HAP Vice Chair, Rick Fernandez, announced at the Novermber 15th board meeting that HAP had NEVER received the letter mayor Potter mentioned at the January 26, 2005 Portland city council meeting. As a result, for the last 10 months, despite Potter's public directive in front of HAP Chair Kandis Nunn and because his promised letter never arrived, HAP behaved as though it was under no obligation nor allowance to provide public housing data by neighborhood to the citizens of Multnomah county. Apparently no one on the HAP board, especially Chair Kandis Nunn, ever bothered to ask the mayor where the letter was that he mentioned in her presence nor did any board member of HAP every mention the so-called missing Potter letter to Richard Ellmyer, writer and publisher of the HAP Watchers commentary. It also apparently never occurred to any of HAP's appointed public officials that even without the letter from Potter they were still publicly instructed to provide 700,000 citizens of Multnomah county with public housing data by neighborhood. Why wouldn't HAP provide public housing data by neighborhood for no other reason than it's a good idea regardless of whether the mayor ordered it by voice or letter or not at all? If HAP has nothing to hide then why not provide public housing data by neighborhood? It remains a mystery covered up with an increasingly fishy smell.

The biggest mystery, however, is Tom Potter. Who is this man that as candidate sought votes by saying he supported public housing data by neighborhood, as mayor announced that HAP can and should provide public housing data by neighborhood and then NEVER followed up to make sure that his campaign promises and his orders as mayor were carried out?

These questions now arise:
1. Why did Sara Culp, Potter's senior housing liaison, FAIL to write and send the mayor's letter of instruction to HAP to provide public housing data by neighborhood immediately after the council meeting or anytime in the last ten months?
2. If Potter didn't assume that his instructions to HAP on January 26, 2005 were expected to be carried out then why on February 28, 2005 at a public budget meeting did Tom Potter ask Richard Ellmyer if he had received the data he requested from HAP? Tom seemed genuinely surprised when told that no one from HAP had ever contacted Ellmyer much less delivered, on Tom's instructions, public housing data by neighborhood.

So Where Are We?
The first thing we need to know is where does mayor Tom Potter stand today with regard to his own directive to HAP of January 26, 2005. He gave the instrutions and now he, not someone on his staff, needs to tell us what's going on. I'm going to ask him. You should too, especially if you are or plan to be a candidate for public office in Multnomah county in the near future. HAP Watchers commentaries will be focusing on these candidates from now until November 2006. There is no chance any of them will avoid the issue of public housing policy in Multnomah county. Even commissioners Sten and Saltzman, who have assiduously avoided the topic for years, will not escape this round.

Any candidate the says he or she supports making available public housing data by neighborhood will have to demonstrate that they have asked Tom Potter to give the data to them. They will have to tell us when they asked, when they got the data, and what kind of data did they get? And if they didn't get what they should have then we need to see more proof that they asked Potter again and again and again until he delivers the goods. Without evidence their promises will be no better than candidate Potter's turned out to be. Thank Tom for the increased skepticism and extra scrutiny.

In keeping with this thought, Jeff Cogen, candidate for a Multnomah county commission seat in N & NE Portland - arguably a district containing a severely disproportionate number of HAP clients - needs to tell us what happened when he requested an authentic, accurate, complete and timely record for every public housing client in the form of a tab delimited text file with the following four fields: neighborhood, median income range (0-30,31-50,51-80%), age and gender.

It's also time for city commissioner Sam Adams to step forward and make good on his numerous statements as candidate and commissioner in support of public housing data by neighborhood and the 3-6-9 Resolution. If commissioners and candidates Erik Sten and Dan Saltzman are smart they will join with their colleague commissioner Sam Adams and demand that Potter provide all of them and all the people of Multnomah county public housing data by neighborhood then together introduce the 3-6-9 Resolution in January and invite every candidate for public office in Multnomah county to participate in the discussion and debate.

A Final Thought
If the poliltcal process to make available public housing data by neighborhood and to introduce the 3-6-9 Resolution bogs down to the point where a frustrated candidate for public office or serious public official or an angry concerned citizen or me decides to move this issue into the legal arena, and I'm not suggesting that - yet, then keep this in mind.

On January 26, 2005 mayor Tom Potter, during a regular meeting of the Portland city council announced that he had asked the Housing Authority of Portland if it could produce public housing data by neighborhood and its answer was yes. He then, in the presence of HAP's chair, Kandis Nunn, announced that since HAP had told him they could do it he was now prepared to write a letter to HAP telling them they should do it by making available public housing data by neighborhood. That public act defined the floor or minimum data that citizens could expect as a matter of rightful, legal public access. My request for an authentic, accurate, complete and timely record for every public housing client in the form of a tab delimited text file with the following four fields: neighborhood, median income range (0-30,31-50,51-80%), age and gender is merely a technical definition of Potter's general order. In time we may need to find out if District Attorney Mike Schrunk agrees with me. I'd prefer to remain in the political arena to resolve this issue but I think this is a pretty good argument if it becomes necessary to take this to the legal system for resolution.


Richard Ellmyer
3-6-9 Resolution author and project champion
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 4000 readers interested in public housing policy in Multnomah County.
Portsmouth - formerly the 18%, currently the 8% and rising solution neighborhood, North Portland
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org