During the FIVE MONTH vacancy for a Multnomah county HAP seat, not a single candidate has been recruited nor recommended for the job by any Multnomah county commissioner nor any candidate for Multnomah county commissioner. 

We, Multnomah county taxpayers, hired Jeff Cogen, Maria Rojo de Steffey, Lisa Naito and Lonnie Roberts to work full time and then some for $80,000 salary + $12,000 health benefits = $92,000 a year. In April 2006 Willamette Week challenged the real workload of county commissioners to justify such a salary and exposed the less than minimal working habits of a majority of the commissioners. After the FIVE MONTH vacancy for a Multnomah county HAP seat there is no possible excuse for Cogen, Rojo de Steffey, Naito and Roberts for not finding the time to recruit candidates, especially Jeff Cogen who represents the district with the highest number and highest concentrations of public housing clients. It is a shameful dereliction of duty and in Cogen's case very disappointing.

For $123,000 salary + $12,000 health benefits = $135,000 a year we expect, no demand, more than the disinterest and ineptitude evidenced by our well paid, well staffed county chair's demonstrated inability to move this matter forward. This indefensible irresponsible procrastination must come to an end. Would mountain climber Ted Wheeler hold up his expedition for FIVE MONTHS at base camp while he pondered on a replacement strategy for the one Sherpa guide vacancy? My dear readers, please consider asking those candidates who would join Wheeler's expedition if the predictable onset of bad weather endangering the climb caused by Wheeler's indecisiveness might disturbingly reveal that his leadership is less competent and enlightened than advertised.

Public housing is a $200,000,000 a year enterprise in Mutlnomah county. HAP spends about $90,000,000. The citizens of Multnomah county are due their representation on the HAP board from someone who will serve their interests. Unfortunately, there is NO REPRESENTATION for the interests of Multnomah county property owners, business owners, neighborhoods and tax payers on the HAP board nor, for that matter, anywhere in the dark labyrinth of the public housing cult of beneficiaries.

Richard Ellmyer supports public housing.

Richard Ellmyer says that the first public housing dollar should be spent on the homeless.

That being said:
Richard Ellmyer advocates for property owners, business owners, neighborhoods and tax payers to have a seat at the table and their voices heard and interests acknowledged in the competition for public housing policy decision making. 

Richard Ellmyer advocates for well lit public accountability from the Housing Authority of Portland and all the public jurisdictions that administer public housing programs in Multnomah county.

Richard Ellmyer advocates for all the public jurisdictions that administer public housing programs in Multnomah county to adopt the same policy of equitable distribution of public housing throughout Multnomah county.

Richard Ellmyer advocates for Multnomah county to have the wider role it deserves in the oversight of the Housing Authority of Portland.

You get the government you deserve. Don't sit and whine. If you think you deserve better, and you do, then send this email to Ted Wheeler right this minute. Don't wait. Do It NOW.


To: Ted Wheeler<ted.wheeler@co.multnomah.or.us>
CC: Richard Ellmyer<ellmyer@macsolve.com>
Subject: Filling The HAP Vacancy

Dear Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler:
Five months is more than sufficient time to recruit, hold public discussions, debate and vote to send a recommendation to the mayor of Portland to appoint a citizen who will represent the interests of Multnomah county on the board of the Housing Authority of Portland.

The interests of Multnomah county are served when authentic, accurate, complete and timely public housing statistical data from the Housing Authority of Portland is regularly placed on the public table for consideration by elected policy makers and the citizens of Multnomah county.

The interests of Multnomah county are served when property owners, business owners, neighborhoods and tax payers have their voices heard and interests acknowledged in the competition for public housing policy decision making at the Housing Authority of Portland. 

The interests of Multnomah county are served by a policy of equitable distribution of public housing throughout all of Multnomah county's neighborhoods.

Richard Ellmyer has demonstrated seven years of commitment to these policies. I encourage the Multnomah county commission to immediately recommend him to the Portland city council for the position of HAP commissioner representing the interests of Multnomah county.


Sincerely,

Multnomah county voter



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 (PDC ignores ICURAAC request to stop funding.)
2. The former John Ball School site (Portland Hope Meadows Corporation and commissioner Saltzman refuse to make available accurate and complete public data on funders and board members.)
3. The recently closed Clarendon School site (Temporarily defined by PPS as a "swing space.")
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.