The political race I’m following with the greatest interest is the race for Portland mayor. Portland is, after all, my hometown (despite being temporarily exiled to attend seminary). It also happens that I know both the leading contenders from the many years I spent working on issues of homelessness and affordable housing.
I made known my preference for Tom Potter in the fall of last year.
It was with great interest that I read the account published today in The Oregonian about the mayoral debate held on Tuesday. Jim Francesconi apparently questioned Potter’s commitment to adequately address homelessness if elected. Here is how the exchange played in the paper:
Francesconi also drew on a statement Potter made Monday night at an East Portland Chamber of Commerce forum when he said he supported programs such as the Dignity Village homeless camp and would like to expand them.Potter said Tuesday that Portland has a lot of tent cities under bridges and that Dignity Village has proved a great experiment where the homeless have helped themselves. Potter also said police sweeps of homeless people don't work.
Francesconi countered that the better strategies for homeless people are to work toward placing them in vacant apartments throughout Portland. He also cited his introduction of a living-wage ordinance in 1998 that required companies doing business with the city to offer health benefits.
"You don't put people out of sight, out of mind," Francesconi said.
Francesconi is once again blowing hot air.
During his tenure as a Portland City Commissioner he has done absolutely nothing to address homelessness. He hasn’t lifted a finger. In fact, Francesconi has voted to oppose efforts to address homelessness and efforts to build affordable housing that people living in shelters could actually afford. In the meantime, he has supported the goals of his downtown business contributors to sweep homeless people off the streets and into jails. He has the worst voting record of any member of the city council.
Potter, on the other hand, worked with me during his tenure as police chief to improve relations with the homeless community. When I served as chair of the Multnomah County Community Action Commission (then the county’s lead anti-poverty agency) he appointed his top deputy, Charles Moose, to serve on the commission as his liaison. The police bureau, under his leadership, supported our efforts to revamp the downtown shelter system in 1990-91. When he left the police bureau he ended up as the executive director of an agency that worked with homeless youth.
Potter’s record is why other homeless advocates such as Erik Sten and Gretchen Kafoury also support Tom Potter over his opponent. Francesconi apparently discovered the homeless issue for the first time on Tuesday. Potter has been on the ground working for years.
Let me address one other issue:
This week I received anonymous e-mails from someone making personal attacks against Potter. These e-mails addressed some of the very same items that Willamette Week made mention of in their cover story today.
The nature of Francesconi’s negative campaigning – of which I consider this apart – is an embarrassment to the entire city.
Potter is a good man with a great record of public service. He should be applauded for taking the heat of this campaign and for being willing to serve Portland again.
