Portland's Law-and-Order Candidate

Terrence Hayes wants to fix Portland, but he trashed a house in Vancouver

Portland City Council candidate Terrence Hayes, who has cast himself as the ex-felon now supporting the police, owes $10,187 to his former landlord for trashing a rental house.

Hayes lost the case in Multnomah County Small Claims Court by default on April 24 when he failed to show up.

“I texted him about paying after I won,” said his former landlord David Yang. “He didn’t text me back.”

Hayes has shown no movement towards paying. He didn’t return emails or phone calls seeking comment. If Hayes is elected to the city council, his former landlord plans to garnish his paycheck.

Portland’s new city council, which hasn’t even been elected, already is starting to resemble the old city council. Two years ago, former Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty was hit with a garnishment for failing to pay her credit card bills.

In Hayes’ situation, he rented a house in Vancouver from December 2018 to January 2021. After he vacated the place, Yang discovered extensive damage in parts of the house and a massive amount of garbage.

The landlord attempted to resolve the issues by contacting Hayes in hopes that he would make good on at least some of the damages. Yang said Hayes threatened him with an harassment suit.

Although Yang lives out of state, he monitors Portland news and noticed Hayes’ name popping up. He learned that Hayes was part of a group called Portland Freedom Fund that posted bail for “low-income” defendants involved in the racial protests of 2020. (One offender who was freed was later accused of murder).

Yang learned in 2021 that Hayes’ family received a $1.5 million settlement from the city after a 17-year-old cousin named Quanice Hayes was shot by police following a robbery. The teenager also attempted to break into an occupied dwelling while armed with what looked like a high-caliber handgun but only fired BBs. Cops shot and killed him. A Multnomah County Grand Jury determined the shooting was justified, but the city settled anyway.

The next year Hayes acquired a business called Restore Nuisance Abatement, and Yang saw that Hayes was being quoted as someone who could help save downtown Portland.

The landlord filed for a small claims settlement and awaited a court date. (Although the house was in Vancouver, Yang could use Multnomah County Small Claims Court, the jurisdiction where Hayes now lived.)

Then Yang heard that Hayes was running for Portland City Council in District 1, which covers East Portland and all areas surrounding the Portland Airport. Under a new system, 12 council members would be elected from four districts using ranked choice voting. Just 25 percent of the vote could get a candidate elected.

“Would Portland elect him?” Yang asked.

Not only could Hayes win, he might be one of the better candidates. He is saying things that the usual progressive candidates for Portland City Council rarely say.

In an interview with Kristin Olson on her Rational in Portland podcast, Hayes called out “ultra-progressive white women,” in particular, who think they have the answers to all problems. Listen to the interview here. (If you’re a white woman and a member of the Portland City Club, keep the smelling salts nearby.)

It’s one of the most entertaining city council candidate interviews so far — with one quibble. Olson gently asks Hayes if he is “comfortable” talking about the man he shot. Guys who hang around with gangs and shoot people, don’t get to plead discomfort. To his credit, Hayes talked freely about how he ended up in prison.

As Portland Dissent reported previously, Hayes went into prison a thug and came out 13 years later a trained electrician. (See “Wiping Away the Truth”) Thanks to then-Gov. Kate Brown and Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, Hayes’ criminal record has been expunged.

Hayes also gave an intriguing interview with Andy Chandler on YouTube’s NW Fresh where he discusses the anti-business bias of many Portland political candidates. It’s easy to talk about “people over profits” as progressives often do. You have to look at the margins to see the reality, said Hayes.

It’s easy to scorn large enterprises like Wal-Mart, but they provide jobs, he said. When the Wal-Mart on 82nd Avenue closed, employees and shoppers had to go somewhere else.

Hayes also talks about the upside of prison, which is rarely discussed in the media. If inmates apply themselves, they can learn the grind of hard work — something people outside of prison may never experience, Hayes said.

He got a job just two days after leaving Snake River Correctional Institution.

Now, as owner of Restore Nuisance Abatement, he hires former prison inmates to clean graffiti. It has left him sympathetic to the owners of small businesses dealing with vandalism and crime.

“When you spray paint a small business … that to me is bullying,” Hayes told Chandler.

Several of Hayes’ opponents thus far have made a campaign pledge — “No police money”— including Steph Routh, Candace Avalos, Jamie Dunphy, Timur Ender and Sonja McKenzie.

But Hayes has received the endorsement of the Portland Police Association. How solid is his support of police?

Last November, in a packed Portland City Council meeting, one citizen after another pleaded with council members to step in and fix a new police oversight board that voters approved during the George Floyd riots.

In retrospect, this police oversight board now looked overwhelmingly anti-law enforcement to such an extent that offenders would be allowed to sit in judgment on cops. Many speakers urged the council to send the proposal back to the voters, who were now more informed on what exactly this particular “citizen oversight” of police would entail.

Hayes took the microphone.

“I strongly disagree that this needs to go back to the voters. … We need something now,” he said, adding that “police accountability” should take priority. (See Portland Dissent’s “The Anti-Cop Crusade.”)

What happened to Hayes’ thinking since then?

He didn’t respond to Portland Dissent’s inquiry. Among other questions he left unanswered that were put to him:

Why did he blow off the Small Claims court date? Does he plan on paying the damages? How does he respond to voters who say this shows a lack of responsibility on his part?

Does he see a shift in Portland’s black community away from depending on white progressives? If so, why does he think that is happening?

It seems that black politicians (and their white allies) would rather focus on the rights of black offenders to the detriment of black victims. Why is that? As a City Council member, what would he do to bring more peace and less violence to the black community?

When he spoke at Quanice Hayes’ funeral, he complained that he couldn’t let his son play with toy guns because “police might fear for their lives.” Should any child be encouraged to play with toy guns?

The gun that Quanice used to rob a homeless man living in his car looked real to that victim and left him terrified. He said Quanice threatened to come back and “put two in him” if he called the cops. When the Hayes family secured a $1.5 million settlement, what kind of message did that send to other young black males? That they might be worth more dead than alive?

After the settlement, was there any attempt made to locate the victim that Quanice robbed to pay him back for what he lost?

As part of Hayes’ evolution from felon and gang member to city council candidate, he has served on Portland’s Focused Intervention Team Community Oversight Group — another police oversight body. This one offers advice to the Portland Police Bureau on how to respond to gun violence “through a racial and social justice lens; and provide recommendations to generate equitably and racially just outcomes. …while holding a balanced view between community perception and the realities police face every day in the line of duty.”

About a week ago, Hayes was back in the media spotlight asking for more police presence at Dawson Park after another drive-by shooting.

“We have been promised that they will show up. . . . They will not over-police. … I’m not going to give officers a pass,” Hayes said, sounding like he was already on the City Council.

Before he can start earning the new Portland City Council salary of $133,207 Hayes will have to get elected.

Speaking of which, info@teamhayesforportland.com recently sent out fund-raising solicitations headlined “Bills to Pay.”

“(T)he needs of east Portland are profound, and I’ve got plenty of ideas to help it ranging from improved public safety to resolving homelessness to improving our economic situation. But every once in a while, you simply need to make an ask. Every month turns into a deadline and I've got goals to hit like every other well-run campaign. And I’ll be honest with you…I’m a bit behind on my goals. … I need your help. Can you chip in today and help us fly past our goal?”

Should Hayes reach his goal on Election Day, his former landlord hopes to share in the victory. He has bills to pay, too.