Oregonian Editorial Board:
Your editorial criticism today* of Oregon politicians for refusing to answer a survey about their views on matters political would have more credibility if the Oregonian editorial board (and their colleagues, reporters and columnists, toiling in separate parts of the same vineyard) took its own advice.

"Elections, after all, should be about competing ideas" *

Quite true. So how's this for a competing idea. Mayor Katz and the current members of the Portland city council encourage concentration of public housing clients into a few select neighborhoods and spend more than 200,000,000 tax dollars a year in support of their position. To avoid detection, embarrassment and public ridicule for acting in direct opposition to the city's stated public policy of distribution not concentration they have assiduously avoided providing any neighborhood data that would expose their actions.

A legislative attempt is being made to correct this behavior in the form of the 3-6-9 Resolution**. It will make transparent, understandable and accountable Portland/Multnomah county's public housing policy. A competing idea would you not agree? And yet, not a peep from the Oregonian. Why is that?

As voters, if we even knew such a survey existed, we would not be surprised nor particularly aggrieved that those running for office don't always want to put all of their cards on the table. What is distressing is that our state's largest and arguably most influential newspaper is "whining" because some politicos didn't fill in a form and are therefore depriving Oregonian readers of valuable information. Excuse me, but asking candidates for public office where they stand on public policy issues is YOUR business. It's YOUR job to ask the questions and then tell us the answers. It's what readers expect. And you're not delivering any more than the politicians you chastise. The Oregonian's reluctance to examine the issue of public housing policy, both within (editorial) and without (reporting) is indefensible, unprofessional and a disservice to your readers and our community.

I write HAP Watcher commentaries and twenty-seven hundred voters and political activists read about public housing policy issues affecting the lives and businesses of everyone in Multnomah county because you don't. It is still unclear to me whether your reluctance to deal with public housing policy issues is based on fear (you don't want "those" people moving into your neighborhoods), laziness (it just takes too much time to research and digest the material) or incompetence (you don't have any journalist smart enough to follow this complex story). I've spent more than three and a half years of intense study and involvement in this issue. If your staff can't handle it, publish my work. Because I've already got credibility. I've already proved that I can handle it. The research, the thinking and the writing.

The traditional political "dog days of August" will provide ample opportunity for Oregonian journalists to explore, investigate, think and write about public housing policy. We will be especially interested in what questions and what answers you get from our would be mayor, Jim Francesconi and Tom Potter. After all, and here's a freebee research tip, the mayor of Portland holds all the public housing cards in Multnomah county.

Good luck. Happy hunting.

* http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1091880137213031.xml
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Richard Ellmyer
Portsmouth - the 18% solution neighborhood, North Portland
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org

** DRAFT
Declare 3-6-9 Neighborhood Percentages As Transparent, Understandable and Accountable Distributive Public Housing Policy Goals

WHEREAS the city of Portland has an established policy that public housing clients should not be concentrated into a few select neighborhoods but rather distributed throughout Portland’s neighborhoods,

WHEREAS it has become necessary to quantify the policy of distribution of public housing clients in order to assure that public expenditures are being spent in furtherance of these objectives,

WHEREAS it is necessary to adopt neighborhood map based accounting as a reporting and decision making tool regarding public housing policy and expenditures.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the city of Portland shall establish as its primary public housing client goal in each Portland neighborhood a target of six (6) percent of that neighborhood’s population. Goals for minimum and maximum shall be established so that no neighborhood shall have fewer than three (3) percent and no neighborhood shall have more than nine (9) percent of its population as public housing clients.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the office of the Portland City Auditor shall coordinate the collection of data and report annually on the status of accomplishment toward the 3-6-9 goal.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the city council shall fund the City Auditor’s 3-6-9 related activities by whatever combination of funding sources from HAP, PDC, BHCD or other revenue sources it may choose.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, all appointments for PDC, HAP and HCDC commissioner shall be made during the regular city council calendar.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the mayor shall determine that all nominees to become HAP, PDC and HCDC commissioners agree to support the 3-6-9 policy goal before being formally nominated for council approval.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, during the confirmation proceedings the mayor shall publicly instruct the appointee of his or her obligation to use the office to which they are appointed to further the 3-6-9 policy goal.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, this resolution is binding city policy.