Murmurs: Former Prison Chief Eyes Measure 110 Fix

FORMER PRISON CHIEF EYES MEASURE 110 FIX: Max Williams, a former senior lawmaker, onetime director of the Oregon Department of Corrections and, most recently, ex-CEO of the Oregon Community Foundation, wants to fix Measure 110, the 2020 ballot measure that decriminalized many hard drugs and allocated cannabis tax money for addiction treatment. Williams, now a consultant, has been holding widespread conversations with people who want to make the measure more effective at connecting addicts with treatment. He is in the early stages of proposing tweaks to the measure. “My first hope would be that we could work on a package that the Legislature could consider taking a look at in a special session or in the 2024 session,” Williams says. He wants lawmakers to consider changes that would reduce the impact on communities and also do more to encourage drug users to seek treatment—and ensure that cannabis money funds evidence-based programs. As a former lawmaker, he thinks the best solutions will come from legislation debated and shaped in Salem, but he also believes there is ample support for a ballot measure if that’s what it takes. “There’s a lot of momentum toward repeal,” Willams says. “And while I don’t think that’s the right strategy, a ballot measure that allows people to consider adjustments might make sense if the Legislature doesn’t act.”

WHEELER TO OFFER DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES A TAX HOLIDAY: Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said at an event last week he will soon bring an ordinance to the City Council that offers companies a break from the city’s 2.6% business tax if they renew or sign new leases in downtown Portland. Such an incentive is meant to both retain existing tenants and draw new businesses to the downtown core, where businesses fled commercial digs when the pandemic hit—and have been reluctant to return. “The mayor and his team feel this is a needed policy intervention,” says Wheeler spokesman Cody Bowman, “to preserve activity and tax revenue from office tenants that may otherwise decide to relocate out of the central city.”

CITY OMBUDSMAN HAMMERS POLICE REFUSAL TO CERTIFY VISA APPLICATIONS: The Portland Police Bureau refused to certify paperwork for three dozen immigrants who were eligible for special temporary visas given to crime victims, the city ombudsman says in a report released June 21. Federal guidelines say local agencies are not responsible for determining eligibility for an immigration status, but Oregon law requires them to certify applications. It’s generally a rubber stamp. The Portland Police Bureau, like many other agencies, had approved 90% of the applications in recent years. But that rate dropped to under 50% in 2021. An investigation by the city ombudsman concluded why: high turnover among cops reviewing the applications, and a lack of training. The ombudsman began investigating the bureau’s certification process after receiving a complaint from a woman who applied for the visa, but was rejected because police said they were unable to find “probable cause” of a crime. When she was 17, she told police she had been physically abused by her older domestic partner. The ombudsman reviewed the police reports, which included documented injuries and the name of a witness, and concluded the rejection “appeared to be an oversight, or poor police work.” In a response to the report, Police Chief Chuck Lovell said the bureau had reached out to victims in cases flagged by the ombudsman and was “happy” to reconsider its determinations. Lowell also noted the bureau was conducting a “regional training opportunity” this year on the visa process.

BLAZERS REACH A CROSSROADS THIS THURSDAY: Will the Trail Blazers trade their third overall pick in the NBA draft June 22? General manager Joe Cronin’s decision will shape the franchise’s future for the next decade. Team superstar Damian Lillard has made two things clear in repeated public comments: (1) He would prefer to stay in Portland, and (2) he wants the Blazers to push their chips in, trading for another star so they can contend now. Any megatrade would likely involve sending out the third overall pick and guard Anfernee Simons. Which star Cronin gets back for that package is less clear. Speculation has swirled around the franchise, narrowing in recent days to New Orleans’ Zion Williamson and Miami’s Bam Adebayo. (Miami, however, wants to trade for Lillard.) The other option? Draft one of the blue-chip draft prospects, Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller, and risk the end of Dame Time. Read a full analysis here.

SKIDMORE PRIZE NOMINATIONS OPEN: Help Willamette Week honor four young nonprofit professionals by nominating them for the coveted Skidmore Prize. Awards include cash, a profile in WW’s Give!Guide, and the kind of attention that makes an award-worthy nonprofit employee blush. We’re looking for people who are making a significant difference in the community through their work at a local nonprofit. Your nominee needs to be 35 or younger during 2023 and, more importantly, deserving of the honor. The nomination period is open now through midnight July 14. Read the details and apply at giveguide.org/skidmore-winners.

Correction: An earlier version of this article asserted incorrectly that the police bureau’s declining certification rate was due to the assignment of a new reviewer, Lt. David Jackson. In fact, Lt. Jackson made corrections to the bureau’s prior process and reviewed the cases after they were flagged by the ombudsman’s report. The report does not name the reviewers, instead citing “high turnover” as one of the causes for the declining certification rate. WW regrets the error.