LORETTA SMITH (running for Commissioner position 2)
Should policies be adopted to ensure every neighborhood in Portland welcomes more neighbors, through smaller, denser, lower-cost housing options like smallplexes, cottage clusters, and small-to-moderate-sized apartment complexes, via both the nonprofit and private markets?
Yes, everywhere. As a Multnomah County Commissioner, I was a vocal supporter of accessory dwelling units becoming a permanent part of how we address our stock of affordable housing. When I found out Multnomah County was penalizing homeowners through a tax assessment for ADUs, I fought back and won a retraction of high property tax increases for homeowners who were willing to build ADUs on their lots. As Portland continues to grow, especially as climate migrants make this city their home, we have to ensure that we are approaching planning and development with an eye towards the future, not the past. While we may have been able to achieve our housing objectives in the past without a critical eye towards density, it is long past time for that perspective to evolve.
Should Portland expand transit-oriented development (allowing apartment complexes by-right within a short walk of all major transit lines) as a way to discourage the use of single-occupancy vehicles and reduce our city’s carbon emissions?
Yes. I will be a strong advocate for ensuring that we are green lighting projects that add greater housing density to already existing transit lines. The easiest way to ensure that people have more equitable access to walkable, livable communities is by championing transit oriented development that will undoubtedly provide a better quality of life for Portlanders. If we are going to make any significant gains in reducing our city's carbon emissions, then we must prioritize the connectivity of where people live, work, and play with low-fare or no-fare public transportation. As we look at regional planning in that regard, we must look at where people have the easiest time exclusively utilizing public transportation to fulfill their needs and then ensuring that the same components that allow for them to be successful (e.g. routes, frequency, speed, etc.) are reflected in all parts of the city. That also means we need to be intentionally thinking through safety measures (e.g. sidewalks, raised medians, redesigned intersections, etc) that will also complement our Vision Zero commitment.
Should neighborhood associations have less, as much, or more power than other community organizations when it comes to questions of housing, such as whether new apartments or homeless shelters are permitted in a given neighborhood?
The same amount of power. I believe neighborhood associations still have an important role to play in civic engagement and planning for the future of our city. However, I also feel very strongly about the fact that we need broader representation with equal power to be fully representative of the diversity of our city moving forward. Historically, communities of color have been locked out of homeownership opportunities as a matter of policy and practice, thus maintaining an imbalanced power dynamic within one of the most supported methods of civic engagement in Portland. The challenges ahead of us when it comes to community development and affordable housing are significant, and we can't keep doing business as usual. To not invite other community organizations to the table as equals only further alienates the voices we need at the table and indirectly supports historical tools of discrimination like redlining, deed restrictions, etc.
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?)
More money. When we passed the affordable housing bond in 2016, the thought was that once that process proved successful, we would go back to voters to approve another one. I think that strategy still makes sense, and would likely be successful depending on the final performance metrics on the bonds currently being deployed. We've also done a considerable amount of work at the state level to ensure that financing packages could be paired in a way that stretched our dollars, and our funding options, in a more efficient way. With that being said, there is no way we build our way out of our affordability crisis without significant financial investments in affordable housing from the federal government. We have to be prepared to act very quickly to ensure that affordable housing investment is at the top of the list of priorities for what will hopefully be a new presidential administration and new leadership in the U.S. Senate.
My vision for subsidized affordable housing in Portland is that we will have quality affordable housing in every corner of the city that is ACTUALLY affordable for Portlanders. We spend a lot of time talking about at what AMI level our resources should be focused on, but we have to come to the realization that until we start paying real attention to the many Portlanders who are just barely surviving at 0-30% AMI, we will continue to see our affordability crisis grow. Where the answer is homeownership, let's get creative about that. Where the answer is deeply affordable or permanently affordable housing, let's make that happen. The root causes of this housing crisis are not going to change, so our strategic approach to the issue must.
Would you support a citywide moratorium on evictions during the three coldest months of the year, as Seattle recently adopted?
Yes. One specific instance that sticks with me in regards to this matter is the tragic death of Karen Batts in 2017. Karen Batts was in regulated affordable housing, but was ultimately evicted for being $338 behind in her rent. A former Rosarian Princess, Karen died of hypothermia in a downtown Smart Park garage at the age of 52. Karen was an African-American woman who had her own struggles with mental health, but in no way should that have been a contributing factor to her death. What the impacts of COVID-19 has shown us is that we can make significant changes and do a lot of good if we just find the political courage to do so. What dealing with that debt for both the renter and the homeowner/landlord looks like needs to be dealt with so that all sides are whole, but we shouldn't be letting people be turned out onto the streets in the dead of winter.
As Portland implements an anti-displacement plan, which policies from the Anti-Displacement PDX Coalition would you support? What additional anti-displacement policies do you support?
Require advance 90-day written notice to a tenant if the owner plans to sell, demolish, or redevelop their home.
Grant a “right to stay” to existing tenants; require landlords to rehouse tenants they displace in their neighborhoods at a rent comparable to what they had been paying, or by helping the tenants to purchase a unit with down-payment assistance.
Implement a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase policy that gives all current renters, and then the city, the first and second rights of refusal to purchase a property at fair-market value before it goes on the market.
Earmark Construction Excise Tax (CET) revenue from construction in single-dwelling zones as a source of subsidy for affordable units in single-dwelling zones.
Property tax exemption for any regulated affordable units built on-site, for the duration of the affordability restriction.
First, I'm not necessarily opposed to the redevelopment fee for single-dwelling zones, but I'd need more information about what that looks like before I take an official position on it. I believe that all public projects should require an impact statement that looks at the probability of displacement - either due to physical restraints or due to being priced out of a neighborhood.
As a city we are losing the unique and diverse character that has made Portland the place we call home. I believe the foundational issue behind this change is the mass displacement of entire communities to the outskirts of the city. Any thriving and livable community can only be achieved if we can create housing permanency and stability in communities. Our children and grandchildren deserve to grow up in a neighborhood with friends they'll have well into their adult lives. The power of community in Portland is not exclusively based on physical proximity, but it is absolutely enhanced by it. Let's make sure that Portland doesn't become a playground for the wealthy while people that encompass the essence of what we believe this city can be are pushed and priced out.
What else should Portland pro-housing, pro-tenant community know about you & your candidacy?
I've heard a lot of questions about my evolution on progressive policy matters, as if evolution is a bad thing. One thing I want the pro-housing, pro-tenant community to know is that I look forward to working with you and for you holding me accountable for the work ahead of us. I have five generations of family in Portland. My grandparents were a part of the mass displacement of Black people when the Veterans Memorial Coliseum was built. In looking around at what our city is becoming, the fight for what this city will look like generations from now when my grandchildren will be raising their families here is personal. I'm here. I'm listening. I'm ready to get to work.
Smith received a B+ overall from our scoring committee. See both scores for this by-election runoff and read about our process here.