LWV Portland Positions

The LWV Portland positions, as of April 2007, are listed below. You may also be interested in seeing the LWV Oregon positions and the LWV United States positions.

City of Portland

The League of Women Voters of Portland, Oregon finds that the present commission form of city government is accountable, flexible and responsive to citizens.

Therefore, we support the commission form of city government as it exists in Portland. We do not support a council-manager or a weak mayor-council form of government.

Under the commission form we support both increased long-range planning and regional cooperation.

We support the continuation of city-wide elections for the offices of commissioners and mayor and no limit on the number of terms these elected officials may serve. We support the mayor’s prerogative of appointing council members to be in a charge of city bureaus for any length of time.

City Hiring Practices (1991)

The League of Women Voters of Portland, Oregon supports a personnel policy for the City of Portland which includes the merit system and independent oversight.

The personnel policy for the City should include:

• Personnel Rules – A set of regulations governing such personnel actions as position classification, compensation, union negotiations, examinations, certification, service ratings, discipline – e.g. demotion, suspension, termination, civil service status and appeal.
• A Position Classification Plan – A schematic list of job classes, organized by occupational type, with each class comprising all positions sufficiently similar in duties and responsibilities that: a) they can be filled by qualified applicants taking the same examination; b) they require the same minimum level of knowledge and ability; and c) they fall within the same salary range.
• A Compensation Plan – A plan which establishes a salary range for each class commensurate with salaries paid in comparable positions elsewhere, and which shows reasonable relationship among the ranges of all the classes in the plan.
• Open and Competitive Examinations and Certification – A program which provides tests that are valid, reliable, timely, without prejudice and that measure the knowledge and ability required in each class in order to: a) establish a register of eligible applicants based on relative examination scores for each class; and b) certify eligible candidates in accordance with established rules for each vacancy to be filled.
• Promotional Examinations – A program of examinations given in a timely manner to secure the best qualified employees for higher level positions while maintaining the morale of the organization. These examinations are open only to those currently employed in the service.
• Performance Ratings – A system of regular employee evaluations by supervisors, useful in providing a basis for such personnel actions as counseling, promotions and salary adjustments.
• Central Records – A system of complete employment records for each employee in the service.
• Employee Relations – A service to answer employee questions regarding civil service rules and personnel actions.
• An Appeal Procedure – A means for employees to appeal disputed personnel actions.
• An Affirmative Action Program – A program to ensure equal opportunity for employment of minorities and women.
• Independent Oversight – There should be independent oversight of the personnel system. Such oversight should include authority to make independent investigations, approve payroll, and hold hearings on appeals.
• Temporary Employees – Regarding temporary employees, the League supports a limit on the time a person may serve: a specified time for full-time budgeted positions and part-time positions, and the length of the season for seasonal employees. Persons on the eligible list should be given preference for part-time and seasonal appointments. There should be a specific time limit for providing examinations to fill permanent positions held by temporary employees.

The League of Women Voters of Portland views the primary goals of city planning to be area wide orderly growth and development that is healthy and visually attractive. Coordination, citizen involvement and long-range planning are necessary tools for promoting these goals. The foremost guide for planning should be human needs. Other guidelines should include livability, economic growth, conservation and development of physical resources.

Economic Development Assistance (1981)

The League of Women Voters of Portland believes the City of Portland should play a leadership role in supporting the stability, growth and diversification of the economy within the city limits.

Programs for assistance in economic development and promotion of local employment opportunities to public and private entities may include:

• City staff assistance (technical assistance, permit facilitation, and planning assistance in finding financing);
• Subsidized public improvements (such as streets and sewers);
• Low interest loans.

Neighborhood Associations (1975, 1973, 2007)

1. The LWV of Portland believes that Portland’s Neighborhood Associations have the potential to serve the public good by providing important opportunities for civic participation and improving neighborhood livability. To meet this potential, Neighborhood Associations must be integrated into city networks of communication and decision-making, and they must be adequately supported by city funding and services. Neighborhood Associations, in turn, need to consistently invite and include all residents in their operations.

