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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 2010)
Page 18 ^ortlanb (Observer November 24, 2010 YOU B CHECK CENTERS Family Owned. Serving this community for over 20 years!! L ow est R ates on M L K —G uaranteed! Western Union • Utility Payments Money Orders • Prepaid Debit Cards We cash all checks Always the best customer Service!! 5132 NE MLK Blvd. (503)284-2277 1724 NE Broadway (503) 288-8845 Contractors Challenge Equity Hodge Comprehensive Counseling Service ° 1 ” NWVC Portland Congress Center 10 0 1 S W Fifth Avenue, fito 1 1 0 0 . Portland. Oregon 9 7 2 0 4 P h o n e :5 0 3 -2 2 0 -1 7 9 0 Email: hodgohapks@msn.eom Fax: 1 + 5 0 3 -2 2 0 -1 8 1 5 www.hodgoeounsoling.eom Dr. H. L. Hodge. P h .D . Lieensed C h ris tia n C ounselor Counseling God’s Way Services Include: • • • • • James Posey of Portland (second from right) joins other members of the National Association of Minority Contractors to meet with U.S. Department of Transportation officials to address contracting policies that promote diversity with minority and disadvantaged business opportunities. Relationship Specialist Stress Management Grief Counseling PTSD Motivational Speaker Delegates meet with federal transportation officials D espite legislative guidelines for inclusive contracting for federally fu n d e d tra n s p o rta tio n p ro je c ts , there are vast disparities in p artici pation by D isadvantaged B usiness E n terp rise (D B E ) co n tra cto rs in projects throughout the nation. T o address these issues, Lennie C hism o f S pringB oard E conom ic D evelopm ent C orp., led a recent m eeting w ith U.S. D epartm ent o f T ransportation officials and rep re sentatives from N ational A sso cia tion o f M inority C ontractors, in cluding leaders from O regon and M in n eso ta. Jo in in g the g ro u p w as Jam es Posey o f Portland, a representative o f O r e g o n ’s N A M C g r o u p ; K a th le e n M e y e r a n d C a r lo L achm ansingh, o f N A M C M inne- B U S IN E S S D ir e c to r y ç^USt Q&dlbönS is G u in n III 503.703.4462 cgiii65@aol.com Shirlene Carson, O w ner forali Occassions (Div. o f ExecTrav) / State ------ -\ Farm * Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office. Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Ernest J. Hill, Jr. Agent 4946 N Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OR 9/217 503 286 1103 Fax 503 2861146 . erme.hill h5mb@statefarm com 24 Hour Good Neighbor Service® limi *■■■) T racey H ick s 503.317.5834 t rahicks@msn.com www.traceyhicks.com 4932 N E 30th A lberta Street Portland O R, 97211 503-288-8977 Bus. 503-481-8007 Cell justballoonsinc @ aol. com A sota; and T in a D ortch, ex ecu tiv e d irecto r o f the national association, T he group m et w ith C am ille H azeur, d irecto r and Joseph A ustin, asso ci ate director o f U.S. D epartm ent o f T ran sp o rtatio n ’s Civil R ights D ivi sion. S pringB oard presented a 10-year report on federally funded tran s p o rta tio n p ro je c ts in M in n eso ta show ing-i less than one percent ( $45 mi 11 ion) o f contracts w as a w arded to DB E contractors out o f $6 bil lion in total contract aw ards. A s a result, C hism m ade a form al request to p ro vide the definition o f non co m p li ance for U.S. D O T funded projects and requested aggressive sanctions for non-com pliance. C hism , w ho has been w orking w ith several N A M C state chapters, stressed the need to close the eco nom ic achievem ent gap at U.S. DOT. He spoke to the fact that D B E co n tractors are den ied opportunities or w ork on D O T projects across the nation in spite o f state D O T s claim s o f DB E program com pliance with its ow n guidelines. “T here appears to be a lack o f clarity by the U. S. D O T staff to access and determ ine co m pliance w ith D B E contracting g u id elin es,” C hism explained. “ A s a result, this has ren d ered D O T efforts fo r in clu sive contracting in effectiv e.” Posey, a long-tim e civil w ork co n tracto r in O regon, shared p o si tive ex am p les o f his w ork w ith T riM et, the regional transit agency in Portland that has built a national m odel for inclusive contracting and w orkforce diversity. H ow ever, P osey also ex p ressed his frustration w ith the O regon D e partm ent o f T ransportation, w hich has a p o o r record o f D B E p articip a tion for a decade follow ed w ith sev eral years o f very lim ited p articip a tion o f A frican A m ericans. He em phasized the fact that even after discrim ination w as found in a 2007 D isparity Study and hard goals w ere set for A frican A m erican and A sian c o n tra c to rs, he w as c o n cerned there w ere ongoing attem pts to subvert the pro cess by using firm s that pose as D B E contractors. Posey also pointed out attem pts to pit o th er m inority contractors w ithout hard goals against the A f rican A m ericans and A sians. T he hard goals for A frican A m ericans and A sians are being fram ed as d i m inishing goals and opportunities for others m inority groups w ho also have legitim ate disparity claim s, he said. M eyer, w ho is N ative A m erican and a heavy highw ay co n tracto r . from M innesota, spoke about costly attem pts to underm ine h er business th ro u g h c o st m a n ip u la tio n s and m aterials rejection. She spoke about dw indling utilization o f m inority contractors in h er state and d isin centives to stay in business. L achm ansingh, a lighting supply contractor, also from M innesota, ex p ressed d eep co n cern s about the bidding process and how m inority contractors are system atically priced out o f the m arket. H e also presented a recent exam ple o f how a D O T- funded light pole project in St. Paul reflected a 0 percent inclusionary contracting goal. The U.S. D O T staff explained they w ere scheduled to m eet w ith the M innesota D epartm ent o f T ran s portation o fficials, and that they are currently review ing som e o f the O D O T certification issues and other issues in O regon and w ould share th e s ta tis tic s S p rin g b o a rd p r e sen ted . H azeur indicated she w ould p ro vide feedback to C hism follow ing h er state level m eetings and stated she could not co m m en t on sanc tions. F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n a b o u t SpringB oard, visit sb 5 0 1 c3 .o rg ; and m ore inform ation about N A M C O r e g o n (N A M C O ) v is it N A M C - O reg o n .o rg .
