On infrastructure: The distrust between the people and government is so much so, that even if a council decides it was going to focus solely on improving, refitting and restoring infrastructure, the people would suspect foul play. The article sites a billion dollars are needed for the infrastructure improvements/maintenance. People see that number and immediately assume the money will be sent off to “close partners” of the government and will not see any results from that.
Novick enjoys playing the wild card. While he usually votes with the progressive caucus, he’s not completely predictable. For example, when Councilor Morillo first moved to end discussion, he voted no, and the discussion continued.
Although he ultimately voted for Morillo’s motion to send the resolution to the full council, he also acknowledged that he agreed with some of Councilor Eric Zimmerman’s concerns,
PSR is fine for what they actually do. This must be weighed vs what progressives want them to do. There is an entrenched push from progressives to create unarmed police: be it PSR, PS3, or others. They keep hoping these groups will expand and do more and eventually overtake armed police entirely. This won’t happen mostly because no one will actually sign up to do that job in the US, but in the mean time it’s worth looking at what PSR actually does.
First let’s discuss how Portland dispatches 911 and non-emergency calls through BOEC.
Priority 1: active calls involving weapons —> 2 officers voice dispatched (ie. sent right now regardless of assigned area)
Priority 2: active disturbances, injury crashes, legitimate priority welfare checks (guy ODing or laying on the ground bleeding), some monitored alarms (banks), AND welfare checks where the caller provides incomplete information —> 2 officers voice dispatched
Priority 3: Robberies without weapons and other monitored alarms —> 2 officers voice dispatched
Priority 4: catchall for “sort of seems important we should send someone soon” —> officially 1 officer voice dispatched. Practically this runs the gamut from 2 officer voiced all the way to it can wait until the district car is clear and picks it up off of the board. This is entirely at the discretion of the individual dispatcher at BOEC (or the supervisor setting their shift standard)
Priority 5: priority 6 calls that passed their time limit. This is call limbo, meaning it often waits until a night shift officer calls you from a blocked number a 2AM or just gets cancelled outright without any response or explanation.
Priority 6: lots of cold calls but also embarrassingly the standard burglary alarm (like almost all businesses and homes use which most people would not consider “cold”). Stacked to “the board”. Officers have 30 minutes to self-dispatch. After 30 minutes it turns into a priority 5.
Priority 7: same as priority 6 but there is one hour. After 30 minutes it becomes a 6 and after 30 more minutes enters limbo.
Okay, that said let’s talk about PSR. One of the most annoying calls for a police officer is the “person down unchecked” welfare check. This is 100% a product of cell phones and involves compassionate people seeing what they view as a person in need and instead of directly asking if the person needs help they call 911 to have someone else deal with it. If the subject is confirmed to be alive this is generally dispatched as a 4 or 6. If the compassionate person has neglected to even slow down enough to confirm that the person is not dead, that generates this call type which PPB and BOEC determine to be a Priority 2. These calls almost always wind up like this: “Hey, are you dead?” —> “No” —> “Do you need help?” —> “No” —> Clear Willy 1 (obligatory self interested throwback to old school Portland coppers)
This call right here, that’s where PSR lives. No action was ever going to happen so the fact that PSR just hands them a bottle of water and leaves has no effect on the world at all. To PPB’s benefit, it has functionally eliminated this call off the board when PSR is on. That is actually not a small thing as there are tens of these calls every day. However it does not address the concept that we could save a lot of money if we just decide to not send anyone to a welfare check where the caller can’t be bothered to stop and determine if help is actually needed.
PSR also responds to the call regarding a person acting weird on the street. BUT only if the person is on the sidewalk (not in the street and not private property) not threatening anyone, and no weapons are involved (sticks, machetes, skateboards, etc). It is a true story where at least one time PSR arrived, the subject wandered into the street, PSR called for police response, police coaxed the subject back to the sidewalk, PSR resumed primary response, rinse, repeat.
It is worth noting here: Project Respond (the county run field mental health team - who do good work and are invaluable partners with PPB) will not engage with a person on a bridge threatening to jump (even absent any other threat indicator) due to the inherent danger posed by people in crisis.
Again, what does equal mean?
The key here is to recognize that people who are so anti-social to have wound up sleeping under a bridge (having already burned all of theirs) have already refused assistance. Offering another snack and bottle of water isn’t going to help them.
Regarding infrastructure: One of the worst examples of Portland streets is the section of SW 30th Drive between Custer & Canby in the generally nice Multnomah Village. It's literally a deep pothole obstacle course, as if the goal is preventing anyone from getting in or out! You have to actually drive on it, not just view it remotely. Is it too costly to pave about 650 feet of road, or are soil conditions prohibitive there?
When Jo Ann Hardesty ran successfully for City Council and campaigned in southwest Portland, she admitted she was shocked at the condition of some of the streets — in supposedly the nice, white part of town.
You really think it's about not helping anyone rich or white? It seems locals could do asphalt group funding if they got fed up with needing high-clearance 4WD for safe night or bad weather grocery shopping. But many older homes there are relatively affordable, and it's been able to maintain a safe feeling without being super rich, like a test of how long Portland can get away with coddling crime.
The ghetto Stephens Creek Crossing Apartments to the north and Safe Rest Village to the east have constricted that safe feeling. There's an older couple who often stand at SW 35th & Multnomah Blvd with anti-police/white protest signs. I wonder if they ever take evening walks in those two areas?
I think you're reading more woke politics into the street problem than actually exists. Some sections never got paved (not the one I mentioned above) and it goes further back to laws that didn't require the City/County to deal with certain streets.
Lack of money and time due to dealing with homeless, etc. is of course a bigger factor now, but I doubt nicer areas are being snubbed merely to punish whites. That's conspiracy theory stuff.
