Public Forums are an ongoing program of Oregon Opportunity Network, as part of a grant from the Portland Housing Bureau.  Members, supporters, decision-makers come together to present current topics of interest to the affordable housing community.

Upcoming Forums

• Tuesday, June 12 – Round Table on Equity. This forum will be held at the Buchan Reception Hall at the First Unitarian Church in downtown Portland, entrance at 1226 SW Salmon Street, from 11:30-1:00pm.More details TBA.

Past Forums:

Tuesday, April 10 – Metro Councilor Candidates’ Forum on Housing

Candidates for the upcoming Metro Councilors races joined us at the First Unitarian Church to discuss Metro’s role in affordable housing.

We were honored to be joined by candidates Terry Parker, Sam Chase, Helen Ying, Michael Durrow, Bob Stacey, Jonathan Levine, and Craig Dirksen. Thanks to moderator Liesl Wendt, and to our co-sponsors 211info, JOIN, and Street Roots.

Candidates’ responses to four written questions before the forum are here: Metro Candidate Q&A (+ one that came later: Michael Durrow Q&A)

Tuesday, February 14 -  Meet Traci Manning, Director of the Portland Housing Bureau.

Traci gave a direct and informative overview of the Bureau’s plans, goals and vision for the coming year.

Later that day, she sent out a Director’s message that provides a convenient summary of this information (with links to PHB info on specific programs and initiatives): First 100 Days – Portland Housing Bureau Directors Message

This forum was held at the Buchan Reception Hall at the First Unitarian Church in downtown Portland, entrance at 1226 SW Salmon Street, from 11:30-1:00pm.

Monday, January 23 -  Portland  City Commissioner Forum on Housing.  Nearly 100 folks came out to our second candidates forum on January 23.The event featured Portland City Commissioner Position 1 candidates Amanda Fritz, Mary Nolan, and Teressa Raiford, and Position 4 candidates Steve Novick and Jeri Sundvall-Williams.

Candidates’ responses to written questions before the forum are here.

Moderated by the Oregon Historical Society’s Kerry Tymchuk. .

December 6, 2011: Mayoral Forum on Housing.
Over 150 people attended this forum at the  First Unitarian Church in downtown Portland. Candidates Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales, Jefferson Smith, Loren Charles Brown, Shonda Colleen Kelley, and Joshua Nuttall attended; Kerry Tymchuk of the Oregon Historical Society moderated. More info and pix here.

• April 22, 2011. “What’s Next for Housing:
  The Portland Plan & Portland Housing Bureau’s Strategic Plan”
  Special guests: Commissioner Nick Fish; Margaret Van Vliet, Director, and staff from Portland Housing Bureau; staff from the Housing Bureau and Bureau of Planning & Sustainability.  There was a full house for this informative update from the City. Thanks to everyone for attending on this beautiful spring day!
• Nov. 4, 2010. Historic Bus Tour. This guided bus tour traced the ghosts of lost ethnic communities, forgotten hate crimes, Klan rallies, and communities that were rounded up and exiled based on their race and/or ethnic origins. Presented free of charge to Oregon ON members, courtesy of the Fair Housing Council of Oregon.
• Oct. 11 (Portland) and Oct. 18 (Salem), 2010. Resident Services Opportunity Project presentations. For more information, click here.

1. March 23 and Oct. 11, 2010. Federal Housing Policy Briefing with Adrienne Quinn. Co-sponsored with Enterprise Community Partners.

• April and May, 2010. Candidate Forums, co-sponsored with Elders in Action. Attendees met and questioned candidates for City Council and Metro.

• December 10, 2009. Portland Housing Bureau and Portland’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. The guest panel included Margaret Van Vliet, Jennifer Chang, Ryan Diebert from Portland Housing Bureau; Israel Bayer, Street Roots; Marc Jolin, JOIN; and Oregon ON Voting Member Jean DeMaster from Human Solutions.
• September 17, 2009. East Portland/ East Multnomah County: Challenges and Opportunities. Our robust panel included Arlene Kimura from the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association, Travis Stovall from the Gresham Chamber of Commerce, Dianne Riley from the Coalition for a Livable Future and Oregon ON Voting Members Nick Sauvie, Steve Messinetti and Jean DeMaster. Dianne Riley reviewed the latest maps of East Portland/East Multnomah County, and explained the challenges of infrastructure and the poverty evident in the amount of children receiving free and reduced lunches in the region. Jean DeMaster clarified the geographical distinction of East Portland and East County in detail. Arlene Kimura and Nick Sauvie explained facets of the East Portland Action Plan. Steve Messinetti and Travis Stovall ended the program on the topics of homeownership and economic development. Approximately 26 people attended the public forum.
• May 21, 2009. Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish and Metro Councilor Robert Liberty.  Councilor Liberty presented the data from Metro’s 2009-2030 Housing Needs Analysis.   And we have the Councilor Liberty’s HNA PowerPoint presentation (1.7 MB pdf).
• March 15, 2009. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, aka the Stimulus bill.  Guests: Mark Kantor and Susan Boyd, Kantor Taylor Nelson and Boyd. Mark and Susan walked us through the Tax Credit Exchange Program and the Tax Credit contained in the ARRA. We also invited representatives from the Bureau of Housing and Community Services, Multnomah County, Oregon Housing and Community Services and the City of Gresham to update us on how the ARRA money is progressing through their agencies.  Representatives also gave attendees tips for accessing funding and information on giving community input on how the funds are distributed.

• January 15, 2009. Community Reinvestment Act: panel discussion with Brent Warren from Banner Bank, Brian Stewart from WAMU/Chase, and Bruce Whiting from KeyBank.