January 10, 2018 The Skanner Portland Page 3
News
the budget package the
state passed last year, so
they decided to refer the
matter to voters. The Yes
for Healthcare campaign
in favor of 101’s passage
— which includes a broad
coalition of hospitals, in-
surers and progressive
advocacy groups — says
if the bill fails, the state
would be faced with a
gaping budget hole and
will be forced to make
cuts to the state’s health
care budget.
require
communities
where a majority of the
population is “rent bur-
dened” — that is, paying
more than 50 percent of
their income in rent – to
hold community meet-
ings to begin to address
the problem.
Northwest African
American Museum
Gets New Executive
Director
JOBS AND ECONOMIC
GROWTH
Rep. Janelle Bynum
may be introducing a
bill that redefines the
threshold for minority
contractors. Frederick
LaNesha DeBardelaben (right) has been appointed the new
executive director of the Northwest African American Museum.
She is pictured here with the outgoing interim executive
director Dr. Mildred W. Ollee. DeBardelaben has more than 15
years of experience in museums, most recently as senior vice
president of education and exhibitions at the Charles H. Wright
Museum of African American History in Detroit.
Sen. Lew Frederick is plan-
ning to introduce a bill that
would require police officers
to pay one annual visit to a
mental health professional
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Sen. Lew Frederick is
planning to introduce a
bill that would require
police officers to pay one
annual visit to a mental
health professional. The
Skanner News will take
a deeper look at that bill
later this month.
He also said he’s heard
some discussion from
colleagues about poten-
tial bills that would aid
with reentry for individ-
uals returning to society
after being incarcerated.
HOUSING
Advocates are hoping
to revive House Bill 2010
— which died in commit-
tee in 2017 and would
have created a state task
force to examine racial
disparities in home own-
ership – this session.
Last session the House
passed House Bill 2004,
which would have pro-
hibited landlords from
terminating month-to-
month tenancy within
60 days of receiving a
request for repairs to
correct certain building
or health code violations.
That bill died in the sen-
ate and sources who
spoke with The Skanner
said they don’t expect
to see much work done
on renters’ rights this
session. That said, one
bill in the works would
also expects to see some
interest this session in
reviving the economies
of rural parts of the state,
which continue to strug-
gle as Portland’s econo-
my booms.
TRANSPORTATION
Legislators and ad-
vocates expect to see
tweaks to the landmark
$5.3 billion transporta-
tion bill passed last ses-
sion. Transit advocates
are also likely to renew
their push for a Youth
Transit Initiative, which
would fund reduced-fare
transit passes for stu-
dents attending public
secondary schools and
increase transit service
in vicinity of public sec-
ondary schools. A previ-
ous youth transit initia-
tive bill died in the House
in 2015.
ENVIRONMENT
Rep. Ken Helm and Sen.
Michael Dembrow have
said they plan to intro-
duce a “cap and invest”
bill, placing an upper
limit on the amount of
carbon high-energy in-
dustries can emit — and
charging them for ex-
cesses. Oregonians can
also expect to see bills
proposing the recall of
older diesel vehicles, and
restricting emissions of
certain chemicals by in-
dustry.
Unemployment
Americans was 13.1 percent – signifi-
cantly higher than Oregon’s overall
unemployment rate, which was 5.7 per-
cent the same year.
The lowest Black unemployment rate
on record in Oregon was 9.1 percent in
2007, which was considerably closer to
the state’s 6.5 percent unemployment
rate at the time, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau, American Community
Survey.
While the US Labor Department re-
ports that 2.1 million jobs were added in
2017, the hiring gap between White and
Black remains pronounced – and tends
to more than double that of Whites.
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
“
cont’d from pg 1
Smith
cont’d from pg 1
“The Chair apologized to Com-
missioner Smith in person and
both agreed they are stronger
working together,” said the state-
ment.
Kafoury had previously re-
leased a public statement say-
ing she apologized, calling her
actions “unprofessional and re-
grettable.” Kafoury is said to have
called Smith the “b-word” imme-
diately following a board meeting
on Dec. 21.
