‘T he
August 31. 2011
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Advocating for a Portland Office o f Equity are community activists Dora Perry (from left), City Com
missioner Amanda Fritz, and Anne Naito-Campbell. The office would battle disparities and work
toward a more equitable future for all residents.
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Office of Equity Vote Nears
Fritz brings in
supporters to
rally effort
by M indy C ooper
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C lassifieds
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A ugust C alendar
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F ood
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T he P ortland O bserver
The Portland City Council has
scheduled a hearing Wednesday,
Aug. 31 to create an Office of Equity
in an effort to eliminate disparities in
a more racially and ethnically di
verse city and achieve equitable
outcomes for all residents.
The ordinance, which is co-spon
sored by Mayor Sam Adams and
Commissioner Amanda Fritz, has
been three years in the making after
equity emerged as a value and goal
Portlanders feel passionate about
when researching the city’s 25-year
Portland Plan.
"Success of this work, so that
measured outcomes are better than
in all the previous good-hearted
attempts to eliminate disparities and
achieve equity, depends on shared
ownership,” said Commissioner
Fritz.
Although recent studies have
shown that more diversity is com
ing to Portland every day, the gap
continues to widen between those
who have access to a good educa
tion, employment, healthcare and
other issues, and those who don’t.
People of color and people with
disabilities experience higher rates
of poverty, unemployment, and
shorter lifespan compared with other
Portlanders.
The office would look at policies
and practices within the city as well
as externally with community groups
and neighbors to find ways to de
crease disparities.
In a visit to the offices of the
Portland Observer on Northeast
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard,
Fritz said a lot of people within the
community are not willing to admit
we have a problem of race and eq
uity in Portland.
She said one mission of the Eq
uity office will be to educate and
help everyone within the commu
nity to begin thinking with an “eq
uity lens.”
A lthough som e in d iv id u a ls
throughout the community seem to
have a skeptical eye as they still wait
on a clear and strategic plan for
action, Fritz said, “we have to figure
that out together, and it takes more
than just city employees. It’s got to
be everybody.”
“We need real collaboration and
transparent accountability within
government, and between govern
ment and all our diverse communi
ties,” she said. “Only then will all
people in all communities thrive and
make Portland truly a socially, envi
ronmentally, and financially healthy
place to live, work, and play.”
The office could start with three
employees and a $525,000 annual
budget, Fritz said.
She said there would be a lot of
conversations, which will hopefully
lead to changes in the high level of
inequality in the city. “Even if you
don’t care about the issue morally,
socially this is an economic issue.”
The Urban League of Portland,
one of the nation's oldest and larg
est community-based movements
devoted to empowering African
Americans to enter the economic
and social mainstream, is one orga
nization advocating for an effec
tive, accountable Office of Equity to
lead and implement an equity strat
egy for the city and region.
The organization said they are
calling on the Portland City Council
to take a firm step toward eliminat
ing racial and other disparities in the
city by passing the Office of Equity
ordinance and they said will take
part in the public hearing at City
Hall.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.
and the vote will take place next
Wednesday, on Sept. 7.
“The Office of Equity is an impor
tant tool that can create an inten
tional, accountable, city-wide strat
egy, instead o f piecemeal one-off
projects with limited success,” said
Marcus C. Mundy, Urban League
o f Portland president and chief ex
ecutive officer. “We hope the City
Council will pass this ordinance. It
is an investment in the future and
will reap benefits for all Portlanders."