QTiye
A p ril 24.2013
f o r ila uh (jObseroei
This page
Sponsored by:
IN S ID E
Page 3
Fred Meyer
What's on your list today?»
H ealth
pages 6-7
O pinion
pages 8-9
• «|j?4ï£,.uu
C alendar
page 10
,
.
photo by
D onovan M .S mith /T he P ortland O bserve ,
Leslie Goodlow-Baldwin keeps equity in focus as operations manager at the Portland Housing Bureau
METRO
Eveningthe Field
page 11
Housing
executive looks
to lift up those
left behind
D onovan M . S mith
T he P ortland O bserver
S even m onths as an executive
w ith the P ortland H ousing B ureau
and L eslie G oodlow -B aldw in has
one m ain goal in m ind; to even the
playing field in the c ity ’s housing
needs. It is a lofty goal, but consid-
ering h er credentials, it is certainly
achievable.
W ith m ore than 16 years u n d er
h er belt as a senior m an ag er w ith
M ultnom ah C ounty, specializing in
m ental health and developm ental
disabilities, the new business op-
erations m an ag er for the H ousing
B ureau not only has a solid grasp on
the w orkings o f the city, but also
how to m ake policies w ork.
by
She sees h er position as an op-
portu n ity to support city efforts in
giv in g needed attention to groups
that have often been ignored and
som etim es taken advantage o f in
the housing m arket.
T o have an even plane, y o u ’ve
got to give less attention to those
w ho have been m ost serviced, so
you can start to bring up those that
have been left beh in d ,” G oodlow -
B aldw in said.
H ousing has long been a p ro m i
nent issue for - people o f co lo r in
___________
r ______
_
Portland,
from the ____
V anport
housing
projects (then the largest in the co u n
try, h o u sin g upw ards o f 4 0 ,0 0 0
people at its peak), to redlining
w hich confined A frican-A m ericans
to inner north and northeast Port-
land, to gentrification w hich is now
effectively uprooting these sam e
fam ilies from north and northeast to
the outskirts o f the city w hile, m ore
fin a n c ially stab le, m o stly w hite
hom eow ners take their place,
She also recognizes the historic
dow nsideform any low -incom eresi-
hom es fo r m uch less than the tru
value o f th eir hom es.
G oodlow -B aldw in, one o f the fe\
m inority resid en ts left in h er Pied
m ont district hom e, says h er mail
box is flooded w ith offers to pui
chase the h ouse she shares w ith h
h u sb an d and tw o children,
The renovation that accom p.
nies g entrification has not only le
m any A frican -A m erican s w ithout
cultural cen ter in the city, it is leav
ing m any struggling to keep a roo
o v er their heads.
She w ants the P o rtlan d Housing
B ureau to look at housing as a right
and said
that UIV
the lilV
m os
---—
*** it is tim e U1UI
Fi
v ulnerable g et the attention neces
sary to begin to prosper.
H er com m itm en t to equity bring:
new energy to the bureau into plac
ing fam ilies in hom es.
G o o dlow -B aldw in has a spot ir
h er heart fo r the R ose C ity and the
people inside its borders. W hethei
serving on the board fo r the P o rt
land Sister C ity A ssociation, o r re
cruiting princesses fo r the Portland
R ose Festival. She w as the first
A frican-A m erican president o f the
historic
in z 2007
served o on
j ™
inMui
iv c event
v e in in
u u /a and
n u served
dents w ho w ere bought out o f their the R ose Festival board for 10 years
INIEOTAINMENT
pages 12-16
C lassifieds
F ood
Fluoride Vote Draws Activists
pages 17-19
page 20
A ctivists from P o rtla n d ’s m in o r
ity co m m u n ities are stepping up
an d n e ig h b o rh o o d c a n v a sse s to
spread the w ord about the benefits
cam p aig n s for and against a M ay 21 w ater fluoridation can provide to
b allot m easure to add fluoride to o u r com m unity.
Portland w ater supply.
O n Tuesday, the C enter for Inter-
T he U rban L eague o f Portland cultural Organizing held a rally at their
calls fluoridation a m uch needed North Killingsworth Street headquar
p u b lic h e a lth in te rv e n tio n . T h e ters to show case fam ilies o f color
gro u p has jo in e d o th er social ju s w ho are im pacted by poor dental
tice o rganizations and com m unity health, and the shortage o f dental
activists in hosting phone banks care for low -incom e households.
O n the oth er side o f the issue, the
P o rtlan d b ranch o f the N A A C P
voted last w eek to oppose flu o ridat
ing P o rtla n d ’s w ater supply.
“C hildren grow ing up in co m m u
nities o f co lo r already face risks
from m any different environm ental
chem icals,” N A A C P Political C hair
C heryl C arter said. “T h e y d o not
need m ore chem icals added to th eir
drinking w ater.”