2. Portland’s neighborhood system structure:

• Neighborhood Associations should continue to be autonomous entities separate from city government.
• Because Portland’s neighborhood system is grassroots in nature, diversity of NA character should be honored. A decentralized system of service delivery is appropriate.
• District Coalitions, in their varied organizational formats, should remain in place as long as they are effective, with funding from the city.
• Uniformity and equity should be pursued where possible but should not come at the expense of effectiveness.

At the Council and Bureau level:

• Informing Neighborhood Associations of city projects and activities affecting them
• A willingness to solicit and receive neighborhood input
• Consideration of neighborhood needs within city budgeting process
• Funding that is adequate to maintain this system

• Ensuring a neighborhood voice in city operations
• Encouraging better communication between city bureaus and neighborhoods
• The setting forth of healthy governance practices in guidelines for Neighborhood Associations
• Support for neighborhoods and District Coalitions including assistance and adequate funding for communication, outreach, leadership training and technical assistance

• Be independent with the authority to set their own agenda
• Have the ability to interact with all government and non-governmental entities
• Work to engage the various populations in the neighborhood
• Respond to neighborhood needs
• Represent neighborhood interests effectively to the city
• Utilize effective means to communicate with neighborhood residents at least twice a year

Portland Police Bureau (1982)

The League of Women Voters of Portland believes the primary function of the Portland Police Bureau is the protection of life and property through the just and effective enforcement of the law, including crime prevention programs and strong visibility of the police.

Just and effective enforcement of the law demands good police/community relations. We support the specialized education and training of police personnel in human relations, including the use of specialists from outside the Bureau. The selection and assignment of police personnel should reflect the individual’s knowledge of and sensitivity to variations in community needs.

We support citizen involvement in the functioning of the Portland Police Bureau including, but not limited to, budget advisory committees, precinct advisory councils, and citizen advisory groups.

Portland Development Commission (1982)

The League of Women Voters of Portland believes the Portland Development Commission (PDC) should encourage citizen participation in all aspects of PDC activities. The League supports the following guidelines to that end:

• The PDC should meet at a fixed and regular time and place with adequate facilities available for citizen attendance and testimony.
• Advance notice of all PDC meetings and agendas should appear in widely-read local newspapers.
• Starting early in the planning process, the PDC should solicit citizen input throughout the development of every project. Open hearings should be part of the solicitation process. The PDC should notify residents, property owners, business owners and organizations within a proposed boundary in ample time to allow citizen participation.

The League of Women Voters of Portland supports the City of Portland’s ability to establish public non-profit corporations for the administration of specific public purposes. The League is aware of the advantages inherent in the public non-profit corporation format for facilitating funding, attracting professional participation, securing public support and/or maintaining political neutrality.

However, the City would be responsible for establishing guidelines governing creation, structure and operation of each public non-profit corporation it creates. These guidelines should include requirements for public meetings, public access to records, declarations of conflict of interest, open competitive bidding and representative governing boards. The governing board should represent diverse interests and should include public members as well as professionals within a specific field.

Because public non-profit corporations created by the City of Portland remain the responsibility of the City Council, these corporations should be subject to financial audit and regular review for possible termination.

Public non-profit corporations which are partially funded by the City should also meet requirements for public meetings, provide public access to records and adhere to some form of open competitive bidding.

Multnomah County

In the interest of providing economical and efficient county government that is responsive to the people, the Leagues of Women Voters of Portland and East Multnomah County support home rule for Multnomah County.

The Leagues of Women Voters of Portland and East Multnomah County also support:

• Separation of administrative and legislative functions;
• Salaries of elected officials based on recommendations by outside professional consultants with final approval by the Board of County Commissioners;
• Paid lobbyist (intergovernmental liaison) to represent Multnomah County’s interests;
• Election of Multnomah County Commissioners and Auditor;
• Appointment of Sheriff, Assessor and Director of Elections;
• Election of County Commissioners from single-member districts;
• Freedom for an elected official to run for another office without having to resign from his/her current office;
• Filling of vacancies on the board of County Commissioners by appointment, with appointees free to run for election;
• No limit on the number of terms elected officials may serve;
• Clearance of initiative petitions by their sponsors with an officer similar to legislative counsel to ensure correct wording and legal application.

