From: ellmyer@macsolve.com
Subject: In The Game - In The Crossfire
Date: June 24, 2005 11:26:26 AM PDT
To: Erik Sten, HAP Watchers

Without a tab delimited text file containing ALL of HAP's approximately 35,000 client records, each with only two fields, one with a neighborhood, one with a HAP designation of median income, it is NOT possible to put on the public table a credible discussion and debate of the necessity to quantify Portland/Multnomah county's public housing policy.

Commissioner Sten:
Recognizing that mayor Potter is the only elected official with the statutory authority to nominate and dismiss twenty-nine public housing commissioners nonetheless you have been given responsibility for managing the Bureau of Housing and Community Development and liaison with the Housing Authority of Portland. Although you have no authority to compel, as the mayor can, any action from any of the twenty-nine housing commissioners that govern HAP, HCDC and PDC you (and your colleagues on the Portland and Gresham city councils and the Multnomah county commission) can still request action. Therefore, I am asking you to publicly request the following:

1. From HAP - The immediate public availability of a tab delimited text file containing ALL of HAP's approximately 35,000 client records, each with only two fields, one with a neighborhood, one with a HAP designation of median income.

2. From mayor Potter - On May 23 and June 20, 2005 I formally and publicly asked mayor Potter to dismiss Kandis Nunn from the HAP board. As the newly appointed HAP liaison I expect you to immediately issue a statement in support of calling Kandis Nunn, HAP Chair, before the court of public opinion and "judge" Potter to defend a long list of dismissible offenses under ORS 456.110 and asking mayor Potter to announce before the end of his first six months in office, June 30, 2005, the date for a public examination in council chambers and the process for presentation of charges and defense.

As a long time recipient of HAP Watchers commentary you are well aware that background material and supporting evidence regarding both of these requests can be found in abundance on this web site, http://www.goodgrowthnw.org .

I have been a publicly vocal supporter of both a PUD and the city's takeover of PGE. However, even I am taking a moment to reflect on what other less partisan observers will certainly ask; If Potter and Sten have banned together to block information on public housing data by neighborhood (you have a public record of supporting the repression of this information for more than four years), and they both ignore a legitimate documented request to hold publicly appointed officials accountable for dismissible offenses and Potter continues to refuse to acknowledge his role as Multnomah County Public Housing Czar and take control of the twenty-nine public housing commissioners that are responsible only to him and which serve at his pleasure then are Tom Potter and Erik Sten capable of honestly and transparently informing the public about the negotiations and consequences of a  PGE takeover as well as providing assurances that their previous and current failures to confront public housing policy will not be duplicated in future efforts to confront public power policy?

Thank you and good luck.


Richard Ellmyer
President, MacSolutions Inc. - A Macintosh computer consulting business providing web hosting for artists and very small businesses.
Writer/Publisher - HAP Watcher commentary* - Published on the Internet* and distributed to 3500 readers interested in public housing policy in Multnomah County.
Portsmouth - formerly the 18%, currently the 6% solution neighborhood, North Portland
* http://www.goodgrowthnw.org