Pacific Green Party of Oregon

By Nick Perry-Guetti

On February 2nd, an Emergency Relocation Ordinance introduced by Commissioner Chloe Eudaly was unanimously passed after an approximately five-hour hearing where 118 people in addition to those formally invited to testify gave testimony, overwhelmingly in favor of the ordinance. The law requires landlords who instigate no-cause evictions must pay three months rent (actually a flat rate determined by Portland Housing Bureau [PHB] information on the average rent paid by renters whom the law would affect) in relocation assistance to the tenants.

Proponents, citing PHB data as well as much direct experience, argued that in low and moderate income households, incomes are not keeping up with rent increases. Meanwhile landlords in the city have had the right, for the last thirty years, to perform no-cause evictions: a process that bypasses many of the restrictions landlords face in ordinary evictions where they must state a cause. Moving costs around 2.5 times the average monthly income of Portland renters.  Short-term rent assistance has had only limited effect, and representatives of Human Solutions––a homeless sheltering organization that would be housing 5,000 people that night––reported that every homeless shelter which opens immediately fills, that a high percentage of those needing shelter are experiencing homelessness for the first time, and that the city is about 25,000 housing units short. Before the hearing, Commissioner Eudaly addressed a large and appreciative crowd gathered outside, citing her own experience of housing loss as a significant inspiration for crafting the ordinance.

The hearing had an impressive attendance. The two-floor hearing room at City Hall quickly filled, and attendees not giving testimony were obliged themselves to relocate to the nearby Portland Building to watch the proceedings via live stream in an equally packed auditorium. The overall atmosphere was of strong support for the ordinance; though some testimony expressed concerns that the law might create difficulties for landlords in some circumstances, or that the law does not go far enough to assuage the housing crisis and that overturning a current ban on rent control remains necessary. Proponents, including commissioner Eudaly, responded that landlords’ difficulties did not outweigh those of tenants, but the Commission did craft a number of amendments to the law excusing landlords under certain circumstances; they also agreed that the ordinance was only an emergency stopgap measure to arrest the sharp increase in homelessness, and that the ban on rent control was a major cause of conflict and should be reexamined. In the meantime, to avoid difficulties, landlords are encouraged to reconsider no-cause evictions unless absolutely necessary. 

By Nick Perry-Guetti

On Wednesday evening February 1st at University of Oregon - a presentation sponsored by the Pacific Green Party Lane Greens Chapter and given by Coast Range Forest Watch - discussed an ancient forest under threat from a land management administration whose focus seems unclear. CRFW’s co-Director Max Beeken spoke to a full lecture hall in Straub Hall concerning the beautiful 83,000-acre tract of public land, rich in old growth and biodiversity and ecologically valuable for its capacity to absorb carbon, and the issue of its legally and economically questionable sale for timber harvest.

Beeken said that according to the Department of State Lands, the Common School Fund (CSF)––which owns most of the forest––is losing money due to logging restrictions prompted by concerns for federally protected species who reside there. However, Beeken’s data indicated two problems with this story: 1) the CSF does not seem to be losing money at all according to its own statistics, and 2) Elliott’s timber sales are responsible for less than1% of the CSF’s revenue in any case. “Oregon just voted overwhelmingly to support the Fund,” Beeken said. “With such a huge $1.2 billion windfall, it’s hard to see why the forest needs to be sold when timber sales hardly seem to a;ect the Fund’s revenue at all.”

Nevertheless, parcels have been sold to private timber companies. Many of these parcels, upon examination by volunteer wildlife biologists, were found to contain threatened species such as marbled murrelets. Some sales were withdrawn or stopped largely due to the efforts of forest activists, necessary despite Oregon Revised Statute 530.450, which arguably prohibits the sale of most of the forest.

Our Green Party platform supports rent control and ending no cause evictions.  If you can't rally at city Hall please use the event page to contact city commissioners.  This event is HUGE, and we need EVERYONE who's able to join us next Thursday, February 2nd at Portland City Hall to demand our City Council pass relocation assistance for renters.