In August of 2022, our neighborhood streets and several others were destroyed by Pbot in their attempt to use our streets as guinea pigs for resurfacing project. Resurfacing is not repaving. First off, our neighborhood is purely residential and our street like many in the neighborhood don’t directly connect to a major thoroughfare so in other words traffic is mainly from households and occasional deliveries. We were given notices if we didn’t move vehicles off the street they would be ticketed and towed during the hours/ days work would be done. This didn’t apply however to the street behind us and the 4 homeless rvs parked there. I verified this with Pbot! So this contracted company applied a slurry to the street that the Pbot rep in hand claimed it has a 40 year warranty which I then informed him that my windows have a lifetime warranty but it doesn’t matter because the company is out of business so I don’t have much faith in said warranty promises. The job was so poor that they covered debris left on the street after their “sweeping” including a portion of my tree branch they broke off driving too close to the curb. Within a week areas began to slough and we sweep a gallon bucket of fine gravel from the substance applied every couple of months. The company had to come back months later as the defects that Pbot marked for them to address immediately upon completion of our street were left and not addressed. The end result of that looked like they just haphazardly poured it out as the drove the truck down the street. Within a month the previous cracks and defects in the original asphalt surfaced and now the street looks 100% worse than before the project. IMO it wasn’t necessary in the first place. Meanwhile the main arterials feeding into our neighborhood were wrought with potholes and reports to have them repaired—some just lengthy channels of missing asphalt —went unaddressed. Today many still remain. As we drive travel through our area we see similar streets that were destroyed like ours. Such an incredible waste of money and with an outcome worse than what was originally in its place. and now I came across a message on ND posted by Pbot that they subsidized uber and lift rides from the cinco de mayo festivities. C’ mon budget failures and they promote this? What about public transportation that they shove down our throats or better yet— getting your own DD and if it’s not in the cards they avoid alcohol. The city needs to stop with their enabling in all its forms and cut off Pbots exorbitant spending
Can you name this or a similar street that such work was done on? I can certainly picture a patchwork job, but sinkhole-prone soils make some areas impossible to keep stable unless they use very deep gravel fill or cement.
Some of this surely goes back to Portland's early days as a collection of muddy ruts and stumps. Maybe some areas had old reputations as impossible to maintain, so crews stopped trying but didn't make it official. The online SLIDO map is useful.
You’re right, it’s technically illegal for neighbors to have their street paved on their own, although sometimes it’s done surreptitiously and the City does nothing. But you can’t trust that PBOT won’t strike back… a risky proposition.
Great article. Todd (not Tom) made me watch the entire grueling testimony. I want to know why the sane side can't muster enough of a coalition together to out number these nut cases? Portland is so lost! 😥
Another trenchant gaze into the depths of the progressive abyss.
Yes, the crazies are in charge--but let us never forget that it was designed this way by the charter commission. They told us that the system would be rigged for "minorities," and they got what they wanted with ranked-choice votiing--please note that each member on the council is there because they got 25-percent of the vote (no more; no less).
The overcrowded ballots in the last election produced marginal winners with (1) name recognition (2) organizational muscle from. the usual suspects. Even nominally sane people, such as Loretta Smith or even (hate to say it) Steve "Tiny Terror" Novick must now play to the organized, disciplined margins (since most mainstream Portland voters don't bother doing their homework, thinking, or even filling out the ballot--just check the turnout numbers).
The winners: unions, public employees (fastest growing jobs in Portland, folks), nonprofits dabbling in politics, "endorsers." And--money...always money.
Gramsci (Google him) couldn't have designed it better--maybe he did from his martyr's grave.
Morillo's other hobby at the moment is denouncing local Democratic Congresswomen in very purple districts for failing to meet her high standards for ideological purity.
She earlier denounced Janelle Bynum, and she is now denouncing Marie Gluesenkamp Perez:
"She [Perez] voted to censure Al Green and strip women of their voting rights as a Democrat. A loser of the highest order, a coward, and a sycophant.
I can’t imagine being this person at this moment in history if never be able to look my nieces in the eye."
How DARE Democrats in purple districts make any compromises to get reelected!
At this point, I'd suspect her of being a deep-cover Republican agent trying to get local Democrats defeated, but the Republicans aren't that clever.
MGP is my rep (Wahkiakum). I'd rather hoped that she would lose if for no other reason than the Democrat Machine out of Olympia and on into D.C. is incredibly ugly. Truthfully, her opponent Kent gave me the willies though I voted for him.
Anyway, I was pleased with her having broken ranks recently and wrote to her expressing my gratitude. I received a rather gaseous thank you, but still and all...
I will be convinced that Portland has turned around and is on the right track when Willamette Week pays Pamela Fitzsimmons to write at least once a month - or pays to reproduce one of the Portland Dissent articles in their publication.
Thanks, but for years Willamette Week has blocked me and Richard Cheverton from even commenting on their website.
We have such weak media in Portland that I still appreciate some of the good work Willamette Week does — for example, their take-down of former state Rep. Jennifer Williamson and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan (who stepped in and ran for SOS after Williamson dropped out). Thank you, Nigel Jaquiss and Sophie Peel.
That’s why it was so disappointing a couple of weeks ago when WWeek had a cover story about … local protests against Donald Trump. Yawn.
I guess WWeek wanted to reassure Portland’s progressives.
"That’s why it was so disappointing a couple of weeks ago when WWeek had a cover story about … local protests against Donald Trump. Yawn."
Well, there's more than yawning about Trump since his kindergarten-math tariffs cost people big money in the market, and money's mainly what today's GOP cares about. Their remaining ethical area is street & immigrant crime enforcement but they're fine with environmental and financial graft.
Trump lies without a conscience (or later corrections) and the scale of it far exceeds anything I've seen from the Left, except for racial street crime denialism. Trump's a far cry from Republicans like Tom McCall who wouldn't coddle endless Oregon land development. He'd have seen through Trump's big logging expansion to partly mask how global warming exacerbates fires, regardless of whether the homeless start them.
