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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2018)
Page 6 April 11, 2018 Running for County Chair C ontinued froM P age 2 ter does not glow.” Harris calls for a solution and resolution driven agenda on the county level to improve the qual- ity of life for our elderly and up- root the causes of high dropout rates and excessive absenteeism among our children in schools. We need to provide “livable” places for our homeless to call home and provisions for afford- able housing in places where neighbors know our name,” she said. Harris takes aim at current Chair Deborah Kafoury who is running for re-election. She cites Kafoury for failings to address what she calls institutional systemic racism in the county workforce and blasts the county’s top elected official for a vulgar attack against another member of the county commis- sion earlier this year. Kafoury lat- er apologized for calling Commis- sioner Loretta Smith a b---- during a public meeting. Harris says she would like to see creation on an Ombudsmen office to work as advocates for the public and help resurrect a merit council to represent union and non-union workers respectively when a work-related complaint needs to be filed. Harris cites her business ex- perience managing facilities in Georgia, Oregon and southwest Washington for a multi million dollar private sector corporation. In the public sector, she has helped navigate Oregonians from diverse socio-economic origins through complex government programs as a consultant. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arkansas and Master of Pub- lic Administration from Portland State University. A licensed evan- gelist within the Church of God in Christ international communi- ty, Harris commented “whatever endeavor I am called to pursue, I place that spark of hope in my heart and walk through it in faith. Having a purpose and a passion for the people I serve gives me the courage, the determination, and belief that my run for this race is not in vain.” “When we as leaders remove ourselves from our comfortable four wall environment into the communities, onto steps, stairways and paths less traveled, we then hear the real voices of the people in our communities. We must work together to make a difference and inspire solutions,” she said. Youth Job Fair Friday Giving special focus to the vul- nerable, up to 2,000 young adults are expected to engage with 45 lo- cal and national employers seeking to fill more than 1,500 immediate openings at the Opportunity Youth Job Fair, coming Friday, April 13 beginning at 9 a.m. and running through 2 p.m. at the Oregon Con- vention Center. According to Prosper Portland and the Gateway to College Nation- al Network, sponsors of the event, younger workers are struggling to take advantage of the Portland re- gion’s strong job growth. According to a 2016 EcoNorth- west report, more than 30,000 of the region’s young people between 16 and 24 – more than 16 percent of that age group – are out of school and out of work. Of the nearly 1,000 young adult job seekers already registered for the fair, 62 percent self-identify as Web: www.sunlanlighting.com E-mail: kay@lightlady.com 3901 N. Mississippi Ave. Portland, OR 97227 503.281.0453 Fax 503.281.3408 being persons of color. Support for the event has come from Oregon State Representatives Barbara Smith-Warner, Margaret Doherty and Tawna Sanchez; Hill- sboro Mayor Jerry Willey; Mult- nomah County Commissioner Lo- retta Smith; Portland Community College President Mark Mitsui; and national executives from Starbucks, Macy’s, and Intel. Young adult job seekers will share their aspirations with the civ- ic leaders will address initiatives to provide more meaningful employ- ment opportunities for vulnerable youth in the community. Youth will also be able to inter- view for immediate job openings, and participating employers are likely to make hundreds of offers throughout the day. To find out more about the job fair and to register, visit gatewayto- college.org/pdx-job.