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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 2018)
November 28, 2018 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 3 News cont’d from pg 1 “ Cash bail preys on the poor and mi- norities psychiatric nurse prac- titioner for Washington County jails. “Bails are not set on a person’s abil- ity to pay and so people languish in jail having not been convicted of a crime.” According to a report from the Sheriff ’s Office, while an average pre-tri- al stay in the county jail is 12 days, some people can be incarcerated up to months and even years. On Nov. 1, 162 people had been behind bars for at least five months, or 150 days, without a convic- tion. For African Ameri- cans, incarceration rates fare far worse than for White defendants. In Multnomah County, Black people represent 27 percent of people in prisons and jails yet only six percent of the popu- lation. Moreover, a 2016 report found that Ore- gon imprisons African Americans at the sev- enth highest rate in the nation. In other words, for every 1,000 Black Or- egonians, about 21 are in prison. The PFF’s seasonal fundraiser falls in step with similar initiatives focused on bailing out defendants during times of celebration. Last May, Migrants when PFF was formed, Portland-area activists raised over $20,000 in an effort to bail out Black mothers so they could be reunited with their chil- dren for Mother’s Day. Women in general are the fastest-growing pop- ulation of people in jails and prisons, and Black women are dispropor- tionately represented in correctional facilities na- tionwide. In June, the PFF contin- ued to post bail for Black mothers and fathers in honor of Father’s Day and Juneteenth. Ultimately, these bail- out campaigns are aimed at highlighting what the PFF sees is an inevitable end to the money bail system in Oregon. “The potential conse- quences are devastating,” said Spencer, of people jailed while awaiting bail. “People lose their em- ployment, housing and possibly their children.” “Most harmful, in my opinion, are people who take plea deals just to avoid rotting in jail be- cause they can’t pay their bail,” she continued. “That isn’t justice. The wealthy don’t have to make those type of choices.” Last August, California became the first state to abolish money bail, effec- tive in October 2019. To date, the PFF has spent almost $31,000 on posting bail for 14 peo- ple “whose continued in- carceration was simply because they could not afford to purchase their freedom,” it stated in a press release. Anyone can make a tax-deductible donation of any amount through the PFF website at www. portlandfreedomfund. org. Zoo Names Utpal Passi New Deputy Director Utpal Passi, formerly vice president of guest relations at the Philadelphia Zoo, joined the Oregon Zoo this month as the new deputy director of operations. His duties include overseeing the zoo’s guest services, strategic initiatives and business partnerships. For the past seven years, Passi has worked at the Philadelphia Zoo, where he was responsible for driving the overall quality of guest experience and revenue operations — everything from admissions and membership operations to stroller rentals and face-painting. Prior to that, he worked in the food service management industry for Sodexo. Born and raised in India, Passi moved to the U.S. 17 years ago, earning a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from Pennsylvania’s Widener University and an MBA from Temple University’s Fox School of Business. A father of three, he looks forward to exploring the Pacific Northwest with his wife and children. Standard PHOTO COURTESY OF OREGON ZOO transfer to another law enforcement agency, or simple because they couldn’t afford their bail. “Cash bail preys on the poor and minorities,” said Gina Spencer, found- er of PFF and part-time cont’d from pg 1 with a disability -- for leadership roles. It’s modeled on the Charles Jor- dan Standard, adopted by the city of Portland at the beginning of 2016, and in turn on the National Football League’s Rooney Rule, which the league adopted in 2003 and which requires teams to in- terview at least one person of col- or for every leadership position. Oregon adopted an academic counterpart to the Rooney Rule in 2009, requiring colleges and universities to interview a per- son of color for available coach- ing positions. “We named it after Charles Jor- dan and Gladys McCoy because no one knows who Dan Rooney is unless you’re a Pittsburgh Steelers fan like I am,” said Sam Sachs, a Portland Parks and Rec- reation ranger and the advocate who helped push for all three pol- icies. “But we also wanted to hon- or Charles Jordan and McCoy’s work.” Jordan served on Portland’s city council from 1974 to 1984 and was the first African American to do so. McCoy, the first Black woman elected to any public office in the state of Oregon, served on the board of Portland Public Schools from 1970 until 1978 and on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners