A number of funding issues tucked into Mayor Ted Wheeler’s proposed city budget have rubbed Portlanders the wrong way—whether it’s hiring 58 new sworn officers or cutting bus passes for thousands of East Portland students.
Last night, a week before Portland City Council will vote on Wheeler’s proposed budget, the mayor caved to the demands of a particularly agitated contingent of critics: Families and senior citizens at risk of losing their local community centers.
In Wheeler’s updated budget proposal released last week, he slashed continual funding for two west side community centers, Fulton Park (off Southwest Barbur in the Burlingame neighborhood) and Hillside (just across West Burnside from the Portland Japanese Garden). By 2019, the budget proposed, those community centers would close their doors indefinitely.
Yesterday, community members who rely on those two centers for childcare, social activities, and more protested the planned cuts at Terry Schrunk Plaza. Before it was over, however, a representative from Wheeler’s office walked across the street from City Hall to deliver good news: Wheeler had returned funding to Hillside and Fulton Park.
It was possibly the most successful—and most immediately successful—protest that Portland’s seen in years. Which begs the question: Was this part of the plan all along?
The populations that make up the neighborhoods surrounding these two community centers are among the wealthiest and whitest in the city—making the optics of this protest considerably different than others that have occupied the same downtown blocks. And, it turns out, parents of adorable kids holding handmade signs asking for a community center aren’t criticized nearly as harshly as parents of adorable kids holding handmade signs asking for police accountability.
The act of city hall conceding to this group of protesters strikes the perfect political balance. The city gets to make a show of how seriously it listens to protesters, while comfortably knowing few members of the public oppose the city acquiescing to the protesters’ requests.
Before this protest, there was already a good chance these community centers would remain open. Placing beloved community centers on the budget chopping block—only to restore funding at the 11th hour—has almost become a yearly tradition at City Hall.
But it’s unlikely Wheeler will bend to other community members’ demands regarding the budget as easily, if at all.
Tomorrow, a number of organizations—including police watchdog groups, public education advocates, immigrants’ rights activists, and those calling for higher taxes on the city’s wealthy—will rally before city council’s final budget hearing before their final budget vote on May 16. They’re calling to restore funding for TriMet’s YouthPass for Portland Public Schools students, for fewer sworn police officers (and more manning the understaffed 911 lines), and for more funding of mental health resources.
These asks are just as vital—if not more so—than the ones to restore funding to two relatively well-off community centers. But they come with significant opposition from both inside and outside city hall, and are a lot less photo-op friendly. We’ll see how how quickly, if at all, Wheeler bends to these protesters.
People showed up for their communities because they care about their communities. I believe that is a human, citizen, creature concern – there may well be additional aspects of this, but shaming a community in essence for its caring about its community center/s regardless of zipcode, race or religion is low. There are many words in the palette of possibility to no doubt make the points Alex you wish to make without throwing the supporters of a couple community centers under the bus. White washing or green washing or gas lighting community caring about its assets be that crosswalks – bus stops or community centers or trees is an admirable and positive thing. In a time where there is far too much negativity in our press and society, would be awesome to recognize communities come out on matters such as these, because they care, they have a civic right to do so, and these communities have been fiercely vocal about their position and support of their community assets as PP&R has intended for over 100 years. It was why they were built in the first place. A great majority of people – by way of example in the Hillsdale neighborhood – Fulton Community Center’s stewards, are not “loaded” and “privileged” – they are your neighbors, brothers and sisters, elders, students, chaplains and co-workers, just like folks in NE – SE – S or N or W Portland.To polarize Portland does no one any good, we’re all in this together.
CareMoreGrouseLess I don’t think it’s the intent of the article to look down on these communities for fighting to keep these centers alive. It’s totally understandable and appreciable for any particular community to do everything it can to ensure safe and beneficial spaces like these for its families and children. I think the point here is more to draw attention to the fact that the city seems to be focusing on this cause in lieu of dealing with others that are less convenient and more controversial (i.e. police accountability) and then taking credit for a perceived sense of overall city improvement, when in fact a larger percentage of the city hasn’t reaped much of a benefit from this change. The article is also aiming to highlight the fact that these community centers received attention almost immediately, whereas issues like police accountability, access to mental health resources, and reliable transportation so kids can get to school have been in city discussions for months (or years in a lot of cases), and have seen little to no measurable improvement in that time.
Ultimately, everyone just wants the best for their community, but it can be frustrating when it seems like some issues are favored over others that are more contentious, leaving a lot of people feeling like the city is sort of brushing them under the rug. I, for one, think that we should ensure that children in our city have the ability to get to school first and work on places for them to spend their time outside of that second.