If the GOP wants to win Oregon metro areas or the governorship, they need to drop old religious dogma about nature being made for Man alone. I'd like to see a moderate Republican governor curb Oregon's social pathology instead of whining about not being able to cut down every old growth tree for profit. That attitude's no better than running around vandalizing a formerly nice city.
Willamette Week’s story on the protests was a yawner because it offered nothing of substance about Trump’s proposals. A majority of Americans (of diverse races and ethnicities) voted for Trump. For a lot of reasons, Americans are fed up.
Instead, Willamette Week offered the usual revisiting of Portland’s glorious history of protesting. Had the spirit of Little Beirut been broken?
“That’s why, for many of us, the sight on April 5 of people teeming across highway bridges carrying picket signs brought a feeling of relief,” writes Willamette Week Editor Aaron Mesh.
When President George H.W. Bush's staff called Portland “Little Beirut” they thought they were insulting Portland. But it’s an insult to Beirut, which was once called the Paris of the Middle East because it was so cosmopolitan. The never-ending civil war between Christians and Muslims reduced Beirut to a place that is no longer recognized for its culture and enlightenment. That’s what tribalism can do to a place.
As an obviously bright lady, it's just puzzling that you'd write off Trump's many flaws by saying "Americans are fed up" (little context in that statement). Why not be fed up with crime on various levels, not just what wokeness brings?
I see cop-haters as similar to Trump's EPA-haters. They both view law enforcement as a threat to their hobbies & livelihoods, be it street racing & drug dealing or coal-rolling & pouring chemicals in rivers to avoid disposal fees. Or painting graffiti & shooting up apartments vs. cutting excessive trees and shooting animals just because they can get away with it. This is about total morality, not just left vs. right.
As someone who came from old hillbilly stock, I relate to Thomas Sowell's "black rednecks" being influenced by trashy southern whites; a lowbrow culture that came from parts of the UK. Trump is like the king of rednecks, who also happens to appeal to the rich - to protect their money. He's not an actual visionary.
The only things I side with him on are immigration, street crime, stopping the proliferation of wind madness, and keeping certain jobs in America (but he fails to understand tech limits to that). His personal character is too shallow and rotten, so I'll never ago long with him as a package deal. He's playing illegal games with Presidential power and setting a crass tone for dialog.
He also made the left much worse than what it might have remained without his rhetoric. It seemed to start with Obama's racial digs at police, fueling Black Lives Matter, but Trump went too far in the other direction. America is like a giant pendulum that needs a much smaller arc.
My reply: I said people are fed up because I was writing a comment — not a dissertation. I’ve covered this subject elsewhere, most recently with “Where’s Carlos?” See: https://portlanddissent.substack.com/p/wheres-carlos
Do we even know who is receiving Social Security in this country? Do we know who is entering this country? Do we need another 9-11 to remind the media that the most powerful man on earth is not always the President of the United States?
This remonstrance by state Rep. Ed. Diehl (R-Salem) hits a lot of points that I hear when people (even teenagers!) complain about how nothing works like it used to: https://x.com/Real_EdDiehl/status/1918416388768841758
Obviously, I'm OK with Trump on the narrow range of issues you're mentioning. Your Carlos Slim article says nothing against him or the arrogance of the world's richest manchild firing tens of thousands of people and letting the courts sort out the damage. All you've done is point out more leftist hypocrisy.
We already know the Left went too far, but Trump is just a dumb agitator, regardless of his ability to force certain necessary changes that offend race-hustlers. If Biden had enacted radical, lousy-math tariffs, imagine the constant shaming from the Right. Instead, we see some dissatisfied farmers, or voters having second thoughts, with scant harsh criticism of their messiah's stupidity. "He's got a master plan, wait and see!"
On the topic of police, look up this recent AP headline: "Trump pardons Nevada politician who paid for cosmetic surgery with funds to honor a slain officer." He pardoned her just because she was a wingnut who'd supported him! He does stuff like that all the time, usually firing anyone who dissents from his mafia code. And, if you've not forgotten his heinous January 6 blanket pardons, note that several Capitol rioters have already been killed by cops (Matthew Huttle) or arrested for new crimes. That's the character of rabid Trump fans.
Issues like environmental pollution, including CO2-warming, apparently aren't a concern for you, since Trump keeps hacking away at those laws. Our very source of life and health ought to concern wise people, but monetary greed prevails over most things with today's GOP.
I'm with high-intellect conservatives like Charles Murray, a never-Trumper, who's long been accused of racism because he states facts about I.Q. studies, job performance, etc. The notion that one must approve of Trump or be in cahoots with Antifa and MS-13 makes no sense. I'm for broad morality and restoring civility, not whataboutism.
I don't think I knew they blocked you from commenting. It doesn't surprise me though.
Knowing that convinces me Portland is not on the right track. And may never will be.
Their obvious bias is the reason I do not and will not read anything on their website (Do they have physical printed rags any longer?) And I do not trust anything they do report on - like the Shemia Fagan scandal with La Moda - I cannot help but wonder if WW has an interest in taking down Fagan or La Moda or an interest in someone who benefits from their take down.
But I don't think it will happen. Look at Chicago. Look at Illinois. Same with New York City and New York State. More than a century of misspending and corruption in those cities.
The State of the States and the State of the Cities reports for June 30, 2023 were just released. Portland is in the bottom five sinkhole cities, only New York and Chicago are worse.
Wonderful article. Let's do a thought experiment that imagines that these homeless advocates receive everything they want: housing first solution and endless, unlimited taxpayer-funded instruments of compassion, all objections ignored, and a shrinking role for police. Why wouldn't every homeless person in the country come here? Homeless from bad luck, or addiction, or mental illness, wouldn't they all want to come to the homeless utopia? Why wouldn't every other city quietly give its homeless bus tickets to Portland? It reminds me of the Greek curse where the more you eat, the hungrier you get. (Compare the Singapore solution to crime.) There's a misunderstanding of human nature in their ideology that seems to be at the root of it.
