Stop Portland City Council from Ignoring Neighborhood Associations

This community is so very well kept and the people are well and hold fun and loving events. This change would make having this Neighborhood Association invaluable. I know they are important, I grew up in a community with a strong association and our town was safe, strong, hardworking middle class. Keep it strong. No on proposed 3.96

NAs are willing to share access but the proposed changes goes too far. NAs with large budgets will not be affected by the changes and could become more exclusive if not required to share meeting agendas and notes and meet publicly. NAs with small budgets will lose any power the code afforded them. The changes will not bring about the desired goals.

Allowing more individuals to speak for themselves does not mean neighborhood associations have to be silenced. I am wondering if this is a situation where we advocate for "the voice of the people" as individuals...so that when they speak up they might hear, "Oh, you are the only one who feels this way." I have seen this tactic used many times, until people start talking to each other and then wake up to what is really going on. Also, keep an eye on people who are always talking about "transparency."

I believe in neighborhood associations and do not want representation to be taken away from residents.

My voice is already diluted due to the archaic form of city government. My neighborhood association helps our voices be heard

I believe in neighborhood association civic engagement

Deleting the open meetings rules for non-& neighborhood associations will bring less transparency - not more. Allowing members-only special interest groups to be equal to NAs sounds Trumpian to me

Please do not pass this change.

If 3.96 passes, and the NA system is slowly dismantled by lack of recognition, where does the (disfunctioning) Portland city government draw the line in the sand of what groups are recognized and what groups are not? Why not empower and strengthen a system that already has processes in place, and have conversations about how to meet the needs of the 2016 audit calling for more inclusion without dismantling the voice of NA's? Cant both needs be met? I will be emailing all the standing city council members, and i hope you will too! Mayor Ted Wheeler: 503-823-4120, [email protected] Commissioner Chloe Eudaly: 503-823-4682, [email protected] Commissioner Nick Fish: 503-823-3589, [email protected] Commissioner Amanda Fritz: 503-823-3008, [email protected] Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty: 503-823-4151, [email protected]

The city is stronger and better because of the endless time donated by neighborhood association members. Including more people is possible and we can assist in that in those areas of the city, but not destroy neighborