Many have contacted our office with the same fears for April 1st- rent day. Today, City Council signed a letter with an urgent call for action: Forgive all rent and mortgage payments for renters and businesses whose income or expenses have been substantially impacted by COVID-19
We strongly urge our State and Federal Elected Officials to prioritize rent and mortgage payment forgiveness for all Oregonians as soon as possible.
Moving through this crisis is a marathon, not a sprint, and we need to have measures in place help Portlanders weather the storm so we are better off during the recovery period. We are in this together. #WeGotThisPDX#pdxCOVID19
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Today I voted to support 4/5 proposals brought forward by Mayor Wheeler & Commissioner Ryan in an attempt to address our housing & houselessness crises. I also passed 2 amendments proposed by my office, and supported 2 amendments from Commissioner Rubio.
I am disappointed some of my amendments did not pass, such as speeding up the timeline of creating serviced outdoor camping areas 3x faster than the final proposal, which instead is a set of aspirational, unfunded resolutions that may begin implementation in 2-3 years.
The first resolution was my favorite because it included ideas I have been advocating for - including land banking and finding ways to make use of vacant and under-utilized private property.
We cannot solve the houslessness crisis without also solving the housing crisis.
Last week the Oregonian Editorial board sent each Council office a series of important questions in advance of an opinion piece they published on Sunday about Portland's response to gun violence and community safety. portland.gov/hardesty/news/…
This is an incredibly important conversation & these questions have complex answers. For the sake of transparency and so Portlanders know how I'm thinking about these issues, I wanted to share the entirety of my answers, which can be read below. portland.gov/hardesty/news/…
I don’t believe PPB has a staffing crisis; I believe they have a recruitment crisis. PPB currently has over 100 vacancies.
My office and PBOT are aware that the “thin blue line” flag is being displayed by a City contractor doing work for PBOT. Full statement below.
The thin blue line imagery is viewed by many in our community as a symbol of white supremacy that has been prominently displayed by those that oppose the Black Lives Matter racial justice movement and we understand this is causing distress in the community.
You can count me as one of the many Portlanders that finds this imagery deeply offensive.
It’s Tony Stevenson killed by a chokehold in 1985, where PPB officers responded by creating and selling t-shirts that read “Smoke “Em, Don’t Choke Em”.
It’s the 2003 killing of 21 year old Kendra James during a traffic stop.
It’s the 2010 killing of Aaron Campbell during a welfare check.
It’s the 40 fatal incidents at the hands of Portland Police that have occurred since Kenda James lost her life.
And now most recently it’s the killing of a teenager, Quanice Hayes.
Despite some of the spin out there, I am not anti-police. I am not a cop-hater. I have said over and over again police have a role in our society, but we need a different kind of policing that doesn’t view Portlanders as their enemy.
[Statement Thread] Let me begin by reading a piece of a letter that was written by Donna Hayes, Grandmother of Quanice Hayes, as shared on the Pacific Northwest Family Circle website.
The Pacific Northwest Family Circle is an all-volunteer community group that supports Oregon and Washington Families whose loved ones were killed or injured by police officers.
I want to be very clear, there is an accusation circulating that threatens to damage my reputation as a City Council member and as the Transportation Commissioner. I take these allegations very seriously and am here to tell you they are false allegations.
I have not driven my car in the last 24 hours. In fact, my car is inoperable because of an unlatched door and has been sitting in the same parking spot for about 6 months. As many know, I use Lyft when I’m going somewhere I can’t walk to.
You can ask my neighbors and they will tell you that my car hasn’t moved. I’ve become an avid pedestrian since the COVID-19 pandemic began. I also have not been contacted by the Portland Police Bureau regarding any such incident.