Why ask? The city is already a magnet for "homeless" nationwide. I've seen interviews with people from as far away as West Palm Beach, Florida. Druggies and kwazy commies--we'll get 'em all.
On point again Pam. PSR needs to be merged with Project Respond and/or Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) in PPB. We need to cut costs, not increase them. Of course that will never happen with the current Socialist control of Council. Portland Park Rangers are another wasteful ineffective police alternative created by Joanne Hardesty…..they need to go as well….but alas let’s just stop filling potholes and answering 911 calls.
Portland Park Rangers used to be non-union and reliant on returning seasonal volunteers. Think they had three full time rangers Maybe it was one and two on grants. They did good service at small expense for the city.
A particularly bockheaded ranger/activist (Sam) drove unionization and the embrace of all that is distinctly Portland in ineffectuality. Too bad. Too, too bad.
They ridded themselves of the vigorous and effective head ranger, Kurt Nelson. Two of the young men that worked for Kurt (seasonally and for min. wage) were really remarkable for their organization, fairness, and all good terms used to praise effective but light-handed security organizations.
I was decades older than those two young guys and they were calm no matter what, possessed of judgement and temperateness far beyond their years. They were fired as quickly as the change of senior leadership took hold. I always thought that that was breathtaking: firing those two invaluable young men while expanding and elevating nincompoops.
My testimony on the rushed PSR nonsense from the clueless commie kids from DSA:
Good afternoon, Councilors,
My name is Brian Owendoff. I live and work in District 4, and I appreciate the opportunity to address Councilor Kanal’s proposal regarding changes to Portland Street Response (PSR).
To begin: what does it mean for PSR to become a “co-equal branch”? Are PSR team members going to undergo the same rigorous background checks, training, and continuing education requirements as Portland Police Officers? That phrase needs clear definition.
This proposal comes at a time when we are facing a constrained city budget, a large deficit, and threats to essential services. All public safety bureaus have requested to maintain current staffing and funding levels—so why are we proposing changes that seem to imply increased funding or expansion?
Furthermore, we need to talk about funding—specifically, Medicaid reimbursement. This has been a lingering issue for over a year. If PSR is to continue and grow responsibly, the City must have a transparent and public conversation about billing Medicaid through the County.
Portland taxpayers deserve clear, direct answers to the following:
1. How much will these proposed changes to PSR cost?
2. What tangible benefits will they bring to stakeholders?
3. Do PSR staff and leadership actually support this direction?
4. What legal liabilities would fall on the civilian committee proposed to lead PSR, especially if they go beyond recommendations and into decision-making?
5. Will the City's unions need to reopen bargaining agreements if these structural changes take place?
6. Lastly, while PSR helps manage certain calls more efficiently, it does not eliminate the need for police. We cannot responsibly reduce the police budget and expect that to translate into faster or more effective 911 response times.
Looking at the bigger picture, the City should explore whether the County is better equipped to manage PSR under the umbrella of Project Respond. This approach would offer:
• A dedicated 24/7 crisis line
• Integrated access to Cascadia Health Services
• Eligibility for Medicaid reimbursement
• Transport capacity and insurance—functions currently managed by the County, and which PSR does not fully possess
Duplicating these services at the City level is not an efficient or effective use of limited taxpayer dollars.
Portland residents—housed and unhoused alike—deserve a system that works, is financially responsible, and is built on clear governance and accountability.
Brian, a good example of simple logic and sound thinking - I’m sure the council found your comments annoying at best. I would also add that any increase in taxpayer funding comes at the expense of some other need or service. Can anyone on the council explain what programs or services or basic essentials will go unmet due to prioritization of PSR?
What really strikes me is how completely ancillary, non-mandated programs are taking over government funding priorities, much as JVP is calling Vasqu ez a liar for calling out her slashing of the DA’s budget.
And of course the O never mentions that the county spends 400% of the DA’s budget on crazy and homeless “bums” (to use Richard Cheverton’s phrase).
Whether it’s PSR or CAHOOTS or whatever, these are fringe programs, and while they may have SOME value. they ae not part of government’s basic mandate to protect citizens from crime, fire, and disaster.
In Portland and Multnomah County, Oregon, they’ve turned everything on its head, and it seems that city and county government think it’s far more important to fund these fringe programs that serve frankly a tiny percentage of the community and providing the basic services that protect 99% of the community!
Portland is layered not just in citizen groups representing the community. It is awash in so many social services, it’s likely most Portlanders haven’t heard of them.
Before the Public Safety Committee considered the resolution for Portland Street Response, it heard a report from Portland Solutions, which combines these “popular and effective programs” — City Shelter Services, Impact Reduction Program, Public Environment Management Office (PEMO) and Street Services Coordination Center.
At one point, Loretta Smith asked, “How does Portland Solutions work with Portland Street Response and Portland Ceasefire?”
“There is a lot of overlap sometimes,” replied Anne Hill of PEMO. Sometimes her program provides sandwiches or coffee to someone in distress. Other times they help “crime victims” find housing.
The Portland Fire Bureau also has something called CHAT, which stands for Community Health Assess and Treat. Visit CHAT’S website — https://www.portland.gov/fire/community-health/chat — and it sounds a lot like Portland Street Response. There is no shortage of publicly funded helping hands in Portland.
On infrastructure: The distrust between the people and government is so much so, that even if a council decides it was going to focus solely on improving, refitting and restoring infrastructure, the people would suspect foul play. The article sites a billion dollars are needed for the infrastructure improvements/maintenance. People see that number and immediately assume the money will be sent off to “close partners” of the government and will not see any results from that.
Why isn't Novick considered part of the progressive group?
Novick enjoys playing the wild card. While he usually votes with the progressive caucus, he’s not completely predictable. For example, when Councilor Morillo first moved to end discussion, he voted no, and the discussion continued.
