[The following was written in response to The Dilettante vs. The Disaster 
COVER STORY | 1/18/2006 BY IAN DEMSKY 
http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3211/7168/ ]


It remains astounding to me that neither the candidates involved nor the writer of this interview ever mentioned PUBLIC HOUSING POLICY. Truly amazing. [Of course, that can't match the Oregonian's record of 19 years without any Oregonian staffer writing a story about Multnomah County using the phrase, "public housing policy." But that's another issue.]

As it turns out, the Multnomah County Public Housing Czar is actually Portland's mayor. Why is that? More importantly, Why should that continue to be? Neither the current nor former mayor of Portland fulfilled their statutory responsibility which comes with the singular authority to nominate and dismiss all 29 public housing commissioners (ORS 456.110). Neither Potter nor Katz has ever shown either interest or ability to guide, supervise and coordinate the 29 public housing commissioners that annually spend $200,000,000 on public housing in Multnomah county's 117 neighborhoods.

Tom Potter failed to fulfill every commitment he made as a candidate for mayor regarding public housing policy in Multnomah county. He even failed to carry out his own orders as mayor regarding the gathering of essential public housing decision making data, namely, public housing data by neighborhood. The job of Multnomah County Public Housing Czar rightly belongs to the Multnomah County Executive.

After a year in office it has become clear that Portland's mayor and Multnomah County Public Housing Czar Tom Potter will continue his predecessor's policy of hand's off the public housing establishment and allow them to roam freely as they continue to concentrate public housing clients into just a few select neighborhoods in Multnomah County.

Neither the city of Portland nor Multnomah County have a quantifiable public housing policy. The newly released Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing report includes a staff recommendation to Multnomah County, the city of Portland and the city of Gresham to review the 3-6-9 plan as part of an examination of public housing client location issues. Both Wheeler and Linn need to address this gaping hole in public administration and debate the proposed 3-6-9 Resolution which would establish as the primary public housing client goal in each Multnomah County 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. 

It's time for public housing policy to come out of the closet.


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