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.