Portland Tenants United grades the candidates
The Criteria:
We sent out questionnaires, looked at past action (or inaction) on tenant issues, and we followed candidates on the campaign trail to evaluate their attention and policy commitment to tenant’ rights and protections.
Portland Tenants United does not endorse candidates, but we have kept a critical eye pointed at their platforms. Grades were weighted heavily toward candidates who championed bold action to address our city’s housing crisis. Candidates who joined PTU’s call for a ‘disaster’ declaration and rent freeze did even better. But words can be cheap, so we also took into account their comprehensive plans to address the housing crisis, if they published a plan at all.
Portland Mayoral Candidates
Jules Bailey: D-
Multnomah County Commissioner Jules Bailey lays squarely at the bottom of the PTU grading curve, and seems content to stay there with his uninspiring approach to tenant issues. We were shocked at Bailey’s stone-facedness while vulnerable tenants poured their hearts out during a recent County Commissioners’ meeting, and disappointed with his refusal to champion a rent freeze as County Commissioner.
Touting himself as a pragmatist who dismisses “silver bullet” solutions, Bailey is a strong believer in incremental change, where his approach flourished in the molasses pace of Oregon’s legislature. There is a time for incremental change, but Portland tenants need leadership now to address the housing crisis.
Bailey’s belated call to end the state pre-emption on rent control prevented him from flunking.
Jules Bailey did not answer our questionnaire.
David Schor: A+
In several ways, David Schor soars above the other candidates. Schor, an assistant attorney general at the Oregon Department of Justice, wants to enact a ‘millionaires tax’ to create revenue for city-owned mixed-income public housing, as well as a municipal bank that could further address the housing crisis.
When PTU called for a rent freeze, Schor came to our rally and publicly endorsed the idea. Schor’s legal expertise also buoyed our case:
“I believe that we haven’t tried to make the [‘disaster declaration’] argument yet. I don’t think we have any case law. No one’s tested the statute, just to see what we get. Our tools are limited. This is one of the tools that we do have. We may find out we don’t have the ability to do this right now.”
Schor gave the best answers to the PTU questionnaire, mixing policy know-how with a willingness to truly champion a brighter future for Portland tenants:
“Eliminating no-cause evictions is the first order of business, followed closely by setting up an office of tenant affairs to help implement just-cause standards. Rental registration would be one of the first agenda items as well. Lifting the state ban on rent control will take longer because it requires a more complex legislative process to achieve. I would push for emergency rent control as a stopgap until the legislature can make needed changes to provide Portland room to experiment with rent control.”
Read David Schor’s answers to our questionnaire.
Ted Wheeler: A-
State Treasurer Ted Wheeler came out of the gate sprinting ahead of the other candidates by publishing a tenants Bill of Rights, which PTU strongly supported. We believe this initiative inspired other candidates to embrace tenant protection policies. However, when PTU called for a rent freeze and a moratorium on no-cause evictions, Wheeler deferred.
At a time when Portlanders are deeply inspired by Bernie Sanders’ bold attention to income inequality, the city deserves a mayor willing to disrupt the unequal power dynamic between tenants and landlords.
Despite waffling on a rent freeze, Wheeler deserves credit for his early support for tenants’ rights.
Read Ted Wheeler’s answers to our questionnaire.
Jessie Sponberg: B
Sponberg is a long-time housing advocate, and a workhorse who organizes fundraisers for low-income and homeless people.
When PTU organized our rally for rent control at the Multnomah County building, Sponberg testified in favor of the initiative. He later joined other activists in disrupting the meeting.
At the next mayoral forum, Sponberg challenged Jules Bailey’s lackadaisical reaction to tenant testimony, which resulted in the former’s ejection from the forum.
Whether or not you like Sponberg’s tactics and antics, his passion exposes the at-times calculated approach other candidates bring to this issue.
Despite his obvious zeal for showing up and engaging in oft-need agitation, tenant issues have not been a centerpiece of his campaign, nor has he developed a comprehensive plan for solving the housing crisis.
Jessie Sponberg did not answer our questionnaire.
