We’re checking with the race for council seat #2 again—the one current Commissioner Erik Sten is vacating. It’s a new race, and we’ve got new candidates this week.

Their question:

On Wednesday night, January 16, Police Chief Rosie Sizer presented a report on the Racial Profiling Task Force, a group charged with working toward the elimination of racial profiling. Has Portland seen progress in this area? What can be done to further improve police-community relations?

Jim Middaugh
Position sought: Commissioner #2
Website: middaughforportland.com
Public financing status: Turned in 781 contributions to the city on January 22

The key to community policing is trust, something that no major urban area has truly built between its police force and minority communities. The fact that the Police Bureau and union are fully taking part in the task force shows a desire to build that trust.

Many, if not most, minority people believe they have been racially profiled at some point, and virtually all police officers believe they are not guilty of that behavior. I think this task force is slowly building a forum where this enormous disconnect can be talked about, and for that I am thankful and somewhat hopeful. Only that type of blunt communication can lead to the trust that will keep Portland safer through real community policing.

The fact that we have a task force on racial profiling is testimony to the fact that the Police Bureau, under the able leadership of Rosie Sizer, and the police union, under the leadership of Robert King, knows we need to make progress. But the fact that many people fear the police proves that more needs to be done.

My own experience being on the receiving end of dozens of explicitly racist calls during the debate about Interstate Avenue gave me a small taste of what minorities in Portland deal with on a regular basis. But it doesn’t end with overt racism. We also must deal with the less overt but more insidious forms of racism that exist in our city.

I strongly believe that everyone has the ability and the responsibility to fight for justice for people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Despite being one of the whitest cities in the nation, good things are happening in Portland to advance racial justice. The fast-growing Latino community in Portland is coalescing in an effort to claim its rightful political voice.

Portland’s African-American community, with its traditional base in North and Northeast Portland, is determined to thrive in the face of the powerful forces of gentrification, and hold together a sense of community.

The very large Native American community in Portland is demanding that it be recognized, counted, and included in public policy decisions including housing, schools and parks. It is past time that this recognition and respect be given to the original residents of this land.

I believe that life in Portland only gets better from an increasingly diverse population. I support efforts to ensure that employment opportunities are representative of Portland’s population, and that opportunities for home ownership are equal across racial lines.

I believe we should celebrate our racial and ethnic diversity in our daily lives, with a conscious goal of making Portland a place where everyone feels welcome and able to thrive.

I will work with others on the Council and in the community to implement the recommendations that arise from Mayor Tom Potter’s Racial Profiling Task Force and the pending review of the city’s Independent Police Review program.

His challengers are after the cut!

Ed Garren
Position sought: Commissioner #2
Website: edforportland.com
Public financing status: Participating, contributions not yet reported

Racial Profiling and other abuses by law enforcement continue to plague our city. Doing a Google search brought up efforts for at least the last decade, yet far too many persons of color, and others of difference, feel targeted and are filled with fear.

In 1984 I began participation in a revamping of the Human Relations training at the Los Angeles Police Academy, which continued for about six years. I was a volunteer instructor during that time, and later, a paid consultant for the Long Beach Police Department to conduct similar training within that department after some officers were video taped shoving an African American man through a store front window. The man was an off duty law enforcement officer from another jurisdiction, who was "routinely stopped."

This issue is significant because it not only destroys confidence in law enforcement in our city, but it costs tax payers significant amounts of money when law suits for abusive behavior are settled.

From my experience working with law enforcement officers, and having one cousin who is a law enforcement officer out of state, I can attest that it is a very difficult and lonely job. Officers quickly find that the only people who they can relate to are "brother" officers. This creates a "siege mentality" in some departments. The siege mentality then fuels a "code of silence" in which officers "cover" for each other, even when they see things they don't agree with. The punishment for breaking the code of silence is being ostracized by fellow officers, and sometimes being left in a life threatening situation.

Although there is no simple or easy fix, some things have helped.

Hiring significant numbers of "minority" officers is the first step. Most people forget that the reason so many Irish were hired as police officers a century ago was that they were the only officers that the Irish American community could relate to and respect. San Francisco found the same thing with the Gay & Lesbian Community. When the department opened up to Gay & Lesbian officers, the number of complaints and law suits went down, and the quality of law enforcement went up.

