The Housing Authority of Portland has officially informed Richard Ellmyer that he must deposit $10,000 in HAP's bank account before it will begin looking for public documents which contain statistical data on the age, gender, neighborhood, income and total number of its clients.

Sometimes It Costs To Collect Public Data - Sometimes It Doesn't
Portland City Council's Obligation To Pay
A few months ago the Portland city council decided that to make good public policy with regard to a future sound reduction program it needed to spend $13,000 gathering data from some North Portland residents in order to identify the source of irritating and unwanted noise. I ask you Tom, Dan, Erik, Randy and Sam, do you think that to have a similar foundation to make good public housing policy which involves the annual spending of $200,000,000 you could justify an expenditure of $10,000 for good public housing data?

Of course, the council could save the expense if mayor Potter simply ordered those that serve at his pleasure as HAP commissioners to give him the information. End of story. Tom Potter could also order those that serve at his pleasure as HAP commissioners to give him an authentic, accurate, complete and timely tab delimited text file which includes age, gender, neighborhood and income fields for every client. But, inexplicably, Tom Potter has had almost two years to do that and instead of shining light on HAP's public statistical data he reneged on his promise as a candidate for mayor, refuses to speak to me or publicly on the matter and has made a successful effort so far to keep HAP's public statistical data from elected officials, candidates for public office, voters, taxpayers, citizens of Multnomah county, the press, his colleagues and, most bizarrely, himself. So this option is not likely to happen.

Gresham And Multnomah County Commissioners - Feel Free To Jump In Anytime
Not a single member of the Gresham city council nor any member of the Multnomah County Commission has ever shown an interest in knowing anything about HAP's statistical data. Nevertheless, all of their constituents are affected by scores of millions of dollars of public money spent by the Housing Authority of Portland in Multnomah county each year. Paying for or at least asking for public statistical housing data would be a good step to establishing some credibility on this issue. Jeff Cogen, Ted Wheeler and Bob Pung have asked for public housing statistical data and they do care about public housing policy. The times they are a changin. 

Gresham, Portland and Multnomah County Auditors (FBI?) - You're Players Too
HAP can only estimate the total number of its clients to within plus or minus 2,000 and cannot publicly produce statistical records for 23,000 of its clients and roughly $66,000,000 in public funds which must be attached to those clients. Sound like good public book keeping to you? Any of you see potential here for waste, fraud and abuse? These three public officials should join forces, audit HAP's books and demonstrate the value of elected public auditors to all of their constituencies.

Take The Money And Run - Why Congress Has A 27% Approval Rating 
Oregon's Congressional Delegation's Obligation To Pay
On June 15, 2001 every member of Oregon's congressional delegation signed a letter asking HUD to give HAP an additional $35,000,000 because it was an "exemplary" agency. On June 20, 2006 I asked each of them to look into the many allegations of wrongdoing especially HAP's inability to publicly produce the most minimal records for all of its clients, estimated by HAP to be between 31,000 and 33,000. Almost four months later our brave and forthright congressional "leaders", Ron Wyden, Gordon Smith, Darlene Hooley, Greg Walden, David Wu and Peter DeFazio, with the exception of Earl Blumenauer, have still not found the time, the words and the courage to explain and defend HAP's behavior or tell me why they are not holding HAP to account. Surely, if any of these HAP benefactors asked for this public statistical data HAP could neither refuse nor charge them. But what if HAP can't deliver? Ouch! That would be embarrassing all around.

Earl Blumenauer, an experienced politician of many decades who can smell trouble a mile away, deserves special mention because only a tenured congressman would have the nerve to try and get away with his response. It's not quite Colin Powell at his "finest" hour at the United Nations but moving in that direction. The basic thrust of Earl's argument is best conveyed by the following imaginary letter where Bush (Blumenauer) responds to a Blumenauer (Ellmyer) request for data and an interview:

Dear Congressman Blumenauer (Ellmyer):
Donald Rumsfeld says that Iraq is loaded with WMDs. That's good enough for me. Rumsfeld reports that he has informed you several times that WMDs are strewn throughout Iraq and apparently you don't and won't believe him. Well I do. Please do not bring up this subject again with my office. My staff has been instructed not to answer any further questions you might have regarding access to WMD data. The matter is settled. Unfortunately, I am quite busy doing important presidential stuff so I will be unable to find time to talk with you directly about this issue for the foreseeable future.

I appreciate your passionate concern for a defensible public policy. Please, when you write to your constituents tell them that your worries are unfounded, to trust me as I trust Don Rumsfeld and everything will be just fine.

George W. Bush (Blumenauer)
President and Decider

Earl's letter reads just like that, substituting a HAP staffer for Rumsfeld and public housing statistical data for statistical data on WMDs. Tom Potter wrote a similar letter some time ago. Both refused to address the specific evidence laden allegations of wrongdoing at HAP. Both remain blind to the fact that supplying data only to HAP's funders will be neither relevant nor sufficient to satisfy the needs of elected officials, candidates for public office, academics, press, voters, taxpayers and citizens. Both ignored contacting HAP commissioners in seeking the truth of the matter. Both choose to address what limited "inquiry" they made to a HAP staffer. Apparently it never occurred to either of them that well paid government employees, like most other employees with generous health care benefits, might be more interested in protecting their personal interest than the public interest.