Opinion
The Skanner News Endorsements
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
B ERNIE F OSTER
Founder/Publisher
B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER
Executive Editor
J ERRY F OSTER
Advertising Manager
L ISA L OVING
News Editor
The Skanner News
Editorial Board
Wherever you go, people
complain that there aren’t
enough great political leaders
anymore. But in the Portland-
area races on May 20, we
struggled to choose among
the excellent candidates we
interviewed.
We can only endorse one
candidate per office; for those
who didn’t get our support, we
encourage you to run and
ant from a tough background,
giving her insight into how
real people are impacted by
municipal policy – or the lack
of it. She lacks political expe-
rience, but she would make a
great commissioner.
After years of working in
Washington DC, incumbent
Commissioner Loretta Smith
knows more than almost any-
body about where so much of
the county money originates
– the federal government.
She knows chapter and verse
H ELEN S ILVIS
Multimedia Editor
D AVID K IDD
Graphic Designer
M ONICA J. F OSTER
Seattle Office Coordinator
J ULIE K EEFE
S USAN F RIED
Photographers
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pursue those political dreams
of yours.
Before we get to the names,
however, we would like to
make one big point: None of
the candidates are strong
enough on disaster prepared-
ness. The Skanner News
started covering local emer-
gency management after
Hurricane Katrina changed
the racial makeup of New
Orleans. The imperative of
making sure communities of
color are kept in the loop on
emergency
planning,
on how to leverage limited
local dollars into ambitious
goals, such as increased
funding to keep students in
school and on track for suc-
cess
through
President
Obama’s Promise Zones Ini-
tiative, which she discussed
at length in our interview.
Voters can’t go wrong elect-
ing either of these marvelous
women. Smith wins our
endorsement by a hair simply
because of her experience at
the federal level. She has
shown she understands how
“We can’t forget that one of the first
things she did as a Commissioner was
organize a Town Hall meeting only for
Black male youth, a revolutionary
move that earned her criticism from
colleagues”
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resources and training is
being ignored at the top. One
thing we all know is that a big
earthquake is coming, and we
have seen almost zero out-
reach to the communities who
will be impacted the most –
and both the City of Portland
and Multnomah County have
separate disaster planning
bureaus. Where is the money
going?
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Loretta Smith
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construction industry general
contractor Sharon Maxwell of
Boanerges Group, and we
look forward to her future
political plans.
“None of the candidates are strong
enough on disaster preparedness.”
in October 1975, is a weekly publica-
tion, published each Wednesday by
Nick Fish
The Multnomah County
Commissioner 2 race is
remarkable – for the first time
we have ever seen, everyone
running is African American,
which is a good thing. Teressa
Raiford is an especially wor-
thy candidate. A hard worker
who knows the issues,
Raiford is a business consult-
Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner April 9, 2014
to use her knowledge.
We are struck by the fact
that so many Black candi-
dates are running against
Smith specifically. It makes us
wonder why? Has Smith
angered so many people in
her own district?
Her federal clout is very
important, but she is also
known in the community for
helping with projects and pro-
grams regarding seniors and
youth. We can’t forget that one
of the first things she did as a
Commissioner was organize
a Town Hall meeting only for
Black males, a revolutionary
move that earned her praise.
In this race, The Skanner
News endorses incumbent
Loretta Smith.
For City of Portland Com-
missioner, Position 2, The
Skanner News endorses
incumbent Nick Fish. Over
his years on the Council we
have seen him collaborate
with a wide array of groups
and individuals to forge excel-
lent policy in the Parks and
Housing bureaus and else-
where, despite taking a hard
knock or two. We are also
impressed with his opponent,
Dan Saltzman
For City of Portland Com-
missioner, Position 3, The
Skanner News endorses Dan
Saltzman. Whatever his
assignments are in the
moment – he has managed
both the Portland Police
Bureau and Portland Fire and
Rescue – Saltzman’s heart is
clearly with kids and families.
Proud driver of the Portland
Children’s Levy, which puts
tax dollars directly into non-
profits
helping
children,
Saltzman most recently has
helped make it much easier
for domestic violence sur-
vivors at the Gateway Center
for Domestic Violence Servic-
es – one of his bureau
assignments --obtain restrain-
ing orders against their
abusers.
Jim Francesconi
For Multnomah County
Chair (full term and unexpired
term), The Skanner News
endorses Jim Francesconi,
an attorney and former Port-
land City Commissioner, in
his race against worthy oppo-
nent Deborah Kafoury, who is
trying to move from a Com-
missioner’s seat to the top job
in the County. Kafoury comes
from a legendary Oregon
political family, and many
observers say she knows the
county budget better than
anyone else. But Francesconi
caught our attention by fram-
ing county operations as a
potential economic driver
rather than a passive safety
net, suggesting a raise in the
minimum wage, a firm
grounding on job creation and
leveraging Affordable Care Act
money to free funds for a vari-
ety of other needs (many
candidates made that same
suggestion). He sees the big-
ger picture in the policy arena;
he is a visionary; he's not
afraid of change. While critics
have said his campaign is
fuelled by his resounding
defeat as a mayoral candidate
– after raising $1 million and
losing anyway to Tom Potter in
2003 – we didn’t see that dur-
ing our interview, but rather
we saw a highly motivated
person who cares about mak-
ing a difference.
Jules Bailey
For Multnomah County
Commissioner District 1
(unexpired term ending Dec.
2016), The Skanner News
endorses Jules Bailey. Jules
BaileyA three term state legis-
lator from Southeast Portland,
Bailey,
an
economist,
impressed with his knowledge
of how local political systems
impact policy and where more
work is needed. Clearly a
money manager, Bailey had
the sharpest insights on how
to rein in overtime costs at the
Multnomah County Sheriffs
Department – the county’s
second-highest expense.
Whatever you think of the
candidates, make sure you
take the time to vote. The
voter registration deadline for
MultnomahCounty is April 29.
Check online to see the status
of your voter registration at
www.web.multco.us/elec-
tions.
What do you think?
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