Portland City Council FAILS First Housing ACCOUNTABILITY Test

Regardless of where you live in Oregon how the Portland City Council is or is not held accountable for its success or failure to address its housing crisis will be both of interest and instructive. That accountability begins on day one of their tenure in office. Despite having literally years to prepare and a Housing Primer For Citizens, Candidates, Elected Officials And The Press* as a decision making tool, NONE of the twelve newly elected members of the Portland City Council** were able or willing to produce a policy and plan, which is their legislative job, for addressing the housing crisis in Portland. All failed to produce a Personal Accountability Checklist by their first meeting on 1-2-25. This is a very bad omen.

Here’s how it works:

First: Make a Housing Goal so that we citizens can hold you accountable for your goal.

Second: Make A Housing Policy so that we citizens can hold you accountable for your policy.

Third: Make a Housing Plan so that we citizens can hold you accountable for your plan.

Fourth: Execute a Housing Plan so that we citizens can hold you accountable for executing your plan.

NO Housing Goal = NO Housing Policy = NO Housing Plan = NO Executed Housing Plan = NO ACCOUNTABILITY

Misusing the term “Affordable Housing” for “Public Housing” is the easiest, most fundamental way to assure NO ACCOUNTABILITY.

MORE is neither an acceptable nor accountable housing goal, policy or plan.

Personal Housing Accountability Checklist 1-2-25

1. I use the terms “Public Housing” and “Affordable Housing” correctly in all my public communications.

2. I have made an official request that employees of the government to which I was elected should use the terms “Public Housing” and “Affordable Housing” correctly in their public communications.

3. I support a general overarching Public Housing Policy of Equitable Distribution of Public Housing Units in Portland, Metro and among all Oregon counties.

4A. I support a policy of eliminating homelessness in Portland within my first year in office.

OR

4B. I support a policy of reducing homelessness in Portland within my first year in office by X%.

5. I have determined that there are X# Public Housing Units in the 0-30% MFI that already exist in my district.

6. I have determined that there are X# households, including the homeless, currently living in my district that are within the 0-30% MFI and in need of Public housing.

7. I have determined that the approximate total cost to build all the necessary units of Public Housing for households in the 0-30% MFI range in my district is X# times $385,244 which is $Y.

8. I acknowledge the importance of the Metro/Oregon Public Housing Location Maps as a public asset and support its ongoing development and deployment.

9. I will demand that Metro establish a publicly vetted REGIONAL Housing Policy and a plan to execute that policy that includes elimination of the percentage disparities in Public Housing Units in counties under Metro’s jurisdiction. [Clackamas 3%, Washington 5%, Multnomah 11%]

10. The city of Portland should discontinue financial contributions to the Joint Office of Homeless Services.

11. I acknowledge and support the public’s #1 priority regarding homeless policy and actions which is to get all those illegally camping on public property removed from those properties as soon as possible.

Portland city councilors’ constituents, colleagues, the Press as well as elected officials and citizens throughout Oregon will be interested in their housing judgements and actions.

We all say we want accountability from our elected officials. But, elected officials quickly become skillful at avoiding accountability and most citizens don’t know how to actually hold those who represent them accountable. Candidates promise accountability if elected. However, when elected, accountably is the very last thing they want. Without producing a Personal Housing Accountability Checklist councilors will most certainly take advantage of the 12 persons council size and play the traditional and inevitable blame game by pointing accusing fingers and saying it’s the other guys fault not mine.

The Personal Housing Accountability Checklist, shown above, includes the necessary components of a Housing goal, policy and plan. Councilors are free to add more. However, these are the required basics. Each councilor may have different responses but they must answer every checkbox. Cowardice, blatant obfuscation and self-inflicted ignorance are not options.

Process is important but OUTCOME and ACCOUNTABILITY for that outcome is the name of the game. If councilors are unwilling, unable or afraid to make a Housing Goal, Policy, Plan and execute their Housing plan then they cannot be held accountable and therefore have no business being on the Portland City Council.

Richard Ellmyer

Portland resident since 1975.

Oregon Voter since 1971. NAV, Non Affiliated Voter. Citizen Activist.

Campaign manager and legislative assistant to state senator Bill McCoy 1980-1981.

Campaign manager and senior staff to Multnomah county commissioner Gladys McCoy 1981-1984.

Celebrate North Portland award 2016 for Volunteer Work and Service with Political and Social Issues Impacting North Portland.

Certified Oregon Change Agent by Governor John Kitzhaber 2011.

PSU Senior Adult Learner, Spring 2021 - Public Participation GiS, 500 level class

PSU Senior Adult Learner, Spring 2024 - Planning and Housing Markets, 500 level class

Author of more stories on the politics, players and policies of Public Housing in Oregon over the last twenty-three years than all other journalists and elected officials combined.

Project Champion and Data Wrangler - Metro/Oregon Public Housing Location Maps https://www.goodgrowthnw.org/m...

GIS for Activism conference, May 23, 2022, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon

Richard Ellmyer - How I, A Citizen Activist, Used GIS To Effectively Tell A Necessary Yet Unavailable Truth About Public Housing

30 minute Video https://media.pdx.edu/media/t/...

Lifelong Learning at PSU by Jennifer Jordan-Wong.

LET KNOWLEDGE SERVE THE CITY [Section] “Richard used a course he audited at PSU to create a citizen activist mapping tool to benefit Oregon residents, stakeholders, and policy makers…His interest in mapping as a tool for change began when he noticed that public housing was not being distributed equitably”

https://psucollegeofed.wordpress.com/2022/09/23/lifelong-learning-at-psu/?fbclid=IwAR3S9Pff0mBGeT6Ha8dQeAqL0nAqU7QzZ-0pJC_oTQJxBWlAb2fdXzdE0w4

Author of The Ellmyer Report, a newsletter that informs, educates and influences on public policy. Its target audiences are elected officials, journalists and civically engaged citizens. Facebook, Portland Politics Plus. Contributor: Patch news.

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Portland Politics Plus

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District 1- Candace Avalos, Jamie Dunphy, Loretta Smith

District 2- Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Sameer Kanal, Dan Ryan

District 3- Tiffany Koyama Lane, Steve Novick, Angelita Morillo,

District 4- Eric Zimmerman, Olivia Clark, Mitchell Green