May  2016

Lanita Duke: City of Portland Commissioner No. 1 Position East Portland Action Plan City Candidate Questionnaire

Primary Election 1. East Portland is home to approximately 25% of the city’s population, yet receives a disproportionately small share of city resources. How will you support equity for East Portland in city investments in transportation,

Primary Election 1. East Portland is home to approximately 25% of the city’s population, yet receives a disproportionately small share of city resources. How will you support equity for East Portland in city investments in transportation, housing, and economic development?

Answer:
East Portland needs parity. There are reports after reports already written about the disparity in funding, treatment and city resources between East Portland and the rest of the city. If we implement fifty percent of the recommendations that already exist this resource gap would have closed years ago. Therefore, I propose for every dollar spent on infrastructure in other communities in Portland , an equal and corresponding dollar be spent on roads, sidewalks and lights in East County.

2. East Portland also lags behind the rest of the city in personal incomes and job opportunities. What will you do to increase the number of family-wage jobs in East Portland?

Answer:

I will implement the East Portland Action Plan which calls for an increase and promotion of workforce training and employment opportunities for East Portland residents. Additionally, I will promote and work with the Portland Development Commission to recruit and develop an industrial district in East Portland paying middle wage jobs that don’t require college degrees. I will create a retraining program for older adults and an apprenticeship job program for youth. I will redirect the Portland Housing Bureau to set up a pilot program for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage to add an extra bedroom and bath to rent out . This will address two issues: increase rental capacity and provide income to homeowners to pay their mortgages .

3. Portland is experiencing a severe housing crisis, and East Portland residents are particularly vulnerable to displacement. What tools will you implement to prevent involuntary displacement of low-income people from East Portland? Will you actively pursue legal reforms necessary to bring rent control to Portland? 

Answer: 

I do not believe in rent control! 

 I believe in rent sustainability! I will bring together landlords to determine what the city could do to convince landlords not to increase the rent too high or too frequently to cause a rental disruption. I would advocate for some of the tools in the Involuntary Displacement Prevention Action Tool-Kit developed by the East Portland Action Plan to be implemented. Before each development is approved in East County it must undergo an Anti-Displacement Impact Analysis. This impact analysis is a tool that requires multi-family and commercial developments to provide a pre-build assessment of the effect such development will have on displacement. Additionally, I would advocate for Housing Acquisition Rehabilitation to Insure Affordability, No Net Loss/Affordable Housing Preservation Ordinance, and broadening homeownership and cooperative ownership combined with some inclusionary zoning. I will support the goals of the East Portland Action Plan. Lisa Bates, a Portland State University assistant professor, is an expert on Portland’s displacement and gentrification. She advocates using tax subsidies or exemptions to help older, poorer homeowners stay in neighborhoods that become more affluent. Offering financial incentives to developers who include some moderate or affordable housing in new condos and apartment buildings, or who hire a certain percentage of local residents on construction projects. Also, I will require regulators who approve new projects to conduct more detailed studies of potential demographic impacts.

4. What is your strategy to bring East Portland’s street infrastructure up to the standard of the rest of the city? Do you support full funding of East Portland’s transportation plan, East Portland in Motion?

Answer:

Yes, with more street lights for nighttime visibility on side streets. My strategy for increasing East Portland’s street infrastructure is no more street infrastructure improvement until parity is achieved in East County.

5. How will you ensure that Tri-Met provides reliable and affordable transit service to East Portland?

Answer: I support Transit equity.

There should be a study to ensure that changes in route, fares, and public transportation placement do not disproportionately hurt East Portland and I will instruct Tri-Met to identify gaps in service for transit-dependent people in East County. Youth in the Reynolds and David Douglas School had every right to protest the fact that they did not receive a free or low-cost Youth Bus Pass. I would limit free or low-cost youth bus passes to school days only for all youth in high school. I would distribute Youth Passes based on attendance and academic performance in school. This would increase the number of passes available. I would not support an expansion of Tri-Met bus or Max routes until transportation parity in East County is achieved. 11 There should be sidewalks to wait on buses, and an increase in bus service and routes for East County. Fare increases, service cuts and an increase reliance on technology to distribute bus fare should be reconsidered.Not everyone has a phone with internet connection.

