Testimony Before Portland City Council 1/13/10

My name is Richard Ellmyer. I am a candidate for the North Portland House seat in the Democratic primary next May. On December 19 I asked each of you to answer the following questions so that I may discuss this issue with voters in North Portland over the coming months:

1. Why wasn't the Washington Monroe High School property offered to the Portland Hope Meadows Corporation?

2. Why weren't advisory committees, similar to those involved in the Buckman neighborhood, created in the Portsmouth neighborhood to discuss and recommend potential future uses for the John Ball School site despite requests from the Portsmouth Neighborhood Association and the ad hoc 195 member Portsmouth Residents Action Committee and the North Portland Business Association to establish such advisory committees?

3. Why were the citizen requests of the Buckman neighborhood acceded to by the Portland city council and those citizen requests of the Portsmouth/North Portland neighborhood summarily dismissed when the issue of the use of surplus PPS property was exactly the same?

I predicted that none of you would be able to provide reasoned, defensible, satisfactory answers and I was right.

In this matter, you treat the citizens of North Portland as though we were all stupid children who wouldn’t notice that you were playing favorites with Buckman’s neighbors and pissing on North Portland. Well you were wrong. We did notice and we’re angry.

The Portland city council needs to atone for its abuse of both democratic due process and the citizens of North Portland. The damning evidence of excessive political force used by the city council in this matter is overwhelming. The city of Portland has paid large sums to compensate victims of excessive exuberance by public safety officers facing losing law suits. The Portland city council has committed a similar violation of public trust and power.

The council must admit its transgression and terminate any and all agreements with the Bridge Meadows Corporation. Pay any penalties for contract violations. Establish an advisory committee to take testimony and recommend possible future uses for the John Ball School site.

For 34 years I have been standing up for North Portland. Winning or losing the house race will have no effect on my continuing commitment to improve the quality of life in my community. At any stage of development I will seize every political, legislative and legal opportunity to stop or reverse the unfair, illegitimate, discriminatory project at the John Ball School that the city council has inexcusably and indefensibly forced upon the residents of North Portland.

Richard Ellmyer

Candidate for the North Portland House seat in the May 18, 2010 Democratic primary

http://www.ellmyer4staterep.com