Although he ultimately voted for Morillo’s motion to send the resolution to the full council, he also acknowledged that he agreed with some of Councilor Eric Zimmerman’s concerns,
PSR is fine for what they actually do. This must be weighed vs what progressives want them to do. There is an entrenched push from progressives to create unarmed police: be it PSR, PS3, or others. They keep hoping these groups will expand and do more and eventually overtake armed police entirely. This won’t happen mostly because no one will actually sign up to do that job in the US, but in the mean time it’s worth looking at what PSR actually does.
First let’s discuss how Portland dispatches 911 and non-emergency calls through BOEC.
Priority 1: active calls involving weapons —> 2 officers voice dispatched (ie. sent right now regardless of assigned area)
Priority 2: active disturbances, injury crashes, legitimate priority welfare checks (guy ODing or laying on the ground bleeding), some monitored alarms (banks), AND welfare checks where the caller provides incomplete information —> 2 officers voice dispatched
Priority 3: Robberies without weapons and other monitored alarms —> 2 officers voice dispatched
Priority 4: catchall for “sort of seems important we should send someone soon” —> officially 1 officer voice dispatched. Practically this runs the gamut from 2 officer voiced all the way to it can wait until the district car is clear and picks it up off of the board. This is entirely at the discretion of the individual dispatcher at BOEC (or the supervisor setting their shift standard)
Priority 5: priority 6 calls that passed their time limit. This is call limbo, meaning it often waits until a night shift officer calls you from a blocked number a 2AM or just gets cancelled outright without any response or explanation.
Priority 6: lots of cold calls but also embarrassingly the standard burglary alarm (like almost all businesses and homes use which most people would not consider “cold”). Stacked to “the board”. Officers have 30 minutes to self-dispatch. After 30 minutes it turns into a priority 5.
Priority 7: same as priority 6 but there is one hour. After 30 minutes it becomes a 6 and after 30 more minutes enters limbo.
Okay, that said let’s talk about PSR. One of the most annoying calls for a police officer is the “person down unchecked” welfare check. This is 100% a product of cell phones and involves compassionate people seeing what they view as a person in need and instead of directly asking if the person needs help they call 911 to have someone else deal with it. If the subject is confirmed to be alive this is generally dispatched as a 4 or 6. If the compassionate person has neglected to even slow down enough to confirm that the person is not dead, that generates this call type which PPB and BOEC determine to be a Priority 2. These calls almost always wind up like this: “Hey, are you dead?” —> “No” —> “Do you need help?” —> “No” —> Clear Willy 1 (obligatory self interested throwback to old school Portland coppers)
This call right here, that’s where PSR lives. No action was ever going to happen so the fact that PSR just hands them a bottle of water and leaves has no effect on the world at all. To PPB’s benefit, it has functionally eliminated this call off the board when PSR is on. That is actually not a small thing as there are tens of these calls every day. However it does not address the concept that we could save a lot of money if we just decide to not send anyone to a welfare check where the caller can’t be bothered to stop and determine if help is actually needed.
PSR also responds to the call regarding a person acting weird on the street. BUT only if the person is on the sidewalk (not in the street and not private property) not threatening anyone, and no weapons are involved (sticks, machetes, skateboards, etc). It is a true story where at least one time PSR arrived, the subject wandered into the street, PSR called for police response, police coaxed the subject back to the sidewalk, PSR resumed primary response, rinse, repeat.
It is worth noting here: Project Respond (the county run field mental health team - who do good work and are invaluable partners with PPB) will not engage with a person on a bridge threatening to jump (even absent any other threat indicator) due to the inherent danger posed by people in crisis.
Again, what does equal mean?
The key here is to recognize that people who are so anti-social to have wound up sleeping under a bridge (having already burned all of theirs) have already refused assistance. Offering another snack and bottle of water isn’t going to help them.
Regarding infrastructure: One of the worst examples of Portland streets is the section of SW 30th Drive between Custer & Canby in the generally nice Multnomah Village. It's literally a deep pothole obstacle course, as if the goal is preventing anyone from getting in or out! You have to actually drive on it, not just view it remotely. Is it too costly to pave about 650 feet of road, or are soil conditions prohibitive there?
When Jo Ann Hardesty ran successfully for City Council and campaigned in southwest Portland, she admitted she was shocked at the condition of some of the streets — in supposedly the nice, white part of town.
You really think it's about not helping anyone rich or white? It seems locals could do asphalt group funding if they got fed up with needing high-clearance 4WD for safe night or bad weather grocery shopping. But many older homes there are relatively affordable, and it's been able to maintain a safe feeling without being super rich, like a test of how long Portland can get away with coddling crime.
The ghetto Stephens Creek Crossing Apartments to the north and Safe Rest Village to the east have constricted that safe feeling. There's an older couple who often stand at SW 35th & Multnomah Blvd with anti-police/white protest signs. I wonder if they ever take evening walks in those two areas?
I think you're reading more woke politics into the street problem than actually exists. Some sections never got paved (not the one I mentioned above) and it goes further back to laws that didn't require the City/County to deal with certain streets.
Lack of money and time due to dealing with homeless, etc. is of course a bigger factor now, but I doubt nicer areas are being snubbed merely to punish whites. That's conspiracy theory stuff.
