At the risk of giving credence to a few 'individuals' rants, I'd venture to guess that a concern about whether I'm a multi-million dollar taxpayer is based more on whether you've been influenced to believe that's the only qualifying marker for questioning 'the way things are' in my city. I have a different standard for my qualifications than the current pattern of 'doling' out my money. I recognize that this may be a new concept, but I'm talking about access, opportunity and equity - based on a few critical facts: residency, an Oregonian - and city resident by birth and geographic choice; one who's paid their more-than-fair share into the city and county, and state coffers (and those at the higher ends do not pay anywhere close to theirs, thank you). This "new" concept is about creating access points for all in our City - and placing the same standards of measurement on the outcomes. In fact, I'm all for "Watching Closely," which must be relatively new for our longest-serving City Councilmember, given the number of economically-risky, unreliable ventures that he's voted for - can you say South Waterfront, OHSU bio center, gobbled up PDC dollars at an alarming rate and is still proving unsustainable, huh?? It's ensuring that the ability to compete fairly is based on access to quality public education, affordable housing. It's getting the quality you pay (too much for) in healthcare and access to equal economic capital for your community. It's knowing that your abilities, skills and educational preparation are measured fairly in competition for employment and advancement, not minimized based on historically-discriminatory markers of legacy, money, and skin privilege.

That's what I'm talking about; incredibly different perspective, huh?! As for the specious questioning of whether the proposed/(and successfully passed Equity Office Initiative) would 'prevent minorities, (specifically in this case, Black people) from being likely to shoot each other every summer,' is like asking if people of European descent will stop excessive sun exposure, given the evidence that their skin cancer (melanoma) rates are stratospheric; some will, some won't. That's really not the point, is it?

Finally, for the record, I'm not affiliated with an organizing organization; I'm the director of a progressive foundation that provides funding to achieve a healthy, sustainable, environmentally-just, peaceful and safe Oregon for all of us.