Sarah Iannarone: B
Although late to the campaign trail, we appreciate Sarah Iannarone’s recent support for tenants’ rights. Her swift support of a rent freeze shifted the public conversation — a move that helped her win endorsement from the Portland Mercury.
Iannarone, a restaurant owner and assistant director of First Stop Portland, condemned the County’s intransigence on a rent freeze when she contrasted their bold leadership in support of gay marriage with their refusal to enact immediate relief for tenants.
Sarah also said:
“In this housing disaster, we need our local governments to take bold action to keep Portlanders in their homes in the short term while we wait for new housing supply to come online and provide further relief..because the unregulated housing market has resulted in disaster conditions, there are options available for local governments to act decisively in the present.”
Despite quickly championing a rent freeze, Iannarone has yet to publish a comprehensive plan for addressing the housing crisis.
Sarah Iannarone did not answer our questionnaire.
Sean Davis: B-
Sean Davis attended our rally for rent control. However, he seemed to walk-back that vigorous support for local rent control at a recent KATU forum, and in our questionnaire. We hope he clarifies his position as soon as possible.
That said, we appreciated his compassionate responses to our questionnaire, including this statement about stopping no-cause evictions:
“We need to stop no-cause evictions. Too many of the people who made Portland the amazing place it is are being forced out. This election is about which candidate would fight most for the people and see them over the billions of dollars that will be made from development. While other candidates feel this is a problem the city is going through that must be addressed, I am affected directly by it and I know it must be a priority. My friends are leaving our city simply because landlords (many from out of state) see properties as a way to make money, not as homes for Portlanders. Community and livability is where Portland’s greatness lies. These things cannot happen if the people who live here have no security. You won’t join a neighborhood association if you are living month to month not knowing if you’ll have to leave the neighborhood.”
Read Sean Davis’s answers to our questionnaire.
Deborah Harris: C+
Deborah Harris, a business employment consultant, has thus far shied away from making tenant issues a key platform of her campaign. Nevertheless, Harris stepped up when others stepped back.
When PTU demanded a ‘disaster’ declaration for a rent freeze, Harris intervened in the public debate on PTU’s side, agreeing that the housing crisis amounts to a man-made disaster. Harris isn’t sure that a ‘disaster’ declaration will work, but she agreed that taking the risk was worthwhile:
“Sometimes you have to do things and you go, ‘Oh I didn’t know that.’ A lot of our citizens are looking at gentrification and it appears a lot of it is man-made gentrification.”
Harris has otherwise has not focused on tenant issues, nor has she developed a comprehensive plan to address the housing crisis.
Deborah did not answer our questionnaire.
Bim Ditson: B
Bim Ditson, drummer for punk band And And And, was resolute about the housing crisis when he declared his candidacy. In an interview with the Willamette Week, Ditson said “I want people to be able to afford their rent….things like that are really important to me.”
With one sentence, Bim struck a nerve that establishment candidates have otherwise failed to. Despite paltry media coverage, Ditson’s compassion for people experiencing the housing crisis cannot be questioned, even if it is largely unknown to Portland voters.
When PTU demanded a ‘disaster’ declaration and a rent freeze, Diston was an early supporter who didn’t look back. At subsequent rallies and forums, Ditson continues to repeat our call for a rent freeze.
While we appreciate his enthusiasm and support for the cause, Ditson has yet to publish a comprehensive plan to address the housing crisis.
Portland City Council Candidates
City Council, Seat #4
Chloe Eudaly: A+
Chloe Eudaly, a small business owner and disability rights advocate, is also a housing champion and a tenant who’s walked-the-walk on behalf of tenants. No other candidate comes close.
Eudaly pushes relentlessly for rent and control and an end to no-cause evictions. Her competition either ignores or opposes fundamental reforms and tenant protections. She understands that we are are in a housing ‘disaster,’ and that urgent action is needed now.
Eudaly volunteers with Portland Tenants United and is founder of the pro-tenant Facebook page ‘That’s a Goddamn Shed,’ where thousands of people come to share stories and insights about the housing crisis.
In particular, she understands the connection between homelessness and the abysmal lack of protection for tenants in Portland and Oregon:
“Increasing temporary shelters and creating more affordable housing is critical but will take time. In the meantime, we have to stem the tide of residents being cost-burdened, impoverished, displaced, and/or made homeless by unlimited rent increases and no cause evictions.”
