|
Quick. Name three of the five members of the Multnomah County Board of Commission. OK, there's that Bev woman...you know, she used to be a senator or something. Right. County Chairwoman Bev Stein, a former state representative. Who else? Tonya somebody? Actually, it's Tanya Collier. That's two. Who else? How about Mike Burton? No, he's at Metro. One of those Kafourys? Sorry, Gretchen jumped to the City Council seven years ago. Oh, I know. Someone named Roberts. Good guess, but that's strike three.
For some reason, county commissioners remain the Rodney Dangerfields of local government. Part of that is due to the tasks they perform. There's little room for grandstanding when you're running the jails, housing the homeless and operating the libraries. But part of the low profile seems biological. In recent years the county board has attracted commissioners who are capable, sincere, well-intentioned and inexplicably missing the charisma gene. But this election won't improve the commission's DNA makeup. The County Commission does important work, overseeing a $759 million budget and providing a key link between low-income residents who need social services and the government agencies that fund them. It would be nice if these candidates showed the passion, imagination and initiative to generate some excitement about the job seek. On the other hand, we can count our blessings. Too often, elections offer voters no good choices. In this case, there are five capable, seemingly well-intentioned people running for the two open slots, and voters will be well served by any of them.
Commissioner District #1
DIANE LINN
Diane Linn, George Eighmey and Joseph Tam are three like-minded progressive pols, each of whom would make an acceptable county commissioner. But after spending 90 low-energy minutes with the trio, we were craving a pot of Black Tiger espresso. One editorial board member dubbed them "the three fuzzies." Despite their political experience, they all seemed more eager to hug each other than take stands on the issues. Nonetheless, we'll give our nod to Diane Linn, who has spent four years as director of the city Office of Neighborhood Involvement. When asked about her greatest accomplishments at the city, Linn pointed to banners in the Belmont Street business district and the change to a single phone number for city information. It's hardly the stuff of legend, but Linn's real accomplishment has been to navigate the viper's nest of neighborhood politics without earning many enemies. "We're in the business of helping people get along," said Linn, whose office oversees the city's neighborhood-mediation team. "That's not a very tangible thing." Linn's skills at bringing people together would serve her well on the county board, both in deliberations with fellow commissioners and in dealing with the myriad agencies that work with the county. The board would also benefit from her knowledge of Salem. Linn spent three years as executive director of Oregon NARAL. Linn's work with neighborhoods gives her a slight edge over state Rep. George Eighmey. Since joining the Legislature in 1993, Eighmey has seen his reputation grow. Once dismissed as a bleeding heart who talks to much, he's now known as a bleeding heart who has learned to be somewhat effective despite talking too much. Although he battled a Republican majority, last session Eighmey was able to pass a handful of bills that, while hardly landmark legislation, are good policy. He has a strong command of county issues, a likable manner and an unquestionable concern for the downtrodden. In some ways, Eighmey's interests seem better suited for the commission than the Legislature. He's not our first choice, however, because he failed to show the type of leadership in Salem that we think is needed at the county level. Tam would be an even bigger gamble. When he sought our school board endorsement as a first-time candidate in 1991, we were impressed by his enthusiasm and his thoughtfulness on education issues. When he bucked the rest of the board and took a stand against Nike in June 1996, we admired his convictions. And as a Chinese American, he brings a different perspective to the local policy table. Tam's problem is in negotiating the political landscape. He's seen as a loner on the school board, unable to sway fellow members on important votes. That's why he's so hard-pressed to point to a specific accomplishment on the school board. We still think he has the potential to become a key political player in the county. But given the qualifications of his opponents, potential isn't enough in this race.
