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