The League of Women Voters of East Multnomah County and the League of Women Voters of Portland support a public library system that upholds the principles of intellectual freedom and the public’s right to know. We support the library as a basic community service with an assured, stable and adequate source of funding that will allow:

• Provision of library resources in keeping with new ideas and technological advances with an easy to use retrieval system;
• Continual acquisition of materials including books, other multimedia items and software in a variety of formats and languages to serve the informational, educational, cultural and recreational needs of all library patrons;
• Continued remote access of library resources through the Internet and other state-of-the-art technology;
• Offering reference materials (print and electronic), and the support to utilize these resources, to meet the needs of science and business patrons as well as the general public;
• Access by all persons to public library services spread throughout the county with adequate hours of service;
• Maintaining the Multnomah County Library Internet website as well as other forms of outreach to places where people live, work, and play, taking into account the multilingual nature of our communities;
• Promoting visibility in the community through The Friends of the Library, The Library Foundation and other groups of volunteers.

Education

The League of Women Voters believes the public schools should provide quality education for all children and develop the greatest potential in each individual.

• Elementary and secondary schools should provide a sound basic education for all students, with special provisions for programs to meet the exceptional needs of children. Funding for special education for the gifted and physically, emotionally and mentally handicapped should come from a combination of local, state, federal and/or private sources.
• Reorganization of grades K-8 into primary and middle schools is desirable to provide quality education for all students and to meet the different needs of primary and adolescent youngsters.
• High schools should not be required to have a special focus in their curricula. However, high schools having magnet programs should also provide comprehensive curricula for all students. The curriculum of every high school should include mathematics, social studies, science, history, language arts, foreign languages, art, music and physical education.
• Public schools in Portland should coordinate programs in subject matter areas and provide a vehicle for sharing information district-wide among teachers.
• Any changes in the school education structure should take into consideration the preservation of neighborhoods and the needs of the community. There should be coordination between the City of Portland and public school districts in Portland in long-range planning.
• To achieve integration in the public school districts in Portland, the League endorses creative approaches including, but not limited to, methods such as boundary changes and voluntary student transfers.
• The development of any comprehensive plan for achieving equal access to quality education should involve the Boards of Education, district administrations, community groups, parents, teachers, principals and students. Any comprehensive plan should assess such problems as student discipline, minority hiring and placement, open housing, curriculum, teacher training, advisory boards, and effective administration of programs.
• Teacher evaluation should be based on: a) the teacher’s instructional objectives; b) the teacher’s instructional programs; c) the teacher’s instructional strategy; d) the teacher’s implementation of the District’s instructional program; e) learning environment provided by the teacher; f) the teacher’s degree of success in establishing satisfactory relationships in the school community; g) professional preparation and growth of the teacher; h) the teacher’s method of evaluating students; i) the teacher’s commitment to students.
• The League of Women Voters of Portland believes that all schools should have adequate physical facilities. Building and physical facilities should meet the state and local safety and sanitation standards. Flexibility in planning and construction should be emphasized in the development of a modern school plant.

While the League of Women Voters of Portland recognizes that the major responsibility for funding public schools has shifted to the State level, the League supports local measures when necessary to ensure quality education.

• We support using local taxes such as local property tax and business income taxes to augment the funding provided by the State.
• Grants and other temporary funding may be used for professional development, pilot projects and for other one-time needs.
• The District should track and make available to the public, information in an understandable format including class size, per pupil expenditures, costs for educating special needs students and other cost data.
• The District should employ a chief financial officer to provide strong fiscal leadership.
• Local schools and their communities should participate in budget discussions via site-based management.

The League of Women Voters of Portland and East Multnomah County believe Education Service Districts (ESDs) as currently structured are the most effective way to deliver regional educational services. The option of merging ESDs into fewer units should remain open for future consideration.

The League supports efforts to increase public awareness of MESD services. Such efforts could include the identification of MESD services used by school districts for parents and teachers as well as increased public information activities by MESD.

The League supports election of board members on primary election day. The League also supports wide distribution of sufficient information about the candidates to assure visibility to the voters.

Social Policy

City, County and private sectors should continually monitor changes in the population needing affordable housing and address their housing needs.

Criteria to be used when selecting areas for neighborhood revitalization should include neighborhoods: a) at risk of further deterioration; b) showing some evidence of stability, citizen involvement and community support; c) having a community focal point, such as a school, park, community center and/or convenient transportation.