In August of 2022, our neighborhood streets and several others were destroyed by Pbot in their attempt to use our streets as guinea pigs for resurfacing project. Resurfacing is not repaving. First off, our neighborhood is purely residential and our street like many in the neighborhood don’t directly connect to a major thoroughfare so in other words traffic is mainly from households and occasional deliveries. We were given notices if we didn’t move vehicles off the street they would be ticketed and towed during the hours/ days work would be done. This didn’t apply however to the street behind us and the 4 homeless rvs parked there. I verified this with Pbot! So this contracted company applied a slurry to the street that the Pbot rep in hand claimed it has a 40 year warranty which I then informed him that my windows have a lifetime warranty but it doesn’t matter because the company is out of business so I don’t have much faith in said warranty promises. The job was so poor that they covered debris left on the street after their “sweeping” including a portion of my tree branch they broke off driving too close to the curb. Within a week areas began to slough and we sweep a gallon bucket of fine gravel from the substance applied every couple of months. The company had to come back months later as the defects that Pbot marked for them to address immediately upon completion of our street were left and not addressed. The end result of that looked like they just haphazardly poured it out as the drove the truck down the street. Within a month the previous cracks and defects in the original asphalt surfaced and now the street looks 100% worse than before the project. IMO it wasn’t necessary in the first place. Meanwhile the main arterials feeding into our neighborhood were wrought with potholes and reports to have them repaired—some just lengthy channels of missing asphalt —went unaddressed. Today many still remain. As we drive travel through our area we see similar streets that were destroyed like ours. Such an incredible waste of money and with an outcome worse than what was originally in its place. and now I came across a message on ND posted by Pbot that they subsidized uber and lift rides from the cinco de mayo festivities. C’ mon budget failures and they promote this? What about public transportation that they shove down our throats or better yet— getting your own DD and if it’s not in the cards they avoid alcohol. The city needs to stop with their enabling in all its forms and cut off Pbots exorbitant spending
Can you name this or a similar street that such work was done on? I can certainly picture a patchwork job, but sinkhole-prone soils make some areas impossible to keep stable unless they use very deep gravel fill or cement.
Some of this surely goes back to Portland's early days as a collection of muddy ruts and stumps. Maybe some areas had old reputations as impossible to maintain, so crews stopped trying but didn't make it official. The online SLIDO map is useful.
You’re right, it’s technically illegal for neighbors to have their street paved on their own, although sometimes it’s done surreptitiously and the City does nothing. But you can’t trust that PBOT won’t strike back… a risky proposition.
I’m glad they call it the ‘Public Safety Committee’. Calling it the ‘Committee of Public Safety’ might give people the right idea.
I’m sure everyone is familiar with “the definition of insanity”…
Exceptional work Pamela!
Great article. Todd (not Tom) made me watch the entire grueling testimony. I want to know why the sane side can't muster enough of a coalition together to out number these nut cases? Portland is so lost! 😥
Another trenchant gaze into the depths of the progressive abyss.
Yes, the crazies are in charge--but let us never forget that it was designed this way by the charter commission. They told us that the system would be rigged for "minorities," and they got what they wanted with ranked-choice votiing--please note that each member on the council is there because they got 25-percent of the vote (no more; no less).
The overcrowded ballots in the last election produced marginal winners with (1) name recognition (2) organizational muscle from. the usual suspects. Even nominally sane people, such as Loretta Smith or even (hate to say it) Steve "Tiny Terror" Novick must now play to the organized, disciplined margins (since most mainstream Portland voters don't bother doing their homework, thinking, or even filling out the ballot--just check the turnout numbers).
The winners: unions, public employees (fastest growing jobs in Portland, folks), nonprofits dabbling in politics, "endorsers." And--money...always money.
Gramsci (Google him) couldn't have designed it better--maybe he did from his martyr's grave.
Morillo's other hobby at the moment is denouncing local Democratic Congresswomen in very purple districts for failing to meet her high standards for ideological purity.
She earlier denounced Janelle Bynum, and she is now denouncing Marie Gluesenkamp Perez:
"She [Perez] voted to censure Al Green and strip women of their voting rights as a Democrat. A loser of the highest order, a coward, and a sycophant.
I can’t imagine being this person at this moment in history if never be able to look my nieces in the eye."
How DARE Democrats in purple districts make any compromises to get reelected!
At this point, I'd suspect her of being a deep-cover Republican agent trying to get local Democrats defeated, but the Republicans aren't that clever.
MGP is my rep (Wahkiakum). I'd rather hoped that she would lose if for no other reason than the Democrat Machine out of Olympia and on into D.C. is incredibly ugly. Truthfully, her opponent Kent gave me the willies though I voted for him.
Anyway, I was pleased with her having broken ranks recently and wrote to her expressing my gratitude. I received a rather gaseous thank you, but still and all...
Another great article!
I will be convinced that Portland has turned around and is on the right track when Willamette Week pays Pamela Fitzsimmons to write at least once a month - or pays to reproduce one of the Portland Dissent articles in their publication.
Thanks, but for years Willamette Week has blocked me and Richard Cheverton from even commenting on their website.
We have such weak media in Portland that I still appreciate some of the good work Willamette Week does — for example, their take-down of former state Rep. Jennifer Williamson and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan (who stepped in and ran for SOS after Williamson dropped out). Thank you, Nigel Jaquiss and Sophie Peel.
That’s why it was so disappointing a couple of weeks ago when WWeek had a cover story about … local protests against Donald Trump. Yawn.
I guess WWeek wanted to reassure Portland’s progressives.
"That’s why it was so disappointing a couple of weeks ago when WWeek had a cover story about … local protests against Donald Trump. Yawn."
Well, there's more than yawning about Trump since his kindergarten-math tariffs cost people big money in the market, and money's mainly what today's GOP cares about. Their remaining ethical area is street & immigrant crime enforcement but they're fine with environmental and financial graft.
Trump lies without a conscience (or later corrections) and the scale of it far exceeds anything I've seen from the Left, except for racial street crime denialism. Trump's a far cry from Republicans like Tom McCall who wouldn't coddle endless Oregon land development. He'd have seen through Trump's big logging expansion to partly mask how global warming exacerbates fires, regardless of whether the homeless start them.
If the GOP wants to win Oregon metro areas or the governorship, they need to drop old religious dogma about nature being made for Man alone. I'd like to see a moderate Republican governor curb Oregon's social pathology instead of whining about not being able to cut down every old growth tree for profit. That attitude's no better than running around vandalizing a formerly nice city.
Willamette Week’s story on the protests was a yawner because it offered nothing of substance about Trump’s proposals. A majority of Americans (of diverse races and ethnicities) voted for Trump. For a lot of reasons, Americans are fed up.
