What Do Metro Area Candidates Know About Public Housing? #2

Metro Area Candidates Public Housing Reality Show Episode 1 RECAP (see below)

Metro Area Candidates Public Housing Reality Show - Episode 2

The numerous substantive arguments against the funding of the St. Johns neighborhood hard-walled homeless camp are known to all the Metro area candidates (see below) So the question arises: Are you taking immediate action to STOP and ABANDON the hard-walled homeless camp project on private property at 8005 N. Richmond Ave?

Thomas Anderson, Metro 3

Gerritt Rosenthal, Metro 3

Mary Nolan, Metro 5

Chris Smith, Metro 5

Nafisa Fai, Washington 1

Jeffery Hindley, Washington 1

Ken Humberston, Clackamas 4

Mark Shull, Clackamas 4

Ted Wheeler, Portland Mayor

Sarah Iannarone, Portland Mayor

Chloe Eudaly, Portland 4

Mingus Mapps, Portland 4

Lasey Beaty, Beaverton Mayor

Denny Doyle, Beaverton Mayor

As expected, all of the above indicated their acceptance of the following position:

NO. I support the current status quo policy of Targeted, Unlimited Neighborhood Concentration of Public Housing which allows government to load the neighborhoods of its choosing with up to 100% Public Housing. I also support the current status quo policy of denying the establishment of goals which would aim public policy and funding toward of a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 15% Public Housing households per neighborhood in Portland and Multnomah county.

Dear Reader/Voter, are you impressed? You are encouraged to contact them. If their answers differ from what you read above then please let me know. Thank you.

Stay away from crowds especially indoors. Wear a mask. Practice social distancing. Stay safe. Keep others safe.

Richard Ellmyer

North Portland

Author of more stories on the politics, players and policies of Public Housing in Oregon over the last nineteen years than all other journalists and elected officials combined.

Author of The Ellmyer Report, a newsletter that informs, educates and influences on public policy. Occasionally distributed to more than a quarter of million readers in Oregon and beyond. Facebook, Portland Politics Plus . Opinion contributor to Patch.com news.

FACTS And Arguments Against The JOHS Hard-Walled Homeless Site Project AT 8005 N. Richmond Ave. In St. Johns

A. It is unlikely that the Republican senate will allow additional emergency funding to state and local governments anytime soon.

B. Portland, Multnomah county and the state of Oregon are and will be experiencing severely reduced revenues during the next budget cycles.

C. Police overtime of 7 million dollars and counting will add continued pressure on Portland financial resources.

D. Wildfires throughout Oregon will drain emergency funds from government budgets and create more homeless.

E. The economic depression will cause many low-income households to face eviction sooner or later and expand the homeless population.

F. The Peninsula Crossing Trail, about a mile from the hard-walled homeless camp project on private property at 8005 N. Richmond Ave., has become a permanent and growing homeless camp. The Peninsula Crossing Trail has been a site for homeless camping for years. The south side of Lombard is owned by PGE. It does NOT inspect this property and allows camping which is prohibited by law. PGE has never been cited for its constant violations. The regulatory PUC has not taken any action despite repeated violations.

The north side of Lombard is owned by Metro. Their property is managed by the city of Portland by intergovernmental agreement. For many, many months, long before the Covid-19 outbreak, Metro has refused to acknowledge its responsibly to hold Portland Parks accountable for maintaining Metro's property and fulfilling its contractual agreement. Portland Parks and Recreation put up no camping signs then ignored the violators.

If you filled the hard-walled homeless camp project on private property at 8005 N. Richmond Ave. with twenty of those camping on the Peninsula Crossing Trail you would not notice the difference in this ever growing tent city.

G. It is not possible to justify the cost to house 20 homeless persons in luxury accommodations on private property when other more cost effective solutions are available on public lands to serve a very large and growing homeless population.

H.

20 Hard Walled Dwellings @ $10,500 per unit

$210,000.00

Utilities Electric

$11,154.00

Utilities Gas

$11,154.00

Utilities Water

$11,154.00

Utilities Sewer

$11,154.00

Total

$254,616.00

Recurring Annual Expenses

Rent

$40,800.00

Professional Services

$40,000.00

Utilities

$45,000.00

Staff Wages

$141,600.00

Staff Benefits

$4,000.00

Staff Taxes

$20,384.00

Insurance

$2,400.00

Accounting

$1,200.00

Total

$295,384.00

Capital + Expenses FY1

$550,000.00

I. This project was motivated by successful lobbying of mayor Wheeler by the Overlook NA to get rid of the homeless campsite in that neighborhood.

J. The task to find a different location for the Overlook campers was assigned to the Joint Office of Homeless Services.

K. JOHS could have proposed a campsite or another solution anywhere within Metro’s geography.

L. JOHS first choice was a publicly owned property in the St. Johns neighborhood that already had 15% Public Housing households which is 5% above Multnomah county’s 10% Public Housing households, 10% higher than Washington county’s 5% and 12% above Clackamas county’s 3%.

M. Lobbying from a business nearby the proposed location caused JOHS to move the proposal to a private property site in St. Johns at 8005 N. Richmond Ave.

N. JOHS and the St. Johns NA held a public meeting in May 2019 attended by 400 concerned citizens. Not one citizen was allowed to comment or ask a question.

O. In October 2019 all 15 positions in the SJNA board were up for election. Citizens who campaigned against the proposed hard-walled homeless at 8005 N. Richmond Ave. won all fifteen seats.

P. No majority of Portland and Multnomah county commissioners has approved Marc Jolin’s unilateral location policy and spending decision for the proposed hard-walled homeless camp at 8005 N. Richmond Ave.

Q. Do Good Multnomah, the organization that is eventually supposed to manage this project, has suspiciously signed a contract with the St. Johns Christian church to proceed with this project despite the apparent fact that no contract has been signed between DGM and JOHS nor have any JOHS funds been distributed to DGM for this project. This, of course, raises DGM efficacy and credibility issues.

R. Both the location in the St. Johns neighborhood and the FY1 outlay of $550,000 are both indefensible and highly controversial.

S. The hard-walled homeless camp project on private property at 8005 N. Richmond Ave. violates the policy of parity of the Metro regional government, which has declared Public Housing to be a regional issue under its control.

Metro Area Candidates Public Housing Reality Show Episode 1 RECAP

When you speak or write about households whose current access to housing involved meeting the following criteria i.e. Means Test (<=80%MFI) + Government Subsidy (any government any type) + Rental Agreement, what words do you use?

As expected, all of the above indicated their acceptance of the following position:

I haven’t given it much thought. The easiest position for me to take is to support the status quo which conflates the mutually exclusive definitions of PUBLIC HOUSING with AFFORDABLE HOUSING. Since everyone supports the idea of Affordable Housing but there is considerable controversy over Public Housing it’s politically convenient to avoid defending the facts and obfuscate the truth.