District 3 Candidate Responses
Published: 2024-02-19
At the District 3 candidate forum last month, the candidates took a number of curated questions from the Roseway Neighborhood Association, and questions from the live audience. We offered to pass along additional questions submitted online and written at the event to the candidates. We have gotten several responses. We will update this post if we receive responses from other candidates. Many thanks to the candidates who have replied so far!
Chris Flanary
Do you support bike lanes on Sandy? Where? I would support more infrastructure upgrades all along Sandy that center pedestrians and cyclists
Will you do an interview on BikePortland? I'd be happy to - email me info@chrisforportland.com
Traffic safety: Neighborhood business districts only thrive where folks feel safe to walk. I agree, a walkable community should be a goal for every part of the city.
The City is facing immensely complicated and challenging issues and we need experienced leaders at the helm. What experience in city governance has qualified you for this position? Specifically, what experience do you have in setting public policy, budgeting in the public sector, and serving in a quasi-judicial role, such as at public hearings? I have worked for the Portland Housing Bureau since 2013 (I am running as a private citizen), and been a leader in my union for almost as long. While I have not set public policy I am familiar with the process through my experience on the Inclusionary Housing team.
The Roseway neighborhood has very specific safety and livability issues that are in urgent need of response (ie. gun violence on a near nightly basis, monthly street takeovers with no police response, murder hotspot on 82nd Ave, prostitution and trafficking one block from McDaniel High School, car theft, degraded local roads that are nearly undriveable). How do you intend to respond to and address the specific issues that impact neighborhood safety and livability? My understanding is that some of the most effective ways to improve neighborhood safety and livability are to get folks outside in their community, talking to each other and creating a vibrant neighborhood. Improved lighting and transportation design are also shown to reduce crime and antisocial behavior. I would pursue a combination of investment in infrastructure and in the people of the community.
I am concerned that Multnomah County has one of the highest marginal tax rates in the country, which is leading to an exodus of middle and high income earners out of the city. While I am lucky enough to own a house in this neighborhood (nearly ¾ of the housing units in Roseway are owner-occupied), I can barely afford to live in a city that I've called home for nearly 25 years. How do you plan to address affordability concerns for middle and high income earners in your District? People in Portland need living wages to keep up with the rising cost of living. I am prioritizing working Portlanders and folks on fixed incomes who are squeezed tight by everyday expenses. Multnomah County voters approved the marginal tax rates on higher incomes to address the housing crisis and I stand by the voters. I believe that investment in the community pays off for everyone.
Angelita Morillo
Do you support bike lanes on Sandy? Where? Yes, we need bike lanes throughout the entirety of Sandy Boulevard. In addition, especially since Sandy between 57th and 82nd is targeted for development as a neighborhood corridor, it should be more bike and pedestrian-friendly to help the businesses along that road grow and help the corridor develop into a gathering place for the community.
Will you do an interview on BikePortland? I already have! Check it out here: https://bikeportland.org/2023/12/28/podcast-city-council-candidate-angelita-morillo-382777
Traffic safety: Neighborhood business districts only thrive where folks feel safe to walk. I agree! That’s why I support redesigning 82nd and César Chávez to be more pedestrian friendly and putting in bike lanes on Sandy, especially the corridors that the neighborhood is wanting to activate, to make these streets safer and more welcoming for all.
The City is facing immensely complicated and challenging issues and we need experienced leaders at the helm. What experience in city governance has qualified you for this position? Specifically, what experience do you. I have spent my entire professional life in public service, including setting public policy, budgeting in the public sector, and serving in a quasi-judicial role, such as at public hearings. Currently, I am an Anti-Hunger Policy Advocate at Partners For a Hunger-Free Oregon. It is my job to hold agencies like the Oregon Department of Justice accountable, gather feedback from the community to improve access to food programs, and to work with community partners and Legislators to pass policy changes at the State and Federal level.
Additionally, I sit on the Rental Services Commission with the City of Portland, where I hear directly from Portlanders about the biggest housing issues facing them and work with policy advocates to come up with recommendations for Portland City Council.