Commissioner District #3
BARBARA WILLER
There are four names on the ballot for this post, but this is a two-woman race. Barbara Willer and Lisa Naito would probably vote the same on the commission, but they would approach the job from two very different perspectives. We weren't bowled over by Willer, a county anti-poverty bureaucrat who has a commitment to social issues but no track record of leadership. Nonetheless, we give her the nod over her better-known opponent. In her first political bid, Willer has raised lots of money and lined up key endorsements, most notably from County Chairwoman Bev Stein and city commissioners Erik Sten and Gretchen Kafoury. We know that an impressive campaign doesn't translate into impressive public service, but it's a good sign for a rookie. We are, however, troubled by Willer's negative attacks on Naito. In a mailing launched last week, Willer implied that Naito wasted taxpayer money on a travel junket as a Metro councilor. Her dubious proof? Naito--gasp!--used valet parking. Our other question is whether Willer and her potential constituents speak the same language--literally. When we asked Willer to describe her job duties as a "program developer and coordinator for Multnomah County's Community Action Program," she spent 15 minutes talking about "empowerment" and "coordinating resources." As a commissioner, she'd need to drop the jargon and clearly explain the tough choices the county faces. Is there enough money to fund a homeless shelter--yes or no? Does she fully support yet another operating levy for the jails--yes or no? We're still not sure. On the positive side, Willer's understanding of county operations would be a big plus. Of all the commission candidates we interviewed, she displayed the best knowledge of the budget and offered the most specific ideas for saving money. Finally, Willer's candidacy is clearly rooted in the concern she shows for the people she's spent the past seven years working to help. That's a claim her chief opponent can't make. Naito is well-known to Portland voters. She served three terms in the state House of Representatives before jumping to the Metro Council in May 1996 after defeating incumbent Rod Monroe. The rap against Naito is that she's forever job-shopping. While demonstrating no real passion for the Metro post, she knocked off a longtime councilor with a solid record largely through name recognition. Then, after serving only a portion of her term, she announced she would run for the County Commission when Collier stepped down to run for City Council. That was after she tried and failed to be appointed to an open judgeship. The words of her campaign manager are telling. Charlotte Comito told WW that supporters often say things like, "I always vote for Lisa. I don't really know what she's running for. [I] recognize the name, and that's pretty much the end of it." Naito may be committed to social services, which is the main focus of the County Commission, but she hasn't shown leadership on the issue--or any issue, for that matter. During her tenure at the Statehouse and Metro she's earned a reputation as a diligent, thoughtful, straight-shooting team player. She's clearly more comfortable in a supporting role than being out front. That served her well in the 90-member Legislature, but it could prove a shortcoming on a five-member commission. A third candidate, Ken Pliska, is a residential realtor who has enthusiasm but little understanding of the role of a county commissioner. (His plan to trim the county's $759 million budget? "Cut my salary." What has he done to help his district's voters? "I'm doing a great job selling houses for them.") A fourth candidate, in-home remodeler C. Alan Peterson, has an even looser grasp of the job qualifications. We're confident that either Willer or Naito would serve the county well, but in this case our vote goes to the new kid on the political block.
Schools Deserve a Quick Fix
Measure 26-28
Temporarily Raises County Business Tax Here we go again. Once again the Legislature's unwillingness to overhaul the state's tax code is forcing Multnomah County voters to slap some fiscal duct tape on a local institution. Last year it was the library. This year it's our schools. Ballot Measure 26-28 would raise $12 million for the county's nine school districts, including $9.4 million for Portland, by temporarily boosting the income tax paid by the county's largest businesses. We have some gripes about the measure, but strongly support it nonetheless. Turning down additional money for the Portland Public School District could be disastrous. Over the past two years the district has eliminated nearly 400 teaching jobs and 630 support positions and cut numerous arts, music and counseling programs while watching class size rise from 25 at the elementary level in 1996 to 29 this year. As a result, public confidence in the schools is shaky, at best. Further big cuts could prompt more middle- and upper-income parents to pull their kids out of the system. To their credit, local school advocates saw this coming and in 1996 began pushing for a boost in the local Business Income Tax ("Three Moms and a Ballot Measure," WW, July 10, 1996). They won enough support to earn the attention of local business groups, which proposed a deal: Hold off until after the '97 legislative session. If the district remained underfunded, the businesses would not fight a temporary 1.5 percent boost in the BIT. Lawmakers gave schools what they said they needed for the next two academic years, but it proved to be too little in Portland. Facing the need to lay off 175 more teachers this year, the district borrowed $7 million from next year's budget. (Portland Public Schools is roughly $20 million shy for the 1998-99 school year.) The idea behind Ballot Measure 26-28 is to Band-Aid the hit that schools are taking this year and hope the 1999 Legislature comes up with permanent school-funding reform in time for the 1999-2000 budget. Ballot Measure 26-28 authorizes the county to institute a 12-month Business Income Tax increase of 0.5 percent (the tax is currently 1.45 percent). It would be imposed on county businesses that net $27,000 or more--roughly one-third of local companies. The ballot measure restricts BIT funds to restoring teaching positions. In Portland schools, it's enough cash to fund 180 teachers. Our first problem with the BIT increase concerns accountability. The Portland Public School District, in recent years, has flunked accounting. During the last legislative session, for example, former schools chief Jack Bierwirth frustrated his allies by failing to provide accurate accounts of how much money was needed and where it was supposed to go. This year, district number crunchers announced that they didn't have enough cash to finish the year. We're less worried about continued surprises since Portland Public Schools hired Ron Stokes, the district's first chief financial officer in 18 months, in November. Our second complaint is that the measure doesn't go far enough. The $9 million for the Portland district won't restore cut programs. It won't buy badly needed new textbooks. It won't train teachers to help kids meet new state academic standards. It won't cover any teacher pay raises in the new contract to be hammered out this year. The Portland Chamber of Commerce, which initially agreed to the proposed 1.5 percent BIT increase in 1996, reneged on the deal and talked the tax boost down to 0.5 percent last November. Activists had been counting on the $35 million that the original BIT would have raised since school funding from Salem came up short. Corporate leaders are right to worry that the local business climate will be chilled by imposing local taxes. They're right, but nothing is worse for local business than a lousy public school system. In exchange for the smaller tax boost (0.5 percent instead of 1.5 percent), the local business community promised to fight for increased funding next year in Salem. Even if voters approve this short-term fix, business leaders must be held to that promise. |
