Adams, Leonard, Branam Support The Sharff BRAC Oregon National Guard Option 11/6/07

Portland city commissioners Sam Adams and Randy Leonard as well as John Branam, a candidate for Portland city commissioner, have demonstrated leadership abilities that we citizens crave, but rarely find, in our elected officials or candidates for public office. When they show it they need to be recognized and applauded. Thank you and Bravo!

The numerous unassailable arguments in favor of the Oregon National Guard's ownership and occupancy of the decommissioned Sharff Army Reserve Center have resonated with Adams, Leonard and Branam to the degree that they have been willing to commit to support of the Guard option before the PDC/BHCD staff recommendation is published. These folks did their own homework and then had the courage to make a commitment without concern for the political cover afforded by standing behind some staff proposal. This rare behavior is known as leadership.

Adams, Leonard and Branam join US Senate candidate John Frohnmayer, who was the first candidate/official in this game to recognize the Oregon National Guard as the only reasonable, defensible and necessary recipient of the decommissioned Sharff Army Reserve Center.

To date, no candidate for US Senate, nor any candidate for Portland city commissioner, nor any member of the Portland City Council, nor any member of Oregon's congressional delegation, nor any recognized group has stood up to publicly support the BRAC option which would add more public housing clients to the Portsmouth neighborhood, the neighborhood with the highest total number and the second highest concentration of public housing clients, 30% and rising, in the state of Oregon.

Candidates For Portland City Commissioner Talk Public Housing Policy

During interviews with Chris Smith, John Barnam and Charles Lewis, all candidates for Portland city commissioner, it became clear that the race for this seat will be highly competitive. What was particularly encouraging is that all of these candidates say that they regard as a necessity the gathering of public housing statistical data in order to have a meaningful dialogue with voters on the subject and to make good public housing policy. One candidate, John Barnam, has already put evidence behind the rhetoric by asking HAP chair, Jeff Bachrach, for records on all 33,000 clients. I expect that Smith and Lewis will soon follow.

In addition to their shared commitment to the gathering of public housing statistical data they also share a belief in equitable distribution of public housing as a public policy and oppose the current policy of unlimited neighborhood concentration of public housing. Chris Smith, John Barnam and Charles Lewis all deserve your serious attention.

Jeff Bissionnette, another potentially viable candidate, needs to recognize that four of his competitors have already left the starting gate. It becomes harder to win and beat the competition if you are not yet on the racetrack. It's hard to catch up if you get too far behind.

For more than six years Amanda Fritz has failed in her roles on the Portland Planning Commission, as a neighborhood leader and as a former candidate for city council to show any interest whatsoever in the gathering of public housing statistical data or support for a public policy of equitable distribution of public housing. Perhaps six years is not long enough for her to have studied the issue before she can make a decision. If and when Amanda is ready to share any change of view on this matter with me I will pass on her thoughts to you, my dear readers.


Richard Ellmyer
Community activist leading the campaign to stop all potentially new public housing (means test + government subsidy + rental agreement) in the Portsmouth neighborhood, especially the following:
1. Hacienda CDC public housing project on N. Newell Street
2. The recently decommissioned Sharff Army Reserve Center
3. The former John Ball School site
4. The recently closed Clarendon School site
Standards for Equitable Distribution of Public Housing Resolution author and project champion
Writer/Publisher - HAP Watchers commentary - Published on the Internet (http://www.goodgrowthnw.org) and distributed to thousands of readers interested in public housing policy in Multnomah County. To Subscribe: HAP-Watchers-on@goodgrowthnw.org
President, MacSolutions Inc. - A Macintosh computer consulting business providing web hosting for artists and very small businesses. Located in Portsmouth, the neighborhood with the second highest concentration of public housing clients, 30% and rising, within HAP's Multnomah county jurisdiction of 117 neighborhoods.

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