Page 4
November 14, 2018
Mayor’s
Protest
Curbs
Draw
Fire
Broadway Corridor Project
C ontinueD froM p age 3
Let Your Voice
be Heard
Letter from Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler
and Kimberly Branam, executive director
of Prosper Portland:
Dear Community:
More than a year ago, the city of Port-
land and Prosper Portland embarked on a
once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop
the 34-acre Broadway Corridor site in North-
west Portland. The location, size, and scale of
this property present a rare chance to build in
a way that puts people first, particularly those
who traditionally have not benefited from past
development projects.
As a Portlander, you have a stake in this
neighborhood, its planning and development.
You have a right to participate in the jobs
and economic prosperity generated by the
neighborhood that will be transformed by the
Broadway Corridor project. The city’s future is
yours as well.
On Wednesday, November 28, you are in-
vited to the Broadway Corridor Open House
at the Asian Health & Service Center in Lents
Town Center, from 5-7:30 p.m. You’ll be able
to view and comment on three refined design
concepts and share your ideas, questions and
concerns. There are additional opportunities to
participate including:
An online Open House available until Dec. 9:
www.broadwaycorridorpdx.com/openhouse
Mobile open houses: Nov. 30 at the Union
Station lobby from 4 – 6 p.m., and Dec. 6 at the
Hollywood Library from 5 - 7 p.m.
Four million square feet of development is
possible on the Broadway Corridor site, which
includes the downtown Portland U.S. Postal Ser-
vice property. That’s more than 3 times the com-
bined square feet of the US Bancorp Tower and
the Wells Fargo Center and has the potential to
add 4,000 jobs and 2,400 new households.
We are asking for your feedback on what
should be built and experienced in the Broadway
Corridor so that its development includes the
right mix of uses, activities, programs and public
spaces.
We’re calling on residents from all corners of
Portland to participate in this project and we
want to hear from you, your family, and your
communities.
The door is open for your involvement. Let
your voice be heard on how you and your fellow
Portlanders will live, work, and play in this new
development.
taxpayers over $440,000.
Hardesty, who became the first
black woman elected to Portland
City Council just two days prior to
the City Hall hearing on the issue,
and will succeed Saltzman, testi-
fied that Wheeler’s curbs would
disproportionately be enforced
against people of color.
“We don’t all experience po-
lice the same way,” Hardesty said.
“We cannot have a police force
for white people, and then a po-
lice force for everybody else.”
She added she’s been “extremely
disappointed” how Portland police
have responded to “out of town
hate groups who show up and take
over our downtown streets.”
Though Hardesty said she trusts
in Portland Police Chief Danielle
Outlaw, the city’s first female black
chief, she said that the former Oak-
land, Calif. police officer “is abso-
lutely mistaken that we should give
the police chief the power to decide
who protests and how.”
Hardesty urged postponing de-
ciding on the proposal until after
she’s sworn in, in January. She
also criticized police for not telling
the truth about why they resorted
to using force against left-wing
antifascists in response to an Aug.
4 protest in downtown Portland.
The police response was also ref-
erenced by City Commissioner
Eudaly in her line of questioning
about past police action.
The protest in question saw
multiple injuries of leftist protes-
tors, but few reported actions tak-
en against right-wing group Patriot
Prayer, despite a report more than
a month later that some members
of that group held weapons on
a rooftop. That protest was one
of many in the past two years in
which right- and left- wing groups
have clashed, some of which re-
sulted in violence.
“How many lawsuits is the city
fighting related to police use of
force against demonstrators, and
how much money has defending
these suits cost Portland?” Eudaly
asked.
Deputy Attorney Robert Taylor
replied, “Thirteen, but the suits
don’t cost anything to defend be-
cause the city has staff attorneys.”
(Eudaly responded that had the
lawsuits not been filed, the law-
yers could spend their time work-
ing on other things).
When Eudaly asked why po-
lice used exploding munitions and
pepper spray against non-violent
protestors who disobeyed disper-
sal orders, Assistant Chief Ryan
Lee responded that disobeying
such an order is breaking the law.
Eudaly also wanted to know
why police kettled and photo-
graphed the IDs of more than 300
left-wing protestors in July 2017;
why some police told Independent
Police Review investigators that
far-right extremists seemed “more
mainstream;” and whether any of
the Patriot Prayer protestors had
been injured by crowd-dispersal
munitions, as Antifa protestors
had on Aug. 4. Officials said pend-
ing lawsuits prevented them from
commenting directly on many of
the issues raised.
Eudaly said she’s going to
vote “no” on the proposed ordi-
nance. While the measure was
first referred to the council as an
emergency, the mayor pulled the
emergency clause just before its
hearing and as a result, the mea-
sure could go into effect 30 days
after it is passed, instead of right
away, and does not require unani-
mous approval by the council. The
measure will be taken up again on
Thursday.
Commissioner Amanda Fritz
said she’s against the proposal.
Commissioner Nick Fish has not
voiced a position.
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