‘City
of
Roses’
Protest Turns
to Brawl
Blazers mourn
Paul Allen
Repeated clashes
has mayor calling
for new rules
Billionaire owner
had loyalty to
team, city
See story, page 2
See Local News, page 3
Volume XLVII • Number 41
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • October 17, 2018
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
photo by D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver
Katrina Holland of the Community Alliance of Tenants is working to get the city to adopt more equitable housing policies in order free up housing stock for people of
color and other residents who face huge obstacles to finding a house or apartment.
Advocating Tenants’ Rights
Security deposit, screening and other reforms urged
by D anny p eterson
t he p ortlanD o bserver
Several community organizations rep-
resenting Portland tenants and communi-
ties of color have united to ask Portland
city officials to address housing discrimi-
nation and the disparate treatment of rent-
ers from marginalized groups. The goal
is to provide more access to housing for
people who currently face huge obstacles
to finding a house or apartment to rent.
Spearheaded by the Community Alli-
ance of Tenants, a statewide social justice
organization, and co-signed by the Urban
League of Portland, Portland Community
Reinvestment Initiatives, and Unite Ore-
gon, among others, the housing advocates
sent their request last week to Mayor Ted
Wheeler and the City Council citing the
harm that current housing policies by
landlords, such as screening criteria, high
security deposits, and predatory credit
practices , cause African American, Lati-
no, and other communities of color.
Citing a Portland Housing Bureau
report that showed that communities of
color are more likely to be barred from
housing access in the city, the tenant
advocates pointed to Fair Housing test-
ing reports that showed discrimination
against people of color was prevalent at
each stage in the Portland rental market,
from receiving preliminary information
about an apartment, all the way to when
they moved out.
In some of the worst cases, “We’ve
heard of situations where people have
been unfairly screened out or told that a
property isn’t available because of what
they look like or what language they
speak. Whereas somebody who has the
same qualifications will probably walk in,
C ontinueD on p age 5