Potter pitches a hard-sell plan to shore up schools
Portland - The proposal calls for a personal income tax, a surcharge on business and $5 million from the city
Friday, January 27, 2006
ANNA GRIFFIN and SCOTT LEARN
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1138334115232950.xml&coll=7

[Richard Ellmyer has voted in favor of every tax measure for schools, parks, libraries, Port improvements etc. since 1971.]

Not a single candidate running for the Portland School Board in the last election cycle was willing to discuss how they were going to handle the skyrocketing and unstoppable health care costs except Dan Ryan. When asked, by me, at the Bus Project's debate at Portland's city hall Dan Ryan said that public school employees "DESERVED" whatever health care benefits they already received and he had "no intention of limiting any increases." This is known as management working for its own employees and giving away the store.

During the four year terms of Tom Potter and Dan Ryan, who both enjoy generous taxpayer supported health care benefits, the city of Portland and the Portland School Board will spend $50,000,000 in INCREASED health care costs. All of Dan Ryan's colleagues on the Portland School Board subscribe to his pay them whatever they want for health care policy. The Portland School Board is fiscally irresponsible. Until the Portland School Board votes to support the Oregon Community Health Care Bill they do not deserve the public's trust to spend our money.

To assess Tom Potter's credibility you must wander down the yellow brick road stopping occasionally to chat with the inhabitants of Peter's Never Never Land, Walt's Disneyland, Alice's Wonderland and any "visionaries" that may cross your path. Potter believes that the caring and nurturing federal government along with some exercise and a change in diet for city workers will solve Oregon's moral and economic health care crisis and relieve the unending double digit increases in Portland's health care costs. During Potter's first year in office he has abrogated his statutory responsibility to guide, supervise and coordinate the spending of $200,000,000 by 29 public housing commissioners that serve at his pleasure. Potter has abandoned his real, statutory job responsibilities to pursue a personal fantasy education agenda which is not the obligation nor the business of the city of Portland.

Why is it that the first thing that those who have made their livings from the public purse, like Potter, so easily choose to solve certain problems by raising taxes? At best, raising local taxes is merely a band-aid temporary approach. Been there. Done that. Need to STOP. Like it or not, the reality is that the crisis in equitable and sufficient public education funding, like affordable health care, must be solved by our state government NOT local or federal government. Like it or not, the reality is that those districts that are satisfied with their share of school funding and those public employees satisfied with their health care benefits are not going to easily or willingly change what they feel they "DESERVE." 

If Tom Potter wants to justify placing Portland's School Board problem on his "to do" list he first needs to do the following:

1. Round up a majority on the Portland City Council and the Portland School Board to publicly support the Oregon Community Health Care Bill. It will have no immediate effect on current health care negotiations but it will send a message that providing affordable health care to Oregonians and Oregon's public institutions is the number one priority in our state and must be supported by every public jurisdiction in our state before any of them decides to ask taxpayers for more money for any reason.

2. Call a meeting of his 29 appointed public housing commissioners and give them guidance on how to deal with public housing issues throughout Multnomah county's 117 neighborhoods. Tell them he will introduce the 3-6-9 Resolution as the start of an extensive public discussion of public housing policy. Tell them that concentrating public housing clients in a few select neighborhoods is no longer acceptable. Hire a new staff person with the qualifications to supervise and coordinate the activities of his 29 appointed public housing commissioners and the professional substance to both advise him directly on these matters as well as carry out Potter's instructions to his 29 appointed public housing commissioners.

If Potter is not ready to take command of the public housing apparatus and its annual spending of $200,000,000 which is statutorily his responsibility then he should declare his support for a legislative act which would turn over this responsibility to the Multnomah County Executive.

3. Stop the coffee klatch commiserating with other mayors around the state about education funding and start leading a political hardball effort to change it. Potter needs to learn how government and politics are played in our state capital. Education is just another special interest group. If you want more money for your group you need to count to 31 in the house and 16 in the senate. Don't have the votes? Then do what every other group does - "buy" them.

Hire a professional team, give them the money you would throw at the schools for some temporary relief and tell them to recruit and support candidates who will vote for your education funding bill if elected. Don't ask them to tell you if they support abortion, school prayer, creationism or unlimited presidential power. If they promise to vote for your school funding bill give them lots of money and lots of support. That's how everybody else does it. That's how the system works. That's democracy in action. Stop Whining. Stop taxing. Start playing the game like he knows what he's doing.

Less Visioning More Reality Based Problem Solving


Richard Ellmyer
Oregon Community Health Care Bill author and project champion
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 - Oregon Health Watcher commentary - Published on the Internet and distributed to 6000 readers interested in public health care policy in Oregon.
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org/health.html
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org/octoberpoll.html
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org/candidates.html
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