HAP Commissioners Singe Their Boss - Tom Potter 9/19/05

So the question arises, does Portland's mayor, Tom Potter, know any more about what his appointed housing commissioners at HAP are up to than America's president, George W. Bush, knew about what his appointees at FEMA were thinking before hurricane Katrina?

In September 2004 candidate for Portland mayor Tom Potter said, "The charges laid out in your bill of particulars warrant investigation. Appointed public officials especially those that spend public funds are responsible for their conduct of public business?"* One year later the charges against HAP's board members remain uninvestigated. One can only wonder if former Police Chief Potter lead his department with the same forthrightness, commitment and efficiency to investigate criminal activity? In addition, HAP's board has refused for almost eight months to comply with the mayor's order of January 26, 2005 to provide public housing data by neighborhood and they refuse to tell the mayor and the public what their views are on public housing policy. Was former Police Chief Potter willfully ignorant of his officer's actions and tolerated this kind of insubordinate behavior from his subordinates? Maybe he did.

*[See complete interview http://www.goodgrowthnw.org/MayoralInterview.html] 

So the question arises, why are Kandis Nunn, Jeff Bachrach, Harriet Cormack, Richard Fernandez, Shar Giard, Chris Lassen, Lee Moore, Katie Such and Antoinette Teixeira allowed to continue in a public office which is primarily one of creating and executing public housing policy and spending a significant portion of the annual $200,000,000 for public housing in Multnomah county?

It is an enigma that those who volunteer their time and energies to a public enterprise such as the Housing Authority of Portland, which is charged with the responsibility to make public housing policy related to HAP's annual spending of around $90,000,000 provided by their friends and neighbors, are so reluctant even adamant about concealing their opinions on matters of public housing policy over which they have some authority and control. Why is that? If they are not eager to express their thoughts on public housing policy then why in the world did they ask to be appointed to the HAP board?

Here are the questions Kandis Nunn, Jeff Bachrach, Harriet Cormack, Richard Fernandez, Shar Giard, Chris Lassen, Lee Moore, Katie Such and Antoinette Teixeira refuse to answer and tell mayor Potter and us, the citizens, voters and tax payers of Multnomah county what they think.

1. Do you support the right of the citizens of Multnomah county to both immediate and updated monthly access to HAP's public housing data which includes a 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, gender? 
 
2. Do you support the necessity to quantify public housing policy in Multnomah county? 

3. The 3-6-9 Resolution* [See below] can be the catalyst and basis for a county wide discussion, debate and implementation of defendable public housing policy goals and auditable public housing operations. Do you support the introduction of the 3-6-9 Resolution into the public dialog or an alternative resolution which you have personally written to quantify public housing policy in Multnomah county? 

4. Do you agree with the public statement of September 2004 made by the only person to whom you are accountable and who has the power to terminate your appointment at will, mayor Tom Potter, when he said, "The charges laid out in your bill of particulars warrant investigation. Appointed public officials especially those that spend public funds are responsible for their conduct of public business?"[See complete interview http://www.goodgrowthnw.org/MayoralInterview.html] 
5. On January 26, 2005 mayor Potter directed HAP Chair, Kandis Nunn, to provide public housing data by neighborhood which was in keeping with his stated public position as a candidate. It is now more than seven months later and Tom Potter's promise as a candidate and order as mayor's is yet unfulfilled. What have you personally done to expedite the mayor's directive to produce public housing data by neighborhood?
6. Are you aware that Shelley Marchesi has not contradicted my understanding of her recent message to me, which I mentioned before the Portland city council, that HAP staff has NO plans to provide public housing data by neighborhood to the public - ever - which is arguably insubordinate?
Since Kandis Nunn, Jeff Bachrach, Harriet Cormack, Richard Fernandez, Shar Giard, Chris Lassen, Lee Moore, Katie Such and Antoinette Teixeira are either offended by or afraid to answer or find these questions too hard they should respond by telling mayor Potter that they did not expect to have to publicly express their opinions on difficult public housing policy matters and tender their resignations. If they don't, mayor Potter should accept his responsibilities as Multnomah County Public Housing Czar and replace all of them with real stake holders in public housing, namely those home owners, business owners and parents who send their children to local public schools from the neighborhoods in Multnomah county with the highest percentage of public housing clients. Of course, mayor Potter can't do that until he knows where those neighborhoods are now can he?
I get a constant barrage of email from the mayor's office looking for new blood, citizens that aren't part of, "the usual suspects" and cronies of the former Katz administration to serve on boards and commissions. So Mr. Mayor, how about putting your decision making where your emails are. You have more than enough evidence to justify firing all of the current HAP board. You'll get no flack, nor praise for that matter, from the Multnomah county press that neither knows nor cares about public housing policy and those that make it and spend our money. If you really want to be an agent of positive change in our community then keep your promise to elevate the status of neighborhood livability issues and bring new players into the game. Start by tossing out those with a demonstrated public disregard and disrespect for neighborhoods, the citizens of Multnomah county and your authority. Clean house at HAP - now.

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 6% solution neighborhood, North Portland
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org

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 chose.

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.

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