31Ij*
Page 6
Çortlanh (Obseruer
Community Builder
continued
from front
with the formation of her com­
pany, Bratton Construction. The
African-American woman broke
through Portland’s male- and
white-dom inated construction
field after graduating from Port­
land Community College’s skill
center construction program 21
years ago.
She was named one of PCC’s 50
‘diamond’ graduates for her suc-
cess as a business and civic leader.
The honor was part of the
college’s recent 50th anniversary
celebration.
Her company has created more
than 200 jobs in the community,
with business receipts ranging
from a $50,000 contract to her big­
gest at $1.6 million.
Public initiatives that have
helped her succeed in school and
business are examples of what she
wants to see accomplished in
Portland’s governance system,
especially for local youth of color
who can face some pitiful reali­
ties.
“When I met some young men
and I asked them, ‘What do you
wanna do? What do you wanna
be?’ And you know what I would
hear? They would say, ‘I don’t
even think I’m going to make it
past 25,’” she says.
When the lures of gang affilia­
tion began to creep its way into
Maxwell’s own family several
years ago, she did what seem-
ingly comes natural to her; she
built a response. At one point,
one of her three sons was charged
with five Measure 11 offenses.
In the effort to combat the so­
cial ills facing her community, she
was a cornerstone in the creation
of two non-profits.
One of her organizations,
House of Shalom, was made as an
emergency housing transition
program for families of children
that were homeless, and men who
were returning to the “mainstream”
culture, post-prison.
The other group, Y outh/
Young Adults Being Connected,
was created to work directly with
gang-affiliated youth to help them
reconstruct their hopes for the
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future, and divert what often is a
path to prison or death for those
that remain in the trappings of a
downward lifestyle.
Despite her personal efforts to
reach out to bring opportunity to
the disadvantaged, Maxwell cites
the some 500 murders in north and
northeast Portland over the past
20 years as proof there’s a lot of
room for improvement.
She bemoans the poor eco­
nomic conditions many residents
still face and the displacement of
people of color from their neigh­
borhoods and the government
policies that were supposed to
help existing residents.
“I have a track record of seeing
a problem, coming up with solu­
tions, planning my plan and work­
ing my plan, she says.
Maxwell's campaign platform
stands on four cornerstones:
• Establishing elections for the
City Council based on regional
zones like the Multnomah County
Board of Commissioners does.
• Stopping the rising water and
sewer bills for residents in the
city.
• Investing in “human capital”
social programs that give all citi­
zens an opportunity to succeed.
• Accountability as it relates
to city services.
In regards to her opponent, she
accuses Nick Fish of falling short in
his engagement with the public.
“He ’ s been a silent member of the
City Council when it comes to the
Department of Justice lawsuit and
the abuses of the Portland Police
system,” she says. “What Nick has
been doing is building his own port­
folio on the backs of the people he
should have been helping.”
Ultimately, Maxwell says her long
history of community engagement
and rigorous work as a business­
woman will make her the best repre­
sentative for the City Council.
“This is not just my race,” she
says, “My race is about all people.
It’s a shared community value where
at the end of the day we are making
sure that all citizens, throughout all
95 neighborhoods, are able to be
successful.”
__
Charles Washin gton
Past Publisher of the Portland Observer
In memory of an outstanding and dedicated ■
member of Portland's Longest Standing
M inority Publication.
1 ^ J n r t l a t t b
(O b s tru c t