Jim Middaugh’s political career stretches back to the 1980s when he worked for Congressmen Jim Weaver and Peter DeFazio. His career has combined political and environmental advocacy, working with the Oregon Natural Resources Council, among other groups. More recently, he has been the chief of staff for City Commissioner Erik Sten, and he hopes to replace Sten as Commissioner No. 2. Here are his answers to our candidate questions.
S.R.: Private security guards from multiple companies patrol downtown Portland on public property. You've said that you are uncomfortable regarding the use of private "police," saying that they pose "significant constitutional and other risks." What specifically are those risks what is your plan to eliminate them?
Jim Middaugh: The City Council needs to be absolutely clear: the rights of all people, homeless or not, shall be protected.
Just as importantly, the Council needs to ensure there are adequate resources available to provide outreach and services to people on the street.
Fundamentally, I believe the public should be responsible for policing public spaces. Public safety is a primary function of local government. I believe it is inappropriate to contract out this function. Public bodies are designed to be more open, inclusive and accountable (although we all know there’s room for improvement). Elections and public records laws alone provide a level of accountability that is impossible to match in the private sector. Public employers pay living wages and provide access to health care and other benefits.
I appreciate why downtown businesses — and regular people and service providers -- sometimes need help dealing with people who are causing trouble. No one likes threatening or abusive folks, but our local government should be responsible for addressing the problem.
Instead of private police, I believe the Council must ensure the city invests in better solutions like outreach, services, housing and economic opportunities. In addition, the city also needs to support more community policing, more training for police and clearer policies that provide discretion for dealing with people who break the law, along with accountability for preserving everyone’s rights.
The use of private police, and the widespread view that they are targeting the homeless without accountability, creates a political dynamic that seriously diverts needed money and energy from lasting solutions.
It’s not against the law to be without a place to live. At least 1,600 people are on the street tonight. Asking private businesses to pay private police to "move them along" when there is no "public" place to go is unconscionable and unfair to the homeless and to business.
Our community owes it to business and the homeless alike to do better. Public ownership of the problem and public investment in lasting solutions are both essential to ending a practice that shouldn’t be needed.
I’ll fight to ensure the public owns this issue and to ensure the city makes the needed investments to eliminate the need for private police. In the meantime, I'll insist on strong oversight and I'll demand action when abuses occur.
S.R.: What can you do for Portland that the other candidates running for this position cannot?
J.M.: I will bring my tireless energy, a history of non-profit activism, hard work, and a record of delivering for Portland to the office of City Commissioner. It’s precisely these things that allowed me to break all records in gathering grassroots support to qualify for Portland’s Voter-Owned Elections Program.
I am the only candidate in this race who is voter-owned. Because I’m voter-owned, I’m only beholden to you, not to special interests and wealthy contributors.
Unlike my main opponent, I’m not a well-connected downtown lawyer. I haven’t spent the last six years running for various offices. Instead, I’ve been making a difference for Portland and for Oregon where it really counts: in our neighborhoods, in our schools and on the street.
With me, you don’t have to rely on promises and rhetoric. You can look at my record of delivering for Portlanders:
I know how to bring people together. I know my way around City Hall. My hard work and creativity mean I’ll start delivering for Portland on Day One.
S.R.: How will you make a difference in the lives of the people living on the streets?
J.M.: I will make a difference by ensuring that the City Council always remembers that people living on the streets are as much a part of our community as people living in downtown condo towers.
S.R.: How are you going to make Portland affordable and livable for all citizens?
J.M.: We know what to do and we’ve proven that it works. We don’t need a policy expert. We need someone who knows how to get things done in city government, someone who can hit the ground running and build on the momentum we’ve created through the TIF set-aside and the millions of additional flexible, ongoing dollars we’ve won for housing in the last two budget cycles.
Because I have the respect of, and relationships with, the people in City Hall and the Portland Building, I successfully negotiated unanimous Council approval of a Fall budget that provided the Bureau of Housing and Community Development (BHCD) a larger share of surplus dollars than any other bureau. Last year, BHCD won unanimous Council support for a nearly $3 million increase in its ongoing base budget. I’ve been instrumental in the bureau’s fiscal wins.
I’ve been intimately involved in making the case to the rest of the Council about the value and success of the housing first approach and the extreme level of need that remains to be addressed. I know what it takes to get the job done.
On Day One I’ll start working on another Housing Opportunity Bond to refresh the Housing Investment Fund by leveraging a portion of the new ongoing money Council has provided to BHDC.
I’ll lead a community-based effort to get a measure to provide more investment in housing on the 2010 ballot. I’ll work with you and other advocates to create a 2009 legislative agenda to allow a portion of TIF resources to be spent on housing outside of urban renewal districts.
I’ll challenge the Real Estate, title insurance and mortgage industries to step up to the plate to find more money for housing and if they don’t, I’ll fight to win approval of a document recording fee and I’ll continue the campaign to consider a real estate transfer tax to support affordable housing and homeownership projects. And, I’ll fight to end the state preemption on local adoption of inclusionary zoning.
Finally, I’m committed to pushing for new positions at the Bureau of Development Services to help non-profit affordable housing developers improve the permitting and review process to reduce costs and speed implementation of projects. My experience bringing local, state and federal regulators together to improve permitting in the wake of salmon in Portland being listed under the Endangered Species Act will serve as an example. Thanks to my work, permits for water-related construction now take less time and money than they did before the ESA affected Portland.
Of all the candidates, I am uniquely positioned to continue Erik’s legacy of success.
I’m passionate about these issues and I will be a tireless advocate for the homeless and for affordable housing in the tradition of Erik Sten. That’s why I’m running. I will continue to rely on the great staff within BHCD, the non-profit community and elsewhere to help me come up with winning strategies and projects. You will be directly involved in helping establish, refine and implement my priorities.
I’ve been an advocate and organizer most of my professional life and in virtually all of my civic life. I’ve taken strong stands. I will continue to do that if elected to City Council — particularly on housing and homelessness. I always will listen to and consider all points of view — not just the most powerful — and I will prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable and those with the least ability to make their voice heard (this is one of the reasons I’m so proud to be a voter-owned candidate!). Sometimes the people who represent powerful interests, fund most campaigns and represent the status quo won’t agree with me, but I will always act with integrity, even if it means making difficult choices.
S.R.: What is your opinion of the way the city does business and what would you change?
J.M.: In general, Portland is a great city and I’m proud to be a part of it.
Because I’m voter-owned, I would change the way the Council interacts with special interests. I won’t need to prioritize meetings and projects that favor wealthy contributors. Instead, I’ll speak for the voiceless and engage regular people in setting priorities for my office.
I’ll also promote a spirit of service in my office and in my bureaus. It sounds trite, but one of the most important things government can do is be responsive to people who call, email, write or visit. Even if government can’t solve the problem, providing a polite ear and a prompt response goes a long way toward building community.
I’ll use my background as a neighborhood leader who has earned a widespread reputation for honesty, accountability and action to focus on clear priorities for Portland’s future.
But just as important as what I will do is how I will do it. I will include citizens instead of shutting them out. I have a proven track record of working effectively with virtually every city bureau. I will hit the ground running, and I’ll be the progressive voice on the City Council.
