Stop Portland City Council from Ignoring Neighborhood Associations

neighborhoods are real.

We Need neighborhood associations! They are valuable for getting to know your neighbors and working together to make the City better. Even the houseless reside in a neighborhood, and can attend meetings. Keep transparency in representation!

I actually joined my NA to help protect some of the most vulnerable members of my community, only to find out that my opinions were invalid, but a committee unanswerable to citizens knew what was best for them. There is no reason the 'communities of interest' language can't be added to the NA system, rather than simply kicking over the whole structure.

I support my NA..it gives me a voice in City decisions..

I need the representation of my neighborhood association.

Off the top of my head; I can list many things good about neighborhood associations, I can also list things that would NOT happen, if not for neighborhood associations. Don't forget, we voted you into office!!

The neighborhood associations are a voice for those of us that are not able to make it to City Council meetings. They are the heart and soul of Portland and are a vital part of our government. They are people that have given their time to make MY neighborhood a better place. Stop trying to eliminate a form of communication that may not always agree with the City Council's decisions.

The Neighborhood Associations should be given even greater weight and responsibility by the city, not the opposite. We are the citizens, we pay taxes, and we vote!

Our neighborhood associations are an important way citizens participate in city government. I support this petition.

As a neighborhood association board member and a concerned private citizen I oppose this blatant attempt to reduce neighborhood involvement in city government. Neighborhood associations are an essential voice for our neighbors. If the city truly wants neighborhood associations to be more inclusive and more representative as it claims then it should help us with outreach to attract as many people to participate as possible. Destroying the organizations that are designed to generate grass roots responses and suggestions to city government is the exact opposite of what could be done to improve the system.

Neighborhood Associations are most times the only way residents hear about what the city is doing or proposing to do. Do not take this important form of communication away from us all. You claim communication is essential, but do you really feel that way.

Please reconsider gutting neighborhood associations. We are not perfect but then what is. Keep supporting us as we continue to build bridges between neighbors.

Please keep the code the same. Neighborhood groups know best those issues affecting their areas.

I think it’s disingenuous for anyone to suggest that the proposed code revision does NOT represent an intentional disempowerment of Portland's neighborhood association system. In fact it represents the most radical assault on geographically-based democracy since the beginning of our city’s widely acclaimed system. This proposal would also represent an egregious failure to comply with the auditor’s 2016 report, wherein she called for more accountability and transparency, not less; for more clarity of roles and responsibilities between neighborhood associations and other kinds of groups, not less; and for a stronger voice at City Hall for all citizens, including neighborhood associations — and not at their expense. We all agree that we need better representation and empowerment of all Portlanders, and the neighborhood association system must be seen as a vital asset in that task. We make neighborhoods our enemies, and further divide the city, only at our peril.

Being a board member on the first board of my local association, I have seen and experienced the benefits a neighborhood assn can provide, the connectivity to neighbors throughout the area. Removing the way Associations currently operate would be a great loss.

Neighborhood associations are the foundation of local government in Portland, organized under the Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI). Neighborhood associations provide geographic coverage and representation for all residents, and we need this system to be strong. We need the City Council to support strong neighborhood associations.

Neighborhoods and the neighborhood associations are part of what make Portland unique. They contribute greatly to its livability.

This is wrong for the City to ignore neighbor associations, a very proven tool to help involve all persons in City government and civic involvement.

We need our neighborhood associations!

Our neighborhood associations are critical to provide citizens with an easily accessible communications path to City government. The associations have people who are generally familiar with how to best voice recommendations to the City. We should absolutely not disassemble these associations without having a very clear reason, and without having a known better replacement.