The Roseway neighborhood has very specific safety and livability issues that are in urgent need of response (ie. gun violence on a near nightly basis, monthly street takeovers with no police response, murder hotspot on 82nd Ave, prostitution and trafficking one block from McDaniel High School, car theft, degraded local roads that are nearly undriveable). How do you intend to respond to and address the specific issues that impact neighborhood safety and livability?
This area of Portland has long suffered from a lack of investment by the city. There is a lack of affordable housing in the area, the healthcare system and social safety net are difficult to access, and the structure of 82nd makes it difficult for the members of the community, especially children, to play and gather.
The road towards addressing issues of neighborhood safety and livability isn’t going to be simple or short–it will have to be multifaceted and in stages. One of the first things we can do to help the neighborhood is create more shelter beds. Right now, the City of Portland does not have the shelter beds it needs to help get folks off the streets and into transitional housing. We need to be creative with permitting to create communal housing–for example, when Concordia University’s dorms were for sale, the city didn’t even put in a bit because the zoning wasn’t correct, but it would have been an amazing spot for a shelter or transitional housing if we would have had the political courage to tackle the zoning to help people. The infrastructure is there.
Longer term, though, the only way to start to fix areas like this is investment in the causes, not the symptoms. We need to expand affordable housing and detox center options as well as expand Portland Street Response 24/7 citywide so that they can take mental health crisis calls and also alleviate police call load. In addition, the remodel of 82nd Avenue could do a lot for this area. Pending grants to put in BRT will incentivize transit-oriented development and create pedestrian and community-centered spaces.
I am concerned that Multnomah County has one of the highest marginal tax rates in the country, which is leading to an exodus of middle and high income earners out of the city. While I am lucky enough to own a house in this neighborhood (nearly ¾ of the housing units in Roseway are owner-occupied), I can barely afford to live in a city that I've called home for nearly 25 years. How do you plan to address affordability concerns for middle and high income earners in your District? Affordability is absolutely a concern for me as an everyday Portlander. I have been a renter all my life, I was the first in my family to go to college, and I have consistently experienced housing insecurity to the point where I was homeless for a time. I think the best way to ensure that we can address affordability concerns is to take a fine-toothed comb to the city budget, especially with the new city charter, to ensure that we are using taxpayer dollars as efficiently as we can to make the city a better place to live for everyone. If we can use the tax dollars we have more efficiently, that means that we can look at ways to give relief to folks who are struggling with affordability.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Do you support bike lanes on Sandy? Where? I support bike lines everywhere in this city. We need protected bike lanes throughout Sandy. I appreciated this article about the people who have spent a lot of time thinking about how to improve Sandy and make it a place where people feel safe.
Will you do an interview on BikePortland? I’d love to.
Traffic safety: Neighborhood business districts only thrive where folks feel safe to walk. The night that my campaign manager and I drove to Calvary Presbyterian Church for the forum, Sandy was barricaded by police cars and flares. We found out after the forum that a pedestrian had been struck and killed just before we arrived–an elder in our community named Shui E. Yuan. It was a horrible irony to be diverted on our way to a forum to talk about the need for a safer city, only to learn that an 84-year-old pedestrian had been killed by traffic violence. Our city’s streets are not safe–not for people on foot or bikes–and not for people in cars on city streets that don’t factor in vulnerable pedestrians, human error, or reckless driving. We desperately need to prioritize changes to our streets.
The City is facing immensely complicated and challenging issues and we need experienced leaders at the helm. What experience in city governance has qualified you for this position? Specifically, what experience do you have in setting public policy, budgeting in the public sector, and serving in a quasi-judicial role, such as at public hearings? Charter reform has given us an amazing opportunity to bring legislators with new strengths into a more expansive form of governance. I am fiercely involved in my community in a way that many seasoned politicians are not, to the detriment of their constituents. As an educator with 15 years of experience teaching in Portland schools, I am intimately connected to neighborhoods across Portland, and attuned to the needs of Portland families. I am a trusted part of communities who have not often been given a voice in city governance. I am active in my union, the Portland Association of Teachers, and have served roles from lead external organizer to steering committee member. I am deeply familiar with handling conflict and building consensus in moments where the stakes are very high and the way forward is disputed. These are all strengths that are sorely needed in government, and I look forward to bringing them to our City Council.
