Multnomah County Public Housing Czar and Portland Mayor Tom Potter has authorized the continued withholding of public housing data by neighborhood from elected public officials and candidates for public office. Shame on you Tom.

Almost a month ago Ginny Burdick - candidate for Portland city council, Jeff Cogen - candidate for Multnomah county commission, Jim Robison - candidate for House Rep. district #44 and Emilie Boyles - candidate for Portland city council joined Sam Adams - Portland city commissioner in asking Housing Authority of Portland Chair Kandis Nunn to send them the following:
An authentic, accurate, complete and timely record for every HAP 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.

To date, NONE of these requests have been honored. 

Potter and his colleagues have howled with anger at those withholding accurate information concerning PGE and the OHSU tram. And yet with nary a concern for his own hypocrisy, Tom Potter refuses to not only keep necessary public information from his colleagues and those candidates that might become his colleagues to make informed decisions on public housing policy he also perpetuates his own self-inflicted ignorance.

Let's look at who and how Potter/Nunn have insulted.

Ginny Burdick is a state senator representing citizens of Portland. She is also a candidate for the Portland city council. Refusing to give A sitting legislator public data is tantamount to refusing to give ALL Oregon legislators public housing data. One can only imagine what might result if East Multnomah county state representative Karen Minnis took umbrage at a refusal to provide her with this information considering her elected colleagues from that part of Multnomah county are also in the dark about HAP's client placements in their neighborhoods.

This behavior with respect to state legislators on the part of Tom Potter and Kandis Nunn is not only hubristic but downright stupid.

Potter/Nunn's refusal to provide senator and candidate Burdick with public housing data by neighborhood not only insults those currently represented by senator Burdick but prevents candidate Burdick from using authentic evidence to challenge her opponent, Erik Sten, as the primary enabler of concentrating public housing clients into just a few of Multnomah county's 117 neighborhoods for at least the last five years. There is little doubt that Sten, who supported Potter for mayor, is calling in a chit to keep the lid on public housing data by neighborhood until after he presumably wins reelection.

Jeff Cogen has supported public housing data by neighborhood and the 3-6-9 Resolution since he became a candidate for Multnomah county commissioner. Jeff also supports a change in public policy which would rightly give the Multnomah County Chair, who is elected county wide, the authority to appoint and dismiss HAP commissioners. Jeff's experience as chief of staff to city commissioner Dan Saltzman has helped him develop into a leader with excellent decision making skills.

The voters of district 2 in Multnomah county want to hear what Jeff Cogen has to say about the concentration of public housing clients in their community. Jeff can't do that without public housing data by neighborhood from HAP.

Jeff Cogen is good enough to get Tom Potter's endorsement for public office but not good enough to be trusted with public housing data by neighborhood. So much for the value of Potter's political support.

Jim Robison has supported public housing data by neighborhood and the 3-6-9 Resolution since before he became a candidate for state representative from district #44. Jim is a computer professional who long time ago told both Tom Potter and HAP that adding a neighborhood field to every client record in HAP's data base was a trivial effort.

Some of the worst abuses of concentration of public housing clients into a few select neighborhoods occur in Robison's North and Northeast House district. The voters of House district #44 want to hear what Jim Robison has to say about the concentration of public housing clients in their community. Jim can't do that without public housing data by neighborhood from HAP.

Jim Robison is good enough to get Tom Potter's endorsement for public office but not good enough to be trusted with public housing data by neighborhood. So much for the value of Potter's political support.


Emilie Boyles persuaded a thousand people to give her 5 bucks so that she could qualify for $150,000 in public campaign funds. She also has supported public housing data by neighborhood and the 3-6-9 Resolution since she became a candidate for the Portland city council.

The thousand citizens that helped Emilie get public funding for her campaign deserve to hear what Emilie has to say about concentration of public housing clients. Emilie can't do that without public housing data by neighborhood from HAP.

Sam Adams has supported public housing data by neighborhood since he was a candidate for city commissioner. Potter/Nunn have told Sam that his request in writing was insufficient. If Sam Adams wants information he will first have to "dance" to their tune. In this case that means Sam will have to make his case before a hoard of HAP board members and employees before they will even consider his request. This is truly outrageous.

When the person responsible for withholding vital information about the OHSU tram was discovered he was fired. The same needs to happen to Kandis Nunn. Adams, Burdick, Boyles, Cogen, Robison and all the citizens they represent or will represent need to call for Kandis Nunn's immediate dismissal.

I would prefer to be represented by elected officials who stand up to arrogant public appointees for their rights and my rights. I want my elected officials to have the best possible data on every subject to make the best possible decisions for me and our community. How about you?

Portland City Club Debate - Saltzman & Fritz - Friday March 10th
Instead of the same old same old questions to which everybody already know the answers, City Club members should ask a question or two about public housing policy and public health care policy that neither candidate will expect. Something like these:
What do you think about Tom Potter's refusal to let HAP give public housing data by neighborhood to Commissioner Adams, Senator Burdick and candidates for public office Boyles, Cogen and Robison and why haven't you asked for this information?

The city of portland will spend $25,000,000 in INCREASED health care costs during the term of office one of you will serve. City Commissioner Sam Adams and public campagin funded city council candidate Emilie Boyles support the Oregon Community Health Care Bill as the way to deal with this problem. If you don't support the Oregon Community Health Care Bill, which would not only save Portland 25 million in increases but actually reduce the city's health care budget by 40 million for a total savings of 65 million dollars over 4 years, what solution do you put on the table?


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