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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2011)
opinion Who’s Next at the PDC? It Matters! “challenging people to Shape a Better future Now” B ErNIE f oStEr Founder/Publisher B oBBIE D orE f oStEr executive editor t ED B aNkS advertising Manager J ErrY f oStEr account executive l ISa l ovINg news editor B rIaN S tIMSoN reporter D avID k IDD graphic Designer M oNIca J. f oStEr Seattle office Coordinator J ulIE k EEfE S uSaN f rIED Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 the Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub - lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of the Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2011 the Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. knowing What’s Important can change Your life! Subscribe to The Skanner – don’t miss an issue! please sign me up for: q 1 year $74 q 2 year $140 q New Subscription q Renewal ________________________ Name _________________ address _________________ city _________________ State ______ ZIp ________ phone Mail with check or money order to: The Skanner P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 P ortland Development Com - m iss ion is looking for a new executive director, to replace Bruce Warner, retiring after 5 years at the helm. This Friday, Jan 28, you can let the commission know what kind of leader you want to see at a meeting from 1 -2 pm at the Portland Development Commission, 222 NW Fifth Ave. It matters. Here’s why. Warner recently told OPB that he was most proud of his legacy of repairing relationships with minority communities and with residents of N/NE Portland. We agree. Bruce got off to a rocky start at Portland’s crucial development agency. He arrived from Oregon Department of Transportation, an agency with an abysmal track record of fairness to minority com- munities. We knew he had experi- ence managing $2 billion in fund- ing and 4,600 workers. We did not know if he had the wisdom to use PDC’s $275 million budget to develop projects for our communi- ties. As it turned out, he became an exceptional leader who made a commitment, backed by the mayor and city council, to fairness and justice in economic development. Equity is the non-negotiable foun- dation of any sustainability policy. During the last few years, we have seen real progress in Portland. The North/Northeast development initiative is targeting development dollars to existing residents and businesses in the Interstate and Convention center urban renewal areas. At the Killingsworth Station project, for example, 25 percent of the con- struction dollars are going to f roM tHE p uBlISHEr Bernie Foster minority firms and workers. More than 20 percent of the workers on PDC construction projects are now people of color. On the South Waterfront project, 47 percent of the apprentices were minorities and women, far sur- passing the goal of 20 percent, and 35 percent of the workforce quali- ties in the construction industry to people of color. That’s the key to benefiting our communities. In the past, none of these areas had received this critical financial support. PDC has built partnerships with minority contractors, providing technical assistance and helping them grow their capacity. PDC is funding vital projects in Gateway and Lents as well as in North and Northeast Portland – projects like Bradley Angle’s Healing Roots Center, which helps African American victims of domestic vio- lence; the June Key Delta sorority facility in North Portland; and the rebuilding of the Billy Webb Elks Club. It takes a lot more work to They must come to the job with strong relationships with communities of color and a track record that inspires our trust fied as minorities, women and emerging small businesses (MWESB). The Portland Plan notes that about 13 percent of the city’s jobs, 51,000 of them, are located in commercial corridors in neighbor- hoods. So it makes sense to help local small businesses grow because they create more job opportunities. And, after years of discrimination, it is vital to open up well-paid jobs and opportuni- carry out these small, incremental projects, but they make a big dif- ference. PDC staff members, such as John Jackley who is the face of the agency for many of these projects, have shown the vision, the desire and the ability to work with our community, and to get the resources out of the door. Much more needs to be done. And opportunities are underway, in the shape of the Rose Quarter development and the OHSU Sustainability Center. PDC’s executive director must bring the connections, the skills and the commitment to working in partnership with Portland’s minor- ity and urban communities to bring grassroots economic growth to our city. Many candidates have vision and ability; it’s what they will they do with them that counts. Our con- cern is that any external candidate will need up to two years to get a feel for Portland’s big picture. As the search committee looks for candidates