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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2017)
November 8, 2017 The Skanner Page 3 News cont’d from pg 1 the bond by a wider mar- gin than the overall vote: about 64 percent voted yes. Measure 26-196 renews a bond first approved by voters in 2000 that was set to expire. Homeown- ers will continue to pay 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for 16 years to fund . Homeowners won’t see an increase in tax- ing rate, as the bond re- places the expiring 2000 measure. The taxing rate is 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for 16 years. For the own- Severe New Seasons Workers Launch Union Organizing Effort Workers at the fast-growing grocery chain New Seasons Market announced Nov. 1 they are organizing to win a union. At a rally outside the chain’s Williams store in Northeast Portland, dozens of workers from New Seasons Market, joined by local community leaders and residents, detailed how the company has silenced its employees’ voice on the job. Earlier in the day, workers delivered a letter to New Seasons Market President and CEO Wendy Collie asking management to meet with employees about improving working conditions in the stores and to agree to a Code of Conduct respecting workers’ right to organize. cont’d from pg 1 land police. The DOJ’s most re- cent report, issued in July, said the city was in partial compli- ance with most aspects of the agreement, but one of the key provisions — the creation of a citizens’ oversight adviso- ry board — fell apart earlier this year when the board dis- banded. This summer the city announced a plan to replace it with a new committee, but it’s not clear yet what that body will look like – or if it will even meet in public. To get a sense of where Port- land is and where it’s heading in terms of police reform, The Skanner sat down with Con- stantin Severe. He had served as Independent Police Review director since 2013, and has worked for IPR — a city agency that provides independent, ci- vilian oversight of the bureau — since 2008. The day before the interview, IPR released the full report on its investigation of former chief O’Dea. This interview has been edited for space and clarity. The Skanner News: Your assistant director, Rachel Mor- timer, was quoted saying she felt [Capt. Derek] Rodrigues was disproportionately dis- ciplined. (Rodrigues will be suspended with two days’ pay, where three assistant chiefs implicated in the investigation were cleared.) Where do you land on that? Constantin Severe: Given that some of that stuff is still outstanding, I can’t really talk about it, other than put any- thing that we wrote in the file. Anybody that got disciplined, they still have their appeal right. It’s still ongoing. TSN: So where would you say the police bureau is right now, in terms of reform? CS: Prior to the existence of the settlement agreement, we were basically at the com- plaint intake point, and we would forward the complaint to the investigator. The De- partment of Justice caused the city to focus on reforming the police bureau and put serious resources toward it. Before the settlement, there’s no way IPR would have been able to do an investigation of the chief of police. Our code didn’t real- ly allow a streamlined way of interviewing police bureau members. We’ve gotten addi- Documentary tional authority under the set- tlement agreement. The cost of the settlement agreement is it basically kind of locks in a particular struc- ture to accountability. There “ Before the settlement, there’s no way IPR would have been able to do an inves- tigation of the chief of police are some people who feel that the community should be more involved in, let’s say, the discipline of officers. In Oakland, recently they had a referendum on creating a po- lice commission. That’s not something envisioned within the settlement agreement. We would need the permission of the Department of Justice and the Portland Police Asso- ciation to do something like that in the city of Portland. So there’s a lot of things that until the settlement agreement con- ditions are met and the city’s in substantial compliance, and we’re done with the settlement agreement that we’re just kind of locked into. TSN: How are we doing in terms of compliance with the settlement specifically? CS: There is a lot of work still to be done on the settlement agreement of just, one, com- plying with all the different provisions of the settlement agreement. The whole process around COAB, this has been a point where the city hasn’t done all it needs to do. There are COAB members, particu- larly people I admire like Avel Gordly, saying, “You know, we were brought into the situa- tion where we weren’t provid- ed adequate training. We have these real responsibilities but we’re not given the tools or the mechanism to be able to effec- tively deal with that.” I think there’s a lot of trust to be built back on the city’s end. TSN: What are your biggest concerns about policing right now? CS: The thing that we have to fight against in Portland is a sense of complacency. The thing is, we need to have a po- lice accountability structure and a police bureau that meets our values and that we don’t try to measure ourselves against wherever. Like, “Our schools are better than the schools of Mississippi.” Well, we don’t live in Mississippi. That’s not our metric. Do we have the best school system that we in Portland, Oregon want? And the same goes for the police ac- countability structure. TSN: What can the city do to be more transparent? CS: On the policy stuff, the way I think IPR can help the community is to be engaged with the community, hear what are some of the issues that are bubbling up and see if we can do some policy work. Because the policy reviews, we can release that to the public once we’re done. And we should. It’s kind of enlightened self-interest. You make recommendations, and the recommendations are more likely to be implemented if the public is aware of it. Read the rest of this interview at TheSkanner.com cont’d from pg 1 we overlook,” said Yosha. “The process of making films teaches the youth job skills in a way that they want to learn. (It also) provides a creative outlet, and a way to expose their life stories to themselves and – more importantly – to those around them, which is us.” Through film workshops and ongo- ing weekly programming, Outside the Frame trains over 20 youths at any giv- en time. Moreover, it helps develop employ- able talents for their resumes. Partici- pants recently produced films for both the Affordable Housing Bond cam- paign and the Right to Rest Act through such programs. Last year Outside the Frame screened various film projects at 15 sites, includ- ing schools, youth groups, churches, synagogues, activist groups, as well as at a juvenile detention center. Its acclaimed documentary “The Lost “ It’s not that I left home, I left my situ- ation for something that could be better Boys of Portlandia” premiered last year to a sold-out crowd at Revolution Hall. “By screening the films, we show our community how these young people, normally regarded as useless throw- aways, can be an asset to society,” con- tinued Yosha. The gala event will showcase additional new films made by and featur- ing Portland’s margin- alized youth, along with talkbacks with the bud- ding filmmakers. A Lifetime Achieve- ment Award will also be presented to Tia Plymp- ton, a longtime educator at Outside In — a social services nonprofit for homeless youth, as well Program participant Mohamed settles in for a low angle during a as co-presenter of the Outside the Frame workshop. event, alongside Prosper Avenue. Free tickets can be reserved Portland. at http://bit.ly/otfgala. All ages are ad- Outside the Frame’s gala takes place mitted. There will be refreshments and Nov. 13, at The Armory, 128 NW 11th a no-host bar. PHOTO COURTESY OF OUTSIDE THE FRAME “ Homeown- ers won’t see an in- crease in taxing rate er of a home with an as- sessed value of $300,000, that amounts to $120 per year. The bond is intend- ed to pay for building renovations and equip- ment upgrades, partic- ularly in its workforce training programs. “We are grateful and thank the community for their support for PCC. Portland Commu- nity College is an asset to our region and we will continue to do the work of providing workforce development, educating students and supporting the regional economy now and into the future,” Kali Thorne Ladd, PCC Board Chair, said in a press release Wednes- day. “We are committed to returning to taxpayers a value that exceeds the investment they made in us, this November.” PHOTO COURTESY OF BERLIN ROSEN PCC