We support a variety of means to encourage private investments in low-income housing, such as tax abatement, tax credits, low-interest loans and grants.

We favor consolidation of City, County and private agencies involved in housing within the City of Portland. Benefits derived from the consolidation include: less duplication, cost efficiency, convenience to the public, shared knowledge and heightened awareness of the importance of adequate housing.

Housing (1981)

The League of Women Voters of Portland supports:

• Retention of single-room-occupancy (SRO) housing units and support by the City of Portland for rehabilitation for existing units;
• Retention of downtown low-income housing supported by federally subsidized loans, community development grants (CDBG), and federal rent subsidies;
• Encouragement of privately developed, middle-income housing downtown through incentive low-interest loans;
• Avoidance of building closures for building and fire code violations by: a) establishment of a hearings officer position with authority to enforce the code and, b) provision of low-interest loans to building owners for complying with code;
• Consolidation of information on the availability and location of subsidized housing in a master list which could be located with the Housing Authority of Portland;
• Sufficient housing expertise within the Planning Commission to facilitate effective attention to housing issues in Portland.

The League favors financing of any such building acquisitions by tax increment funds, housing and community development block grants or revenue bonds.

Community Residential Facilities (2007, 1977)

The League of Women Voters of Portland supports the use of Residential Care Facilities for socially dependent individuals as defined by state law, Residential Training Facilities for individuals with physical and developmental disabilities and Residential Treatment Facilities for individuals with alcohol and/or drug dependence and those with mental and/or emotional disorders.

The League supports Community Residential Facilities for individuals with a criminal history provided clients are carefully screened and monitored and consideration is given to the impact on the community.

Community Residential Facilities are licensed by the State. Standards should provide for quality staffing, facilities and care.

Teenage Girls at Risk (1995)

The League of Women Voters of Portland, Oregon supports equal access to appropriate services for at risk girls and boys. These services should be comprehensive in nature and should include outreach, treatment and follow-up.

We support:

• Appropriate services that include consideration of gender, developmental phase, intellectual capacity, cultural identification, sexual orientation, as well as mental and physical clinical considerations.
• A comprehensive service directory plan that includes outreach, emergency services, case management, individual and family counseling, housing and follow-up. Effectiveness of these programs should be evaluated periodically.
• Emphasis on early detection and prevention of child abuse.
• The teaching of parenting skills.
• Strategies to prevent teenage pregnancy which include the following: school-based health centers, sex education programs, teacher training, and the availability of a range of contraceptives at the school-based health clinics.
• Group homes and improved foster care for youth under age 16 in need of housing. Group homes as part of transition services for youth leaving residential treatment programs.
• Gender specific drug and alcohol treatment programs.

1. The general goals and characteristics of the juvenile justice system should be to:

• Protect the public.
• Stress programs for prevention, early intervention and treatment for delinquents and at-risk youth. These programs should provide care, guidance, treatment and control to promote the child’s welfare.
• Provide fair and impartial procedures.
• Promote personal responsibility and accountability for one’s delinquent acts.
• Reform and rehabilitate offenders.
• Promote swift and decisive intervention.
• Maintain an open and accountable system.
• Stress alternatives to detention or incarceration.

3. We support the adoption of a “second look” concept for 15- to 17-year-olds convicted of Measure 11 offenses. The purpose of this “second look” should be to encourage rehabilitation. The decision to reduce a sentence should be made in a court hearing before a judge and based on testimony from a panel of professionals acquainted with the case.

4. Although the over-representation of minorities in the Multnomah County Juvenile Justice system is due in large part to societal problems, we agree with justice officials that the justice system should work to correct this imbalance in the following ways suggested by Krisberg and Austin in their publication Reinventing Juvenile Justice:

• Increase the ethnic balance in law enforcement, probation and court agencies.
• Require cultural sensitivity training for police, probation officers and judges.
• Establish drug treatment programs and make them readily available.
• Create job training and placement programs.
• Increase involvement of minority communities in police work.
• Establish family support services in minority communities.
• Build mentoring programs for at-risk youth.

6. Youth under the age of 18 should not be subject to automatic waiver to adult court. Youth under 15 should be assumed incapable of understanding the legal system adequately to stand trial in adult court. All other juveniles should be evaluated for their competency to stand trial before being turned over to the adult court system.