Building
the Wall
A story about
what happens
if fear wins
‘City
of
Roses’
See Metro, page 9
Fluffy
Iglesias
on Tour
‘I’m not
fat’ star has
Portland date
See A&E, page 11
Volume XLVI • Number 17
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • April 26, 2017
Committed to Cultural Diversity
photo by M ark W ashington J r ./t he p ortland o bserver
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (center) addresses issues of housing affordability, police reform and other topics during a visit to the offices of the Portland Observer. Wel-
coming the mayor are Portland Observer Publisher Mark Washington (right) and Editor Michael Leighton.
City Matters
by Z achary s enn
t he p ortland o bserver
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler
pushed his agenda on the critical
issues of housing affordability and
police reforms during a visit to the
offices of the Portland Observer,
Oregon’s longest serving minority
publication Friday.
Wheeler, who assumed office
in January, laid out his vision to
make housing more accessible to
lower income and minority com-
munities by supporting workforce
training programs and higher
paying jobs; the construction of
affordable housing units; and fair
housing practices. He also spoke
of how he hopes to guide the Port-
land Police Bureau on new poli-
cies to fight bias in its procedures
and practices and the overrepre-
sentation of black and minority
defendants in the criminal justice
system.
Wheeler, who was elected in
May of 2016, succeeded Charlie
Hales as the mayor of Oregon’s
largest city. He previously served
as Oregon State Treasurer and
chair of the Multnomah County
Commission.
Speaking to the critical lack of
accessible housing in the Portland
area, Wheeler said it was import-
ant for city officials to rethink
how they are approaching issues
of housing and affordability.
“The problem is that we’re dis-
connecting housing from the reali-
ty of our economy,” Wheeler said.
In order to make housing more
accessible to disadvantaged com-
munities, the mayor points to the
city’s new 2035 Comprehensive
Plan to better link education and
vocational programs to growing
a workforce with incomes to sup-
Mayor up front
on the issues
port housing.
“The economic displacement
is now being exacerbated by a
lack of access to the educational
and job training opportunities,”
Wheeler said. “It’s a vicious circle
at this point.”
The mayor, who was a key pro-
ponent of newly elected City Com-
missioner Chloe Eudaly’s stopgap
ordinance to make landlords pay
tenant relocation expenses under
certain circumstances, says that
the city must begin thinking about
how it can help to keep Portland-
ers economically competitive.
“If we can connect more peo-
ple to the education and the job
training they need so that they
can latch on to those economic
opportunities, they will be much
more likely to be able to stay right
here,” Wheeler said.
The city’s renter assistance poli-
cy, which was enacted in February,
mandates that landlords pay the
relocation expenses of their tenants
in the case of a no-cause eviction or
if the rent is raised by 10 percent or
more. The payouts can range from
c ontinued on p age 4