Read Chloe Eudaly’s answers to our questionnaire.
Steve Novick: F
We continue to be frustrated with Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick’s disinterest in the housing crisis, which may stem from his receipt of campaign cash from big developers, corporate landlords, and big business.
Novick’s housing plan doesn’t mention tenants even once, and he seems keen to kick the can down the road instead of demonstrate bold leadership. During hearings for the City’s eventual housing emergency declaration, Novick suggested Portland tenants take their plight all the way to the federal government. Then, at a January town hall Novick refused to endorse a call to overturn the state-wide pre-emption on rent control.
Novick is gingerly taking on NIMBYs in our city who oppose his call for the “missing-middle,” but this supply-side adjustment does nothing for tenants facing record evictions and rent increases right now. His faith in the market to catch-up supply with demand borders on fundamentalist. We cannot simply build our way of of this crisis, despite Novick’s wishes.
Steve Novick did not answer our questionnaire.
Stuart Emmons: D
Stuart is another supply-side centered candidate. He is a stronger advocate for tenants’ rights than the front-runner, Novick. However, his focus on building new units instead of protecting currently vulnerable renters puts tenants in the backseat. Both are needed.
Emmons’ campaign website demonstrates his personal understanding of tenant issues:
“Pass a renter’s rights bill to extend notification periods, address no-cause evictions, give tenants additional rights. I am now a renter, post-recession, and I get the issues in a very personal way. I think we need to figure out a way to (as examples): 1) stop people in old age on fixed incomes getting massive rent increases and eviction notices. 2) address families with school kids from moving their kids out of the neighborhood school because of massive rent increases and eviction notices.”
Regretfully, Emmons did not return our questionnaire, so we are unclear as to the specific policies he will pursue to address the housing crisis. What does “addressing no-cause evictions” mean? What is his stance on rent control, or our call for a ‘disaster’ declaration and rent freeze?
Stuart Emmons did not answer our questionnaire.
Fred Stewart: F
Like Novick, Fred Stewart seems not to care about tenants’ rights. Stewart is a real estate agent who went as far as to explicitly praise gentrification. Moreover, Steward is keen on gas-lighting tenants, blaming them for creating their own peril by voting for bond measures which increased property taxes (and higher rents, he claims). Meanwhile, he remains staunchly opposed to rent control and refuses to engage in informed dialogue around the policy.
Championing gentrification is enough to earn an F, but Stewart has also positioned himself as the most vocal opponent of rent control — an oddity considering he campaigned for rent stabilization in 2008.
Fred Stewart did not answer our questionnaire.
City Council, Seat #1
Amanda Fritz: B
Amanda Fritz was the only candidate running for Seat #1 who returned our questionnaire. Considering her opposition is largely undistinguished, we applaud this first step to engage directly with tenant power — even if it may not boost her campaign.
Fritz first went to bat for tenants in September, by working to strengthen fellow City Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s “renter protection” bill beyond his original intent. Her efforts lowered the rent increase threshold from 10% to 5% and extended the final notice periods.
That said, we hope to see Fritz take a stronger position in support of tenant protections at the local level, though we acknowledge that Fritz does not currently posses the housing bureau. She should not continue to defer to Saltzman, who maintains the position that the City’s notice periods represent adequate protection for tenants. If she pivots and becomes a champion for Portland tenants, we are confident they will have her back.
Most notable is Fritz’s statement opposing AirBnB, whose presence in our city eliminates housing from the long-term market: “I regret my vote legalizing short term rentals, and I am working to correct the laws in the program permitting and enforcement.”
We look forward to seeing her push for enforcement and further regulation of short-term AirBnB rentals.
Multnomah County Commission Candidates
Portland Tenants United withheld grades for candidates running for the Multnomah County Commission, due to a lack of available data. Instead, we published links to their responses to our questionnaire below.
Commissioner, District 1
Read Eric Zimmerman’s response to our questionnaire.
Read Sharon Meieran’s response to our questionnaire.
Candidates for Commissioner in Districts 3 and 4 did not answer our questionnaire.
