Dear Mayor Potter:
My parents and teachers say that a good education teaches a student how to gather data then analyze the information to come to some conclusions about the subject. They said that the pupil could then use this research as the basis for informed discussions with others and the basis for personal action such as voting. Do you believe this? My father said that when you were a candidate for mayor you said that you believed that public officials needed good data to make good decisions. Do you still believe this?

My friends and I think it's great that you are trying to keep our schools open so that we can learn more and become educated citizens and assets to our community. But my mom, who voted for you, does not understand why you don't want the voters of Multnomah county to be educated about how you are supervising the spending of $200,000,000 a year of public money on public housing. My mom is on a PTA committee at my school looking into the concentration of public housing students at various schools in my neighborhood. She says her committee can't get anywhere because you don't want PTA's to know what you're doing. Is my mom right?

During dinner last night my dad said that you had reneged on your promise to make public housing data available to the voters. I asked my father how that could be since you were trying so hard to educate us kids wouldn't you also want to try hard to educate the adults in our community who voted? My dad said that you let your IOU to protect Erik Sten trump your responsibilities to educate the public. I didn't really understand what he meant by that but I think it was about covering up something bad Erik Sten had done.

My history teacher, Mr. MacColl, assigned my class to write a letter to you based on what he put up on our class web site: 

In October 2004 Candidate Potter supports public housing data by neighborhood and the 3-6-9 Resolution. Mayor Potter announces at a city council meeting on January 26, 2005, before HAP's Chair, Kandis Nunn and two members of the HAP board, Shar Giard and Kathy Such, that he had asked HAP if it could produce public housing data by neighborhood and the response was it could. He then said that he would follow up with a letter requesting the data. Potter never sent the letter.

At a budget hearing on February 28, 2005 the mayor asks Richard Ellmyer if he had received the public housing data by neighborhood. Potter seems surprised and bewildered when Ellmyer tells him that he has received nothing from HAP at all.

On May 2, 2005 Potter's staff wrote the following to explain, albeit without relevant justification, why the mayor had not fulfilled his commitment to gathering pubic housing data by neighborhood:

"the ball has indeed already been set in motion on the mapping of public housing resources.  This is being done by HAP, PDC, and BHCD staff in conjunction, as part of the City's update to our Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing. ... this analysis will look at several things, including data and policy issues relating to the increase/decrease in concentrations of poverty ... and how these trends are spread across Portland's neighborhoods.  This analysis (and its maps) will be finished and brought to Council in September this year, and its adoption by Council will give us a roadmap to guide future public housing policy decisions and expenditures to ensure that we are efficiently investing public resources in a way that benefits our entire community [and] is equitable."

In February 2006 HCDC adopted the AI report which included an action item to review the 3-6-9 Resolution with the city of Portland, the city of Gresham and Multnomah county. The AI report clearly shows concentration of public housing clients in some of its maps but does not indicate that information by neighborhood, income, age nor gender. The AI report is not scheduled to be presented to the Portland city council.

At least two elected officials and three candidates for public office have made legitimate requests for public housing data by neighborhood from HAP's chair, Kandis Nunn. More than five weeks have passed and none of those requesting this information have received it. Some have received no response at all. Each student needs to write a letter to the mayor about this situation.

Mayor Potter, here is my letter written with some help from my parents.

Dear Mayor Potter:
More than five weeks ago public officials that represent me and candidates that want my parents to vote for them requested the following from HAP's Chair, Kandis Nunn - 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 them have received this information.

On January 26, 2005 you announced that HAP was capable of providing public housing data by neighborhood and that you intended to seek that information as you had promised when a candidate for mayor. To the best of my knowledge you also have not received this information.

You are surely aware that the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing report, which has been adopted by the Housing and Community Development Commission, contains a recommendation to the city of Portland, the city of Gresham and the Mutlnomah county commission to review the 3-6-9 Resolution. None of these public jurisdictions nor HCDC nor my mom's PTA study group can proceed with this action agenda item without public housing data by neighborhood.

Elected public officials and those candidates seeking public office must have access to public housing data by neighborhood in order to discuss with voters, including my parents, and public officials the issue of why $200,000,000 is being spent annually to concentrate public housing clients into just a few select neighborhoods of the 117 neighborhoods in Multnomah county. This pattern will continue unchanged, with your blessing, unless challenged with a public debate using authentic, accurate, complete and timely public housing data by neighborhood.

As the only elected official with the statutory authority to both nominate and dismiss public housing commissioners, the mayor of Portland has an inherent obligation to guide, supervise and coordinate the activities of the 29 appointed public housing commissioners that serve at the mayor's pleasure. I request that you, as the mayor of Portland, instruct one of these housing commissioners, Kandis Nunn, to immediately provide me and Sam Adams, Ginny Burdick, Jeff Cogen, Jim Robison, Emilie Boyles and my mom's PTA group with public housing data by neighborhood or replace her with someone who will.


As a candidate for mayor you acknowledged what elected officials and citizens know to be true, you can't make good public policy without good public data. We cannot make good public housing policy in Multnomah county without good public data in the form of public housing data by neighborhood. What's the point of asking my parents for more tax money for a longer school year if I cannot discuss nor debate this issue in the classroom with my fellow students because you won't give me, my parents nor my teachers public information. I don't want to stop learning when I grow up. Education is not just for kids.

Sincerely
Sally Schoolgirl
Portland Public Schools

P.S. I would be happy for an invitation to address you and the city council during your regular meeting when you ask us students to talk about our education. Maybe I could take the opportunity to ask you some of these questions in person and in public.


Those of you who think Sally has a point may want to send your thoughts on this subject to mayor Potter and other public officials and candidates for public office.


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