from 1978 until 1984. Both Jordan and McCoy have passed away, but Sachs worked with their families to help design the guidelines, and he told The Skanner it was at Jordan’s family’s request that the policy be adopted as a standard and not a rule. The Gladys McCoy standard di- rects the county to “ensure that when a competitive recruitment is utilized, the highest qualified candidates of color and highest “ I wasn’t look- ing to punish schools for not doing it but to change their mindset around hiring qualified candidates from under- represented communities within the county are part of the hiring interview process.” The resolu- tion text also directs the county to create a workgroup to develop new hiring policies to be signed and implemented at the start of January 2019. It also includes a clause requir- ing the county to provide metrics that measure progress toward the policy goal. There is no such clause in the Jordan standard and perhaps as a result, Sachs said he’s had trouble getting informa- tion from the city about whether it has in fact implemented the rec- ommended hiring practices. He added that academic institutions have varied in their self-report- ing about their hiring practices. There’s also no penalty for not following the guidelines, but that’s not the point, Sachs said. “I wasn’t looking to punish schools for not doing it but to change their mindset around hiring,” Sachs told The Skanner. Once institutions set out to hire minorities into managerial roles, they often change their hiring and recruitment practices in beneficial ways. And, nine years after the passage of House Bill 3118, Oregon’s universities have more diverse coaching staffs than they once did. Sachs said he’s also talked to Rep. Suzanne Bonamici about introducing legislation that would require the NCAA to adopt its own Rooney Rule. “I would encourage other pri- vate businesses and government agencies to adopt it. It’s a very simple thing and it challenges those businesses to do something differently if they’re not already,” Sachs said. Read more at TheSkanner.com cont’d from pg 3 Trump on the migrant issue while up- holding Mexico’s longstanding posi- tion of demanding better treatment for migrants. Ebrard told reporters Tuesday a key administration goal is securing a U.S. commitment to development projects in Honduras, where the vast majority of the migrants in the caravan come from, as well as neighboring Guatema- la, El Salvador and elsewhere in Cen- tral America. “What are we negotiating with the United States? We want them to partic- ipate in the project I just mentioned” to create jobs in Central America. Asked how much the U.S. should contribute, Ebrard suggested the figure should be at least $20 billion. “Mexico by itself is going to invest in our own territory during the next administration, more than $20 billion, and so any serious effort regarding our brothers in El Salvador, Hondu- ras, Guatemala, should be for a similar amount,” Ebrard said. Ebrard’s statements came as anxious Tijuana residents closed down a school next to a sports complex where thou- sands of migrants have been camped out for two weeks. The move came after U.S. border agents fired tear gas into Mexico to “ Asked how much the U.S. should con- tribute, Ebrard sug- gested the figure should be at least $20 billion turn back a group of migrants who had breached the border over the weekend. The incident prompted Mexican au- thorities to step up the police presence around the shelter. Citing fears for their children’s safe- ty, the parents’ association of the Ga- briel Ramos Milan elementary school bought their own lock and chain and closed the school’s gates. A sign said the school would remain closed until further notice. Carmen Rodriguez said parents had been calling for authorities to do something since the migrants arrived, add- ing that her 9-year-old daughter wouldn’t be re- turning to classes until they are gone. “We are asking that they be relocated,” Ro- driguez said, noting that some migrants had Migrants travel in a truck from Mexicali to Tijuana, part of the migrant approached the school caravan, in Mexico Nov. 27. The mayor of Tijuana has declared a grounds to ask children for money and use the humanitarian crisis in his border city and says that he has asked the school’s bathrooms. United Nations for aid to deal with the approximately 5,000 Central Some even smoked mari- American migrants who have arrived in the city. juana around its perime- The migrants themselves were ur- ter walls, she said. gently exploring their options amid She said the parents worry about an- a growing feeling that they had little ti-migrant protesters converging on hope of making successful asylum bids the sports complex again, as they did in the United States or of crossing the last week. “If they come here and there border illegally. is a confrontation, we will be caught in the middle,” she said. Read more at TheSkanner.com PHOTO BY AP PHOTO/RAMON ESPINOSA Bail