Instead, Willamette Week offered the usual revisiting of Portland’s glorious history of protesting. Had the spirit of Little Beirut been broken?
“That’s why, for many of us, the sight on April 5 of people teeming across highway bridges carrying picket signs brought a feeling of relief,” writes Willamette Week Editor Aaron Mesh.
When President George H.W. Bush's staff called Portland “Little Beirut” they thought they were insulting Portland. But it’s an insult to Beirut, which was once called the Paris of the Middle East because it was so cosmopolitan. The never-ending civil war between Christians and Muslims reduced Beirut to a place that is no longer recognized for its culture and enlightenment. That’s what tribalism can do to a place.
As an obviously bright lady, it's just puzzling that you'd write off Trump's many flaws by saying "Americans are fed up" (little context in that statement). Why not be fed up with crime on various levels, not just what wokeness brings?
I see cop-haters as similar to Trump's EPA-haters. They both view law enforcement as a threat to their hobbies & livelihoods, be it street racing & drug dealing or coal-rolling & pouring chemicals in rivers to avoid disposal fees. Or painting graffiti & shooting up apartments vs. cutting excessive trees and shooting animals just because they can get away with it. This is about total morality, not just left vs. right.
As someone who came from old hillbilly stock, I relate to Thomas Sowell's "black rednecks" being influenced by trashy southern whites; a lowbrow culture that came from parts of the UK. Trump is like the king of rednecks, who also happens to appeal to the rich - to protect their money. He's not an actual visionary.
The only things I side with him on are immigration, street crime, stopping the proliferation of wind madness, and keeping certain jobs in America (but he fails to understand tech limits to that). His personal character is too shallow and rotten, so I'll never ago long with him as a package deal. He's playing illegal games with Presidential power and setting a crass tone for dialog.
He also made the left much worse than what it might have remained without his rhetoric. It seemed to start with Obama's racial digs at police, fueling Black Lives Matter, but Trump went too far in the other direction. America is like a giant pendulum that needs a much smaller arc.
My reply: I said people are fed up because I was writing a comment — not a dissertation. I’ve covered this subject elsewhere, most recently with “Where’s Carlos?” See: https://portlanddissent.substack.com/p/wheres-carlos
Do we even know who is receiving Social Security in this country? Do we know who is entering this country? Do we need another 9-11 to remind the media that the most powerful man on earth is not always the President of the United States?
This remonstrance by state Rep. Ed. Diehl (R-Salem) hits a lot of points that I hear when people (even teenagers!) complain about how nothing works like it used to: https://x.com/Real_EdDiehl/status/1918416388768841758
Obviously, I'm OK with Trump on the narrow range of issues you're mentioning. Your Carlos Slim article says nothing against him or the arrogance of the world's richest manchild firing tens of thousands of people and letting the courts sort out the damage. All you've done is point out more leftist hypocrisy.
We already know the Left went too far, but Trump is just a dumb agitator, regardless of his ability to force certain necessary changes that offend race-hustlers. If Biden had enacted radical, lousy-math tariffs, imagine the constant shaming from the Right. Instead, we see some dissatisfied farmers, or voters having second thoughts, with scant harsh criticism of their messiah's stupidity. "He's got a master plan, wait and see!"
On the topic of police, look up this recent AP headline: "Trump pardons Nevada politician who paid for cosmetic surgery with funds to honor a slain officer." He pardoned her just because she was a wingnut who'd supported him! He does stuff like that all the time, usually firing anyone who dissents from his mafia code. And, if you've not forgotten his heinous January 6 blanket pardons, note that several Capitol rioters have already been killed by cops (Matthew Huttle) or arrested for new crimes. That's the character of rabid Trump fans.
Issues like environmental pollution, including CO2-warming, apparently aren't a concern for you, since Trump keeps hacking away at those laws. Our very source of life and health ought to concern wise people, but monetary greed prevails over most things with today's GOP.
I'm with high-intellect conservatives like Charles Murray, a never-Trumper, who's long been accused of racism because he states facts about I.Q. studies, job performance, etc. The notion that one must approve of Trump or be in cahoots with Antifa and MS-13 makes no sense. I'm for broad morality and restoring civility, not whataboutism.
I don't think I knew they blocked you from commenting. It doesn't surprise me though.
Knowing that convinces me Portland is not on the right track. And may never will be.
Their obvious bias is the reason I do not and will not read anything on their website (Do they have physical printed rags any longer?) And I do not trust anything they do report on - like the Shemia Fagan scandal with La Moda - I cannot help but wonder if WW has an interest in taking down Fagan or La Moda or an interest in someone who benefits from their take down.
Me too! Censorship causes blindness. Can you see who is blinding you?
Maybe this time Portland is only one overpriced pipe dream away from hitting rock bottom and finally on the road to recovery. *fingers crossed*
It would be nice.
But I don't think it will happen. Look at Chicago. Look at Illinois. Same with New York City and New York State. More than a century of misspending and corruption in those cities.
The State of the States and the State of the Cities reports for June 30, 2023 were just released. Portland is in the bottom five sinkhole cities, only New York and Chicago are worse.
...
https://www.truthinaccounting.org/library/doclib/Financial-State-of-the-Cities-2025.pdf
There are only two things that Portlandians are good at: rioting and digging.
ha ha. That is sadly true.
Wonderful article. Let's do a thought experiment that imagines that these homeless advocates receive everything they want: housing first solution and endless, unlimited taxpayer-funded instruments of compassion, all objections ignored, and a shrinking role for police. Why wouldn't every homeless person in the country come here? Homeless from bad luck, or addiction, or mental illness, wouldn't they all want to come to the homeless utopia? Why wouldn't every other city quietly give its homeless bus tickets to Portland? It reminds me of the Greek curse where the more you eat, the hungrier you get. (Compare the Singapore solution to crime.) There's a misunderstanding of human nature in their ideology that seems to be at the root of it.