We'll be hosting a rally at City Hall at 1pm, and the hearing itself will begin promptly at 2pm.

If you have been or are at risk of being displaced from your home because of a no-cause eviction or rent increase, Portland City Council needs to hear from you! Please consider testifying in front of Council next Thursday, and contact Portland Tenants United to let us know you want to speak!

You can also email or call City Council officers at the numbers & addresses below - in particular, Commissioners Saltzman, Fish, and Fritz need to hear from you. We encourage you to share your story with your elected officials, or just a short message of support: "relocation assistance would give displaced tenants a little room to breathe - please support Commissioner Eudaly's proposal next Thursday!"

* Commissioner Nick Fish: 503-823-3589 / [email protected]
* Commissioner Dan Saltzman: 503-823-4151 / [email protected]
* Commissioner Amanda Fritz: 503-823-3008 / [email protected]

By Nick Perry-Guetti:

On Saturday 21 January 2017, the grandest of all citizens’ political marches in the history of the United States, the Women’s March, with numbers estimated at between 2.9 million and 4.6 million people nationwide, took place. The event and its atmosphere were described as peaceful and festive by marchers, observers and city officials alike, actually gleaning high praise from police departments in many cities.

At the same moment, in the hearty atmosphere of a winter gathering at their Eugene, OR headquarters, the Pacific Green Party met to elect three women to their State Coordinating Committee: Dr. Nathalie Paravicini of Portland, OR, formerly a leading voice in many Green Party chapters; Melissa Wright, also of Portland, a creative and adept organizer; and Jacqueline DeVaney of Astoria, a home health nurse advocating for her patients and community through the Party. These three tried and proven veterans of the PGP’s impressive recent organizing achievements now make up three fifths of the SCC, joining incumbents Alan Zundel of Eugene and Seth Woolley of Portland (both former candidates for Oregon Secretary of State). 

Other business of the gathering included earnest and fruitful discussions of strategies for networking and the building of alliances in the political community. Long-time PGP organizer Charles Newlin later called the meeting “very exciting”, and said he was “thrilled that we just elected three extraordinary women to this Committee on such an historic day for women everywhere.” With such opportune focus, Oregon’s Pacific Green Party starts off the year strong, canny and with its finger firmly on the pulse of social politics, nationally and globally. This January may have offered a challenge to progressive activists like no other month remembered, but its 21st day may also stand as one of the most beautiful days in history, and a day when the challenge was gracefully accepted.

You can find the minutes for the Pacific Green Party 2017 Winter Gathering here.

Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 10 AM - 6 PM

Measure 2-100, Benton County’s pioneering Ranked Choice Voting initiative, has been drawing support and attention from near and far:  from local newspapers to a Seattle think-tank, and from a neighboring county to Vermont’s Howard Dean.   Read the full text of the news release here.

Alan Zundel, Pacific Green Party candidate for Oregon Secretary of State, talks about fair treatment of all candidates and parties.

Supporters of Measure 2-100, the Benton County Ranked Choice Voting initiative, will hold a Campaign Kick Off event which will include a simulated ranked choice election where participants will sample and rank local beer.  The event, to be held at 5:30 pm on Monday, October 17, at the Old World Deli, 341 SW Second Street in downtown Corvallis, will be hosted by JoAnne Trow; State Representative Dan Rayfield; County Commissioner candidate Xan Augerot; and Stephanie Hampton, founder of Corvallis for Bernie.  The event is free and open to the public but, of course, only those 21 and over with proper ID will be able to participate in the sampling and ranking exercise.

Eugene, Oregon – Oct. 13, 2016 – On Wednesday Republican Dennis Richardson and Democrat Brad Avakian, the leading candidates for Oregon Secretary of State, refused pleas to act on behalf of fair treatment of all candidates and parties.