The Roseway neighborhood has very specific safety and livability issues that are in urgent need of response (ie. gun violence on a near nightly basis, monthly street takeovers with no police response, murder hotspot on 82nd Ave, prostitution and trafficking one block from McDaniel High School, car theft, degraded local roads that are nearly undriveable). How do you intend to respond to and address the specific issues that impact neighborhood safety and livability? Roseway has seen a lot of heartbreak. Just last May a young person named Savon Marquis Davis was killed on 82nd–he was only nineteen years old. When I was invited to the Roseway candidate forum, one of the questions referenced the block by the Madison Suites, which The Oregonian called Portland’s “deadliest block.” That block is instructive for talking about the confluence of failures that have led to many of our residents feeling unsafe. It’s easy to say, “crime is out of hand.” Anyone who says they can disappear these pockets of poverty and crime overnight is lying to get your vote, but I know that Portlanders are tired of hearing that problems are complex and things take time.
There are volumes of data showing a lack of affordable housing, a lack of accessible mental health services, a lack of addiction treatment and job training, and fragmented social services and support systems lead to zones of visible misery and unsafe streets. I feel a huge sense of urgency to address these factors from the first day I’m in office.
Some things can happen quickly. It is outrageous that police and emergency services are not always reachable when there is a true emergency, and I would prioritize supporting the work of the Community Safety Division’s emergency response planning and the PBEM, and coordinating with the County on triaging our struggling EMS system. There is also a lot of mistrust and miscommunication between police and the communities they serve. Portland police officers need to be working on rebuilding trust and communication with communities who often for good reason, do not feel safer when there is a police presence. They also need to be able to respond to truly life-threatening, violent situations like shootings or home invasions. Something that can be done immediately is to rebalance the work that police are doing in our city. Right now, police are spending a huge amount of time doing work that they are not trained or equipped to do, involving people in the throes of mental distress and addiction, meaning that violent crime and property crime are not addressed with the necessary speed.
As part of that rebalancing, we need to fully fund and expand programs that have been proven to work in other cities–programs like Portland Rapid Response, which deescalates situations and connects people in distress with the services they need. Portland Street Response has not been allowed to meet its mandate under current city leadership. I will say I am moved and inspired by the Roseway neighbors in that Oregonian article who are working to build community and know their neighbors even in really difficult conditions. Those kinds of networks, which are often part of neighborhood associations, need to be supported and nurtured at every juncture.
I am concerned that Multnomah County has one of the highest marginal tax rates in the country, which is leading to an exodus of middle and high income earners out of the city. While I am lucky enough to own a house in this neighborhood (nearly ¾ of the housing units in Roseway are owner-occupied), I can barely afford to live in a city that I've called home for nearly 25 years. How do you plan to address affordability concerns for middle and high income earners in your District?
I’m a public school teacher and the primary breadwinner of my family, which includes two young kids. So I am very familiar with the anxious feeling before payday, even with a middle class salary, and have seriously felt the pinch of unaffordable childcare, higher grocery prices, and absurd housing costs. But respectfully, there are many, many Portlanders who have been priced out of Portland, and I worry about them more than high-income folks who choose to leave. I am going to push back on the numbers a bit. Statewide, the number of Oregon households earning 250,000 a year has nearly tripled in the last decade. And as for Portland, according to an article in The Oregonian, the most recent tax data available showed that of the 1000 households who pay taxes like our Preschool for All tax, fewer than a dozen had left the city. Economist Mary King has an article in Street Roots that puts Portland taxation in some helpful context.
Affordability is a huge concern for me, but taxes on the wealthiest families in our community are not the metric by which I measure affordability, especially when those taxes are funding programs like Preschool for All, which make it easier for families of all income levels to thrive, and which make Portland more attractive to young families. I want to know that working people in Portland are able to afford housing and transportation and have access to high-quality childcare and well-funded schools. Those are the policies that I will be focusing on.