Our country has had a dark history of excluding groups of people from full participation, and has discovered that the more inclusive any community, or sub community, becomes, the better it is for all.

Law enforcement officers have a VERY difficult job. The city needs to create situations which encourage the concept of "Community Policing" and discourage the siege mentality that currently exists. The more that partnerships can be encouraged between the department and all communities, the faster healing can occur.

Appropriate Employee Assistance (mental health and substance abuse) programs that target officer's needs are also vital to creating change.

This process needs more than a task force, it needs systematic policies and training, as well as targeted recruitment among all of the diverse communities in Portland.

None of this has to be expensive, and it is less expensive than settling one or two law suits, which will keep happening if meaningful change does not occur.

Nick Popenuk
Position sought: Commissioner #2
Website: popenukisportland.com
Public financing status: Participating, contributions not yet reported

Regardless of whether Portland has seen progress in racial profiling, the Portland Police Bureau has room for improvement.

Traffic stop data for 2005 (the most current data available) shows that 13% of traffic stops in Portland involved African-American drivers. Yet, only 6% of Portland’s population is African-American. Hispanics and Latinos were also involved in a disproportionate number of traffic stops.

Some might contend that the use of racial profiling is justified, because ethnic minorities are more likely to be involved in criminal activity. However, there is data to contradict this argument. This data relies on “hit rates” – the rate at which police apprehend criminals. Law enforcement agencies using racial profiling had lower hit rates for African-Americans and Latinos than they did for Whites. That indicates that traffic stops where racial profiling was used are less likely to result in arrests.

So, if Portland is continuing to use racial profiling, and if data suggests racial profiling is not an effective law enforcement tool, then what should we do about it?

We should continue to diversify our police force.

We should encourage officers to become more involved in the communities they are policing, and forge connections with community members.

We should educate our officers on racial profiling, stressing the data that demonstrates it does not work, and is not an effective law enforcement tool.

Finally, we should routinely collect data from each precinct on the ethnicity of suspects stopped by police. We should analyze the data, and identify areas where high numbers of minorities are being stopped, but a low number of arrests are being made. We should work with police officers in these areas to find out what’s going on, and ensure that racial profiling is not being used.

For more information on my campaign, check out my website at www.PopenukIsPortland.com, or stop by Bogart’s Bar and Grill (701 NE 7th Ave) on Saturday from 1:00 to 5:00. Bogart’s will be hosting a Last Chance Contribution Party to help me raise $5 contributions to qualify for public financing. I hope to see you there.

Harold C. Williams Two
Position sought: Commissioner #2
Website: none
Public financing status: Not participating in program

-I want to thank Chief Sizer for leading this effort. To acknowledge that racial profiling is an issue that needed to be addressed is a very big step not only for the Portland Police department but for the community as a whole.

-Respect is the key, the police and the community must continue to communicate with each other. Both sides must be willing to put forth the effort in striving for a better today and tomorrow. For what we do today our children will hold us responsible tomorrow. We must remove the things that divide and embrace the things that unite.

-Harold C. Williams Two
Candidate for Portland City Commissioner position (2)

Finally, Brendan Finn introduces himself (he was out of town attending to family during our last round). He's currently the chief-of-staff for Commissioner Dan Saltzman.

Brendan Finn
Position sought: Commissioner #2
Website: none yet
Public financing status: Not participating in program

As a community, we here in Portland have created a city that is the envy of the nation. It has been an honor to have worked in public service for the past nine years and assist in guiding our city in a direction that will serve the future well. From authoring our green building policy to protecting our citizens from predatory lending practices, my focus has been to seize the opportunities that provide Portlanders the ability to thrive and represent our shared values. We have been able to accomplish a good deal the past decade, but I am fearful of the current rhetoric on the direction of our city. The tendency has been to compartmentalize on certain issues to appease the concerns of few, doing little to move us forward collectively. I am not afraid to curb this disturbing trend and make difficult, progressive decisions that guide our city into a prosperous, and yes sustainable, future that represents the values of all Portlanders. It is what drives me to serve our community as a leader.