The epithet came after Smith
questioned Kafoury’s appoint-
ment of the county’s Chief Oper-
ating Officer, Marissa Madrigal,
as her alternate should she be in-
capacitated.
At the meeting Smith asked the
county to look more carefully
into politically aligning Madrigal
with Kafoury, since the chief op-
erating officer is also responsible
for remaining objective and curb-
ing institutional racism.
Last week, nearly 20 constitu-
ents of Smith’s came forward and
testified before the board, asking
for Kafoury’s resignation; among
them, fashion designer Kenneth
Doswell and local activist Bruce
Broussard.
A formal complaint to Madrigal
was submitted on Jan. 7 on behalf
of Alicia Byrd, an African Ameri-
can library employee.
The complaint is against
Kafoury and calls for “a thor-
ough and complete investigation
into Chair Kafoury’s statements
and behaviors as demonstrated
during the Dec. 21, 2017 regularly
scheduled board meeting.”
The filed complaint extends to
her fellow commissioners Sharon
Meieran, Jessica Vega Pederson
and Lori Stegmann for backing
the chair’s apologies.
Meanwhile, Smith’s campaign
for city council is official: she for-
“
‘The Chair
apologized to
Commissioner
Smith in person
and both agreed
they are stron-
ger working
together’
mally filed for candidacy Jan. 2.
To celebrate her platform, Smith
is hosting an official campaign
kickoff event scheduled for Jan.
13 from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the
Urban League of Portland’s Mul-
ticultural Senior Center.
Smith’s filing follows months of
speculation that she violated the
county charter by maintaining
her position as commissioner,
while at the same time campaign-
ing for a city council seat as early
as September, when she publicly
announced her intention to run.
Her actions have stirred con-
troversary largely because, since
1982, the county charter states
that “no elected official of Mult-
nomah County may run for an-
other elective office in midterm
without resigning first.”
As reported by the Portland
Tribune, Smith argued that if she
had not yet formally filed as a city
council candidate, then she was
not officially running and there-
fore not required to step down as
commissioner.
Not true, said her critics. They
called her campaign activities —
announcing her intention to run,
hiring a campaign consultant,
launching an official website and
accepting contributions — clear
evidence of running.
The three other county com-
missioners, along with the chair,
have since remarked that they are
considering drafting a new rule
that more clearly defines mid-
term campaigning.
Yet underlining Smith’s pre-
emptive campaigning is that fact
Jerome Brooks — a former county
employee of Smith’s — asked the
Multnomah County Democrats in
September for access to the par-
ty’s voter database on behalf of
Smith’s campaign.
The story was first reported by
the Willamette Week on Monday,
after a reporter obtained Brooks’
email exchange.
Among Smith’s staunchest crit-
ics is election-reform activist Seth
Woolley, who asked the commis-
sioner to resign in December and
threatened legal action.
His complaint over her cam-
paign activities led to Smith be-
ing fined $250 by the Elections
Division of the Oregon Secretary
of State’s office.
Read more at TheSkanner.com
cont’d from pg 1
Stereotyping and race-related bias
during interview processes can lead
to high unemployment rates for Black
Americans.
“
ican Africans. The U.S. Census Bu-
reau released data last September that
said Blacks are the only racial group
still making less than they did in 2000.
While the US Labor Department reports that
2.1 million jobs were added in 2017, the hiring
gap between White and Black remains
The Washington Post cited a study in
which resumes with “White-sounding”
names were selected for interviews 50
percent more times than those with
“Black-sounding names.”
Wages, too, continue to lag for Amer-
In Oregon, the average household
made $57,532 in 2016, according to the
U.S. Census Bureau, American Commu-
nity Survey. Meanwhile, Black families
earned far less at $35,723.
AP PHOTO/SETH PERLMAN, FILE
Legislation
This Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016, file photo, shows the
Illinois Department of Employment Security office
in Springfield, Ill. On Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017, the
Labor Department reports on the number of people
who applied for unemployment benefits the week
before.