From: Richard Ellmyer

Date: April 26, 2010 1:45:31 PM PDT

To: HAP Board <board@hapdx.org>

Cc: Sam Adams <samadams@ci.portland.or.us>, Nick Fish <Nick@ci.portland.or.us>, Amanda Fritz <amanda@ci.portland.or.us>, Randy Leonard <rleonard@ci.portland.or.us>, Dan Saltzman <campaign@dansaltzman.com>, LaVonne@portlandoregon.gov, Shane Bemis <Shane.Bemis@ci.gresham.or.us>, Shirley Craddick <Shirley.Craddick@ci.gresham.or.us>, Carol Nielson-Hood <carol.nielsen-hood@ci.gresham.or.us>, Dick Strathern <dick.strathern@ci.gresham.or.us>, Paul Warr-King <Paul.Warr-King@ci.gresham.or.us>, David Widmark <David.Widmark@ci.gresham.or.us>, Jeff Cogen <jeff.cogen@gmail.com>, Deborah Kafoury <district1@co.multnomah.or.us>, Diane McKeel <district4@co.multnomah.or.us>, Judy Shiprack <district3@co.multnomah.or.us>, Karol Collymore <karolann11@gmail.com>, Chuck Currie <chuck.currie@gmail.com>, Gary Hansen <garyhansen3995@msn.com>, Tom Markgraf <markgraf@teleport.com>, Maria Rubio <mariarubio26@aol.com>, Loretta Smith <sloretta407@aol.com>, Paul Van Orden <ossiclesrecording@gmail.com>, Jesse Cornett <campaign@jessecornett.com>, Rex Burkholder <RexBurkholder@comcast.net>, Shirley Craddick <shirley_craddick@msn.com>, Christopher Gorsek <chrisgorsek@comcast.net>, Kathryn Harrington <Kathryn@Harringtonformetro.com>, Tom Hughes <tom.hughes@tonkon.com>, Jeffery Reynolds <reynolds4metro@gmail.com>, Duke Shepard <duke@dukeshepard.com>, Bob Stacey <bobstacey@mac.com>, David Bragdon <David.Bragdon@oregonmetro.gov>, Carlotta Collette <Carlotta.Collette@oregonmetro.gov>, Carl Hosticka <hostickac@metro.dst.or.us>, Robert Liberty <Robert.Liberty@oregonmetro.gov>, Rod Park <Rod.Park@oregonmetro.gov>, Interested Parties <interested@macsolve.com>

Subject: Serving The Interests Of Your Jurisdictions With Online, Real Time Statistical Data

Hi Housing Authority of Portland Board Et. Al.:

For the public record it is important that every member of the HAP board have a copy of my testimony given to the Portland city council on April 21, 2010 (see below).

HAP's policy and spending decisions, made while imposing self-inflicted ignorance of HAP's Public Housing Statistical Data and building barricades to keep taxpayers, elected officials and candidates for public office from accessing that same Public Housing Statistical Data, are wrong, indefensible and unsustainable.

The job of HAP's board members are, "to serve the interests of the jurisdictions they represent." That does NOT mean to only serve the interests of HAP's purported 33,000 clients and the interests of HAP's staff.

The interests of HAP's Multnomah county representatives include those of 200,000 citizens that cannot vote for the Portland city council - which confirms potential board members - and the mayor of Portland - who has the singular power to nominate and dismiss HAP's board. Every citizen of Gresham is disenfranchised from electoral influence over the Portland city council and its mayor. Everyone even remotely aware of politics and the democratic process understands this basic maxim: If you don't vote you don't count.

The direction of the public conversation regarding HAP's future will include the following:

1. Should HAP nominees be required to state on their application for the job of serving the interests of a specific jurisdiction which of these fundamental, mutually exclusive policy positions they support:

A. Equitable Distribution of Public Housing - which requires accurate, complete and timely Public Housing Statistical Data?

OR

B. UNLIMITED neighborhood concentration of Public Housing?


2. Should political control over the Housing Authority of Portland be transferred from the Portland city council to the Multnomah county commission or the Metro regional government?

3. Should the elected official with the power to nominate and dismiss HAP's board be required to publicly inform all HAP nominees prior to confirmation that their job is to serve the interests of all the citizens within the jurisdiction they may represent?

HAP's demonstrated willingness or unwillingness to provide Public Housing Statistical Data online in real time will most certainly have an impact on how voters, taxpayers, legislators and citizens answer these questions.


Richard Ellmyer

Candidate for the North Portland House seat in the May 18, 2010 Democratic primary

http://www.ellmyer4staterep.com

Oregonian Voter Guide, http://thevoterguide.oregonlive.com/race-detail.do?id=193097205&party=D


Portland City Council Testimony - 4/21/10

As a candidate for the North Portland House seat I have proposed that $30,000 be set as the maximum income allowed for a one person household to enter and remain a public housing client in Oregon.

When I asked the Housing Authority of Washington County to provide me with statistical data it provided the files within 48 hours, without fuss and fee.

When I asked the Housing Authority of Portland four times for the same statistical data it ignored my requests for 100 days.

The Multnomah county district attorney assured HAP that as long as it didn’t respond to my requests he was not required to get involved. He also wrote to me that, “the records you seek do not exist” because they were stored electronically on a computer database program. DA Mike Schrunk’s ignorance on this subject is frightening.

Almost immediately after the DA’s pronouncement that HAP’s public records didn’t exist HAP embarrassed Schrunk by announcing that the public records I requested, like the ones from Washington county, did in fact exist and that I could have electronic reports that would take only seconds to produce for a fee of $125.

Yardi Voyager is the browser-accessible, database software used by HAP. Yardi tech support told me that the program can be configured to show as many or as few fields on screen as the program owner chooses. Its screen layouts and report capabilities are extensive, easy to use and fast. It has sophisticated security that can restrict access by screen or user or class of users. And, Yardi Voyager can be accessed on the Internet.

I urge the only government body that confirms HAP’s board and the mayor of Portland, the only elected official with the statutory authority to nominate and dismiss HAP’s board, to accept your inherent, commensurate responsibilities of oversight and accountability over those unelected, unvetted citizens who YOU have given the power to make public policy affecting the lives of 700,000 citizens of Multnomah county and annually spend more the 80 million dollars of taxpayer money.

I particularly request Commissioner Fritz, who owes her job and allegiance to the taxpayers of Portland to start acting like she respects those that helped put her in office and demand accountability in the name of Portland taxpayers from the Housing Authority of Portland.

Attorney General Kroger is to be commended for his efforts to put as many public documents under his control online to avoid the time consuming and practically useless Oregon Public Records Law.

The HAP board CAN put its Public Housing Statistical Data online. The Portland city council MUST make sure that they do.