There should be a study to ensure that changes in route, fares and public transportation placement do not disproportionately hurt East Portland and I will instruct Tri-Met to identify gaps in service for transit-dependent people in East County. Youth in the Reynolds and David Douglas School had every right to protest the fact that they did not receive a free or low cost Youth Bus Pass. I would limit free or low-cost youth bus passes to school days only for all youth in high school. I would distribute Youth Passes based on attendance and academic performance in school. This would increase the number of passes available. I would not support an expansion of Tri-Met bus or Max routes until transportation parity in East County is achieved. 11 There should be sidewalks to wait on busses, and an increase in bus service and routes for East County. Fare increases, service cuts and an increase reliance on technology to distribute bus fare should be reconsidered.Not everyone has a phone with internet connection.

6. Do you support increasing the number of Portland Police Bureau officers? If new positions are funded, to what programs would you assign these new police officers?

Answer:

Yes, I support increasing the number Portland Police Bureau officers. However, I would deploy them differently.

BRING BACK COMMUNITY POLICING! Traditionally, police organizations have responded to crime after it occurs by engaging in routine patrol, response to 911, arrests, and follow-up investigation. Community policing calls for a more strategic and thoughtful incorporation of these aspects into an advanced and updated police mission focusing on the proactive prevention of crime and disorder. Routine patrol should be part of comprehensive problem-reduction and community outreach strategies. For police activity to bring about long-term solutions to crime and disorder , a wider variety of responses that limit criminal opportunities and access to victims. There should be an increased police presence in high crime areas. We had success with this approach in North and Northeast Portland through a combination of criminal justice and social service.

April 2016

Street Roots pop quiz: Lanita Duke

by Street Roots 

Street Roots asked Portland’s 2016 City Council candidates 13 questions.  Lanita Duke, a lifelong Portland resident, is a local award-winning video producer/owner of Grassroot News NW, a journalist, and a 30-year veteran radio host of “From the Grassroots” on KBOO 90.7 FM. Duke is running for commissioner position No. 1 on the Portland City Council. Here are her responses to Street Roots' candidates pop quiz — a mix of short-answer, yes-or-no, and multiple-choice questions.  Read More

April 6, 2016

Amanda Fritz drops bombshell: Endorses Republican in front of Democratic Club

BY ERIC 

On Tuesday, the Democratic Club held a candidate’s forum. One of the challengers for Fritz’s seat isLanita Duke, who notes that she is “the only person of color in this race.” She’s also the only Republican running for Fritz’s seat.

As the conversation turned to communities of color, Fritz gave a somewhat rambling response, then ended by saying, “If you won’t vote for me, vote for Lanita Duke.”

Read More

March 09, 2016

Election 2016: Who's running for office in Oregon? Portland? We've got your list right here

Oregon's long, six-month window for candidates hoping to crash the May 17 ballot closed at 5 p.m. Tuesday — all but setting the final field of hopefuls for federal, state and local offices in 2016.

When the dust cleared, some races, such as this year's increasingly hard-fought presidential contest remained right where everyone expected.

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March 09, 2016

Guide: Portland City Council candidates

PORTLAND, Ore. – The race for Portland mayor is heating up but so are the contests for two other critical city council positions.

Guide: Candidates running for Portland mayor

The city council is made up of five people: the mayor and four commissioners. Every two years, two of the commissioners face an election (each council term lasts four years).

On May 17, commissioners Amanda Fritz and Steve Novick will try to defend their jobs in the primary elections. Fritz has four contenders. Novick, who failed to gain traction with his street repair proposals and was connected to an Uber lobbyist scandal, is generally considered the more vulnerable candidate. Nine contenders are running for his seat.

Read full article

Guide: Portland City Council candidates