with the potential to take Portland’s development to the next level, we urge them to take a long, hard look at leaders within the agency. Inside candidates don’t generate the excitement of the new and unknown, but they should have a track record and partnerships with Portland’s com- munities of color. When it comes to creating development that sup- ports our communities, this has to be the top priority. Whoever is appointed as the PDC’s new executive director should aggressively pursue fair, just, sustainable development poli- cies. They must come to the job with strong relationships with communities of color and a track record that inspires our trust. Make your voice heard by attend- ing the meeting. what Do You think? You can post your comments on www.theskanner.com Respect Oregonians’ Historic ‘yes’ A year ago Oregonians glowed under the national spotlight. Facing a severe fiscal crisis brought on by the recession, Oregonians voted for a modest tax increase on the wealth- iest households and corporations to help protect our schools, our health and human services and our public safety system. The resounding victory of Measures 66 and 67 demonstrated that Oregonians had cut through the fog of misinformation churned by big business during the cam- paign. Oregonians said “yes” to protecting important public struc- tures and Oregon’s economy. But as the anniversary of the his- toric vote arrives, efforts are underway to undermine the will of Oregon’s voters. Some lawmakers have introduced bills that com- pletely undo or chip away at Measures 66 and 67. And that’s why Oregonians must once again raise their voices in defense of the public structures that we value. That bills seeking to undo the tax measures have surfaced comes as no surprise. Even after losing, opponents of the measures never stopped campaigning and have persisted in spreading misinforma- tion. The state’s continued revenue shortfall, unfortunately, has pro- vided opponents of the measures an opportunity to continue to mis- lead. Inexplicably, they blame the page 4 The Portland and Seattle Skanner January 26, 2011 N EW c oluMNISt Chuck Sheketoff measures for our revenue deficit. The cause of the shortfall is no mystery. The Great Recession was deeper and longer than the state economists assumed when they issued the projections that formed the basis of the 2009 legislature’s budget-balancing package. That package included not only painful income tax returns fully filed, state economists now say that Measure 66 alone is bringing in an addi- tional $333 million this budget period, and next budget cycle will generate $245 million. The amount generated goes down because on the first day of next year (2012) the wealthiest house- holds will see their top tax rate drop 10 percent. Besides the efforts to repeal the measures outright, some lawmak- ers have proposed legislation that Cutting the income tax on capital gains is even more insidious than simply repealing Measure 66, because it confers preferential tax treatment for the fortunate few who enjoy investment income cuts to key services but also the revenue instruments that became Measures 66 and 67. Oregon’s budget would be in worse shape had Oregon voters said “no” to the measures. Months after the vote, a state economist told the legislature, “It’s safe to say that without Measures 66 and 67 we would be in absolutely lower level of revenue than we are now.” With one year of personal would partially override the will of the voters by creating a work penalty. The proposals would lower the income tax on capital gains — income earned not from a paycheck but from the profitable sale of assets such as stocks, bonds and real estate. It’s the rich who disproportionately have income from capital assets, so a cut in the income tax on capital gains would undo much of Measure 66’s increase in the marginal tax rate for Oregon households making over $250,000 a year. In one sense, cutting the income tax on capital gains is even more insidious than simply repealing Measure 66, because it confers preferential tax treatment for the fortunate few who enjoy invest- ment income. Stated differently, it would mean that Oregon would tax income earned from a pay- check at a higher rate than income derived from investments. Handing a big tax break to the wealthiest Oregonians at the expense of everyone else could not be more at odds with the will of Oregonians reflected in last year’s historic vote. Such a move would take needed money away from our schools and other critical public services — exactly the opposite of what voters demanded a year ago. As the 2011 legislative session gets underway, some lawmakers are prepared to do what millions of campaign dollars from big busi- ness could not accomplish in January 2010. That’s why Oregonians again must raise their voices in defense of the public structures that we value and ensure that the legislature respects the will of voters. Chuck Sheketoff is executive director of the oregon Center for Public Policy.
