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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2022)
APRIL 6, 2022 Portland and Seattle Volume XLV No. 15 CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW 25 CENTS News ...............................3,9,10 A & E .....................................6-7 Opinion ...................................2 Rembering MLK ...............8 Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11 PDX RACE IS ON Cynthia Dillard Dillard in as New Dean of SU’s College of Education The educator and author focuses on equity while taking inspiration from Ghana classrooms By Saundra Sorenson Of The Skanner News Top row: Dan Ryan, Alanna Joy McCreary, and Jo Ann Hardesty; Bottom row: Vadim Mozyrsky, and Rene Gonzalez A Portland City Council Races Draw Challenges from Community Organizers, A Union Rep fter more than 30 years of teach- ing and scholarship on intersec- tionality in education, Washing- ton native Cynthia Dillard has returned home to serve as dean of Se- attle University’s College of Education. Dillard holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Language, Literacy and Culture from Washington State University, and was most recently the Mary Frances Early Professor in Teacher Education at the University of Georgia. Dillard tells The Skanner why Seattle University, a private Jesu- it school with a student enrollment of about 7,500, is a progressive hub on the cusp of exciting changes – and why an equitable education system must in- clude “inviting Blackness to show up.” This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The Skanner News: What excites you about serving at Seattle Universi- ty? Cynthia Dillard: This institution was and is in the midst of a pretty radical change that I thought would be really interesting to be a part of. One, we have our first lay president here, Eduardo Peñalver, who is a Cuban American scholar and a brilliant law scholar. And his vision for Seattle University was something that just carried me. It was all the things I’d been working on for a long career of 30-plus years – justice, See DEAN on page 3 Regina King As Shirley Chisholm page 7 Hardesty and Ryan run to keep their seats for second term. By Saundra Sorenson Of The Skanner News A s Portland City com- missioners Dan Ryan and Jo Ann Hardesty run for reelection this year, they face a smaller field of can- didates than in years past. Both must campaign city- wide for the May 17 prima- ry as Portland remains the only major U.S. city to still operate on a commission style of local government. Eight other candidates are listed on the ballot for Ryan’s seat, although only one, Alanna Joy Mc- Creary, has registered a campaign committee and reported any substantial fundraising. Only two candidates among 10 chal- lenging Hardesty – Vadim Mozyrsky and Rene Gon- zalez – have done the same. The Skanner spoke with the top candidates for each position. Interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Commissioner Position 2 Dan Ryan (incumbent) What do you hope to accomplish with a second term? Deliver more resources and focus on homelessness and community safety to provide for economic re- covery. We have to keep working to house people and increase our pace. People living in parks and public spaces is sim- ply unacceptable, both as a humanitarian crisis and because these are spaces for everyone. This means rustling feathers, but tough love always does. We’ve begun construction on six Safe Rest Villages, which are on-ramps to successful housing. The transition from chronic homelessness to housing is a big leap for many and these on-ramps are needed to ensure more long-term success. What would you do to prevent further displace- ment in Portland? Portland must become a city where a broad spec- trum of people with var- ied incomes can afford to live. We must increase the amount of affordable hous- ing. I support increased den- sity along transit corri- dors, and would like to see us flip the affordability re- quirements for multi-fam- ily housing until we re- store balance, including incentives for developers to meet these goals. That means 80% of units must meet an affordability mea- sure, including units sized for families. How would your policy toward homelessness change in a second term, if at all? In my short time in of- fice, I have led the effort to move the homeless solu- tions narrative from hous- ing first to services first. We’ve begun construction on six Safe Rest Villages which are on-ramps to successful housing. The transition from chronic homelessness to housing is a big leap for many and these on-ramps are needed to ensure more long-term success. We have to keep work- ing to house people and increase our pace. People living in parks and public spaces is simply unaccept- able, both as a humanitari- an crisis and because these are spaces for everyone. This means rustling feath- ers, but tough love always does. I will fight to move people off the streets as fast as pos- sible (with) faster progress building safe, clean living spaces; (by) clearing road- blocks to building more affordable housing, and by increasing addiction and mental health treatment access. Alanna Joy McCreary Alanna Joy McCreary is a community organizer specializing n racial and economic justice, and also works as an educator and political consultant. Two years ago she co-founded the nonprofit Equitable Giving Circle, an organi- zation she describes as “focused on reparations through food, housing and a community wellness pro- gram.” McCreary serves as a board member for Steps PDX and Race Talks, and also co-founded the mutual aid group Mxm Bloc. Why did you feel called to run? The simple answer is the community asked and I said yes. Longer answer: We need new energy in City Hall, we need the val- ues of Portlanders to be See COUNCIL on page 3