The entire point of the entire thing is that they want more dependents in the state so they can get more federal (and Medicaid) money.
Why ask? The city is already a magnet for "homeless" nationwide. I've seen interviews with people from as far away as West Palm Beach, Florida. Druggies and kwazy commies--we'll get 'em all.
On point again Pam. PSR needs to be merged with Project Respond and/or Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) in PPB. We need to cut costs, not increase them. Of course that will never happen with the current Socialist control of Council. Portland Park Rangers are another wasteful ineffective police alternative created by Joanne Hardesty…..they need to go as well….but alas let’s just stop filling potholes and answering 911 calls.
https://www.portland.gov/police/divisions/behavioral-health-unit
Portland Park Rangers used to be non-union and reliant on returning seasonal volunteers. Think they had three full time rangers Maybe it was one and two on grants. They did good service at small expense for the city.
A particularly bockheaded ranger/activist (Sam) drove unionization and the embrace of all that is distinctly Portland in ineffectuality. Too bad. Too, too bad.
They ridded themselves of the vigorous and effective head ranger, Kurt Nelson. Two of the young men that worked for Kurt (seasonally and for min. wage) were really remarkable for their organization, fairness, and all good terms used to praise effective but light-handed security organizations.
I was decades older than those two young guys and they were calm no matter what, possessed of judgement and temperateness far beyond their years. They were fired as quickly as the change of senior leadership took hold. I always thought that that was breathtaking: firing those two invaluable young men while expanding and elevating nincompoops.
My testimony on the rushed PSR nonsense from the clueless commie kids from DSA:
Good afternoon, Councilors,
My name is Brian Owendoff. I live and work in District 4, and I appreciate the opportunity to address Councilor Kanal’s proposal regarding changes to Portland Street Response (PSR).
To begin: what does it mean for PSR to become a “co-equal branch”? Are PSR team members going to undergo the same rigorous background checks, training, and continuing education requirements as Portland Police Officers? That phrase needs clear definition.
This proposal comes at a time when we are facing a constrained city budget, a large deficit, and threats to essential services. All public safety bureaus have requested to maintain current staffing and funding levels—so why are we proposing changes that seem to imply increased funding or expansion?
Furthermore, we need to talk about funding—specifically, Medicaid reimbursement. This has been a lingering issue for over a year. If PSR is to continue and grow responsibly, the City must have a transparent and public conversation about billing Medicaid through the County.
Portland taxpayers deserve clear, direct answers to the following:
1. How much will these proposed changes to PSR cost?
2. What tangible benefits will they bring to stakeholders?
3. Do PSR staff and leadership actually support this direction?
4. What legal liabilities would fall on the civilian committee proposed to lead PSR, especially if they go beyond recommendations and into decision-making?
5. Will the City's unions need to reopen bargaining agreements if these structural changes take place?
6. Lastly, while PSR helps manage certain calls more efficiently, it does not eliminate the need for police. We cannot responsibly reduce the police budget and expect that to translate into faster or more effective 911 response times.
Looking at the bigger picture, the City should explore whether the County is better equipped to manage PSR under the umbrella of Project Respond. This approach would offer:
• A dedicated 24/7 crisis line
• Integrated access to Cascadia Health Services
• Eligibility for Medicaid reimbursement
• Transport capacity and insurance—functions currently managed by the County, and which PSR does not fully possess
Duplicating these services at the City level is not an efficient or effective use of limited taxpayer dollars.
Portland residents—housed and unhoused alike—deserve a system that works, is financially responsible, and is built on clear governance and accountability.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Brian M. Owendoff
You always have such great testimony! Much appreciated
Excellent. Good for you! And thank you for testifying!
I am grateful for you and Eric Zimmerman.
Brian, a good example of simple logic and sound thinking - I’m sure the council found your comments annoying at best. I would also add that any increase in taxpayer funding comes at the expense of some other need or service. Can anyone on the council explain what programs or services or basic essentials will go unmet due to prioritization of PSR?
What really strikes me is how completely ancillary, non-mandated programs are taking over government funding priorities, much as JVP is calling Vasqu ez a liar for calling out her slashing of the DA’s budget.
And of course the O never mentions that the county spends 400% of the DA’s budget on crazy and homeless “bums” (to use Richard Cheverton’s phrase).
Whether it’s PSR or CAHOOTS or whatever, these are fringe programs, and while they may have SOME value. they ae not part of government’s basic mandate to protect citizens from crime, fire, and disaster.
In Portland and Multnomah County, Oregon, they’ve turned everything on its head, and it seems that city and county government think it’s far more important to fund these fringe programs that serve frankly a tiny percentage of the community and providing the basic services that protect 99% of the community!
Portland is layered not just in citizen groups representing the community. It is awash in so many social services, it’s likely most Portlanders haven’t heard of them.
Before the Public Safety Committee considered the resolution for Portland Street Response, it heard a report from Portland Solutions, which combines these “popular and effective programs” — City Shelter Services, Impact Reduction Program, Public Environment Management Office (PEMO) and Street Services Coordination Center.
At one point, Loretta Smith asked, “How does Portland Solutions work with Portland Street Response and Portland Ceasefire?”
“There is a lot of overlap sometimes,” replied Anne Hill of PEMO. Sometimes her program provides sandwiches or coffee to someone in distress. Other times they help “crime victims” find housing.
The Portland Fire Bureau also has something called CHAT, which stands for Community Health Assess and Treat. Visit CHAT’S website — https://www.portland.gov/fire/community-health/chat — and it sounds a lot like Portland Street Response. There is no shortage of publicly funded helping hands in Portland.
And now a free clothes washing service too. Wouldn't you like someone to wash, dry and fold your clothes for free? Guess who pays for this? City of Portland taxpayers. https://www.portland.gov/homelessness-impact-reduction/city-laundry-program
Thanks for the link. I was feeling too lazy to wash clothes this week.