Jo Ann Hardesty (Incumbent, running for Commissioner position 3)
Do you support policies that have been passed to ensure every neighborhood in the City of Portland welcomes more neighbors, by allowing middle housing (smaller, denser, lower-cost housing options like smallplexes, cottage clusters, and small-to-moderate-sized apartment complexes), via both the nonprofit and private markets? (e.g., Residential Infill Project and Design Overlay Zone Amendments)?
Yes, and the policies should be strengthened. We are in a spiraling affordability crisis that is disproportionately impacting the lowest income Portlanders. My refrain on housing is "affordable for who", and an honest assessment of where the gaps are. I am a strong advocate for focusing housing at the 0-60% MFI. Short term, we need to audit and engage landlords on the existing vacancies to design good public policy that meets existing needs. Longer term I would like to see us be more creative, more bold, and act with urgency to use our public leverage to secure land and scale up building a public land trust.
Should close-in, low-density neighborhoods be rezoned to allow mixed-income apartment buildings, in order to increase access to amenity-rich neighborhoods, reduce our auto dependence, and relieve displacement pressure on neighborhoods currently home to higher proportions of communities of color and working class Portlanders?
Yes, everywhere within a certain distance of the city center. We need to build housing that is close to supportive services, everywhere.
What should Portland do to encourage the development of middle housing (smaller, denser, lower-cost housing options like smallplexes, cottage clusters, and small-to-moderate sized apartment complexes), via both the nonprofit and private markets?
(checklist selections) Acquire land for development of affordable middle housing. Incentivize the development of middle housing (e.g., property tax exemptions). Expedite land division for affordable sixplexes to increase homeownership opportunities. Allow fourplexes to be slightly larger than triplexes, to incentivize more projects that meet accessibility standards.
I am very interested in #1 and #4, however would like to learn more. I don't know enough to officially check the box, but these sound like they align with my values. I would be interested in what the feasibility and political support is and how I could play a role. With the median family income for a family of 4 currently at $96,900, we need redefine affordable. We need to be building housing that our most vulnerable require, including low-wage workers, families.
Should landowners be able to create historic districts that block lower-cost and below-market homes from high-opportunity neighborhoods without the permission of city council?
Absolutely not, they are using this as tool to keep poor people out.
Should Portland dedicate less, as much, or more money to regulated affordable housing? (If you answered "more money," what funding mechanism(s) would you pursue to build this additional housing?)
In general, more money is needed, particularly after years of divestment at the federal level. It is important to me to ask which level of government, because there are limits to what the city can do and we need our state and federal jurisdictions to be a partner.
My focus is on building housing for individuals and families in the 0-60% MFI range with supportive, culturally competent services for those who need.
The City of Portland has a deficit of 19,804 homes affordable to people earning less than 80% Median Family Income (MFI). According to ECONorthwest: “the market has produced little rental or homeownership housing affordable to those below 80% of MFI, and almost no housing below 50% of MFI over the past 20 years. This supports the need for public subsidy to meet the needs of lower-income households.” How would you eliminate the deficit of homes affordable to people earning less than 80 percent of MFI and over what period of time?
The federal govt has abdicated their responsibility over the last generation, leading to huge gaps in our affordable housing options in Portland. City of Portland residents have voted for significant new funding that doing our part. To keep pace with the needs of our most vulnerable communities, we need to put more pressure on state and federal leaders to generate the revenues we need. We need this now, urgently, and I am committed to continuing to be a visible champion with community coalitions.
Should affordable housing be equitably distributed across all communities in the City of Portland? In other words, should the City ensure the addition of affordable housing to neighborhoods with a lower than average share of subsidized affordable housing?
Yes. Your income should not determine your zip code. We need housing in every part of town.
What actions would you support to address the homelessness crisis in the City of Portland?
(checklist selections) Invest in permanent supportive housing; Invest in behavioral health and other supportive services; Invest in capacity of outreach workers to connect with more people experiencing homelessness; Provide supportive services to and support the self governance of self-organized homeless encampments; Remove barriers to extremely-low-cost market-rate options like backyard homes on wheels, rooming houses and vacant-bedroom rentals; Give people cash or vouchers.
I do not believe in the duality of a sanction or unsanctioned camp, there are camps with services and camps without services. I do not want to reinforce the notion of some camps being worthy and some being unworthy, that leads to scapegoating and dehumanization.
I have been an advocate, with some successes, to prioritize city funding for several of these priorities, and to be targeted in serving the most vulnerable and holding wealthier special interests accountable.
What policies would you support to advance racial equity in housing access and promote housing stability for all residents and especially Black, Indigenous, and people of color who face disproportionate barriers to housing access?
(checklist selections) Eliminating criminal screening criteria like the City of Seattle did in 2017. Reduce other rental barriers (e.g., eviction history, credit history, etc). Expand investment in emergency rent assistance to prevent evictions for nonpayment of rent. Support fair housing enforcement. Down payment assistance for Black, indigenous, and people of color. Capacity support for culturally specific organizations interested in developing affordable housing. Invest in permanent supportive housing for people exiting institutional settings (e.g., criminal justice, state hospital, in patient treatment). Expand investment in affordable housing.
I am interested in the eviction bans, however would need more information about the scope and nature of the policy before checking the box. Same with the other boxes I did not check. In principle they are in alignment with my values, however I want to be mindful about what "support" means and how much capacity I and my office have to lead on new issues at this time. In general, I would be open to considering being the third vote for example.
What currently proposed tenant protection policies do you support that would protect tenants from unjust eviction or landlord harassment?
(checklist selections) I don't know enough about these proposed issues. In general I am a strong supporter of ensuring fair housing laws are followed. I would want to learn more. There is a lot of work that is needed to continue to ensure and expand protections for tenant rights, open to learning more.
Optional question: Whose voices should be centered in developing housing and land use policy across the greater Metro area?
(checklist selections) People experiencing homelessness. Black, Indigenous and people of color. Tenants.
Optional question: What else should Portland's anti-racist, pro-housing, pro-tenant community know about you & your candidacy?
Thank you!
Hardesty received an A overall from our scoring committee. See all scores for this primary election and read about our process here.