stiffness
V Glaucoma Screening
W Blood Pressure Screening
W TB and Lead Screening
W Immunizations
V Prostate Screening
W Bone Density Screening
V Diabetes Screening
V Cholesterol Screening
W Peaceful Pampering
V Glucose & A IC Screening
W Oregon Health Plan
V Body Fat Analysis
V HIV/Hep C Testing
For more information contact AAHC at 503-413-1850 or kareng@aahc-portland.org or visit our Web site at www.aahc-pordand.org