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GONZALEZ AND RYAN PURSUE TAX BOND: City Commissioners Rene Gonzalez and Dan Ryan are exploring whether to place an $800 million bond on the November 2024 ballot to fund their bureaus, Portland Fire & Rescue and Portland Parks & Recreation. The property tax bond would be used to repair aging facilities and infrastructure within both bureaus. Recent polling by the parks bureau suggests Portland voters are more likely to support a parks and fire bond than a parks bond alone; 62% of poll respondents said they’d support a joint bond. But a tax revolt has been brewing in Portland boardrooms, fueled by the highest marginal tax rate for high earners in the nation. Ryan says in order to get voters to approve a new bond, the city will need the overall tax burden to drop. That would require changing or repealing one of the area’s current taxes, including either Multnomah County’s Preschool for All tax or Metro’s supportive housing services tax. “It’s got to even out,” Ryan told WW. Gonzalez adds, “It does create an interesting political question right now.”
RENT ASSISTANCE FRAUD SPOTTED ON 14TH TRY: A grand jury last month indicted a man for stealing $246,000 in rental assistance funds from Multnomah County’s general fund by forging the signatures of at least a dozen applicants and directing the money to himself or his companies. James Louise Hartley, 46, was also indicted on charges of possessing a firearm and dealing fentanyl and cocaine. County officials touted the indictment in a press release, lauding an unnamed employee for noticing an unusual number of payments to one company. Court records identify the company as Precise Property Management Plus LLC, a firm managed by Hartley. “We commend the vigilance of the Multnomah County employee who uncovered this suspected fraud,” county human services director Mohammad Bader said in a press release. “As a result of this case, we are taking further steps to strengthen our processes and further improve our safeguards.” An affidavit filed in the case indicates Hartley was able to collect 13 payments of as much as $21,960 before being clocked by the county worker. The county didn’t return an email seeking an explanation why Hartley was successful so many times before getting caught. Such fraud became commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the U.S. government rushed money to renters to keep them housed as unemployment swelled. Multnomah County and the network of nonprofits it works with have distributed more than $230 million in housing assistance funds in the past four years.
TEACHERS’ UNION WILL MEET WITH JEWISH FEDERATION: Fresh off its strike, the Portland Association of Teachers turned its attention to the Israel-Hamas war. On its social media platforms, the teachers’ union has advertised cease-fire marches and a “Palestine 101″ panel discussion. On Dec. 10, PAT hosted a pro-Palestine “teach-in” at its headquarters, though the union was not an official sponsor of the event. This advocacy rankled some Jewish teachers at Portland Public Schools. “I feel betrayed,” says David Goldstein, a Spanish language teacher at Robert Gray Middle School. “It makes me feel like my union doesn’t have my back.” When PAT leaders did not respond to Goldstein’s concerns, he reached out to the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. PAT president Angela Bonilla originally told JFGP she would be open to meeting with the federation after the strike but then didn’t respond to follow-up emails and voice messages. After WW reported the controversy Dec. 14 on wweek.com, the union rediscovered JFGP’s phone number. Federation president and CEO Marc N. Blattner announced Tuesday that his group would meet with PAT leaders later this week “to help them better understand our concerns as they continue to promote pro-Palestinian events to their members.” Bonilla tells WW, “We will continue to engage with members respectfully and meaningfully on the challenging issues of our time, including this issue.”
NEWLY FILED INDICTMENTS CONNECT DEPUTIES TO TWO DEATHS: Indictments accusing two Multnomah County sheriff’s deputies of official misconduct related to the deaths of two county jail inmates provide new insight into their alleged crimes. The indictments, published Dec. 12, say both James Brauckmiller and Michael Mersereau failed to perform their lawful duties “with intent to obtain a benefit.” The misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail. A grand jury handed down the indictment after hearing evidence from a detective in the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff has previously said the two indictments were “related to two adult-in-custody deaths in 2023.” The indictments point to which ones. Brauckmiller’s alleged crime occurred June 16, the day 58-year-old Martin Todd Franklin was found dead in his cell. He’d hanged himself with a bed sheet from a grate in the ceiling. Mersereau’s indictment says his crime occurred Aug. 1, the day another inmate spotted 36-year-old Clemente Pineda overdosing in his cell. Deputies attempted unsuccessfully to resuscitate him. The two men are scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 20 and will plead not guilty, their attorneys say.
GIVE!GUIDE AIMS FOR $8 MILLION: As of noon Dec. 19, Give!Guide had raised $3,670,541 for 250 local nonprofits, reaching 44% of the campaign’s $8.25 million goal. To contribute to our city’s recovery and progress, we invite you to explore giveguide.org and choose a few meaningful organizations to support. Consider donating on a Big Give Day for a chance to win prizes! The deadline for giving is midnight Dec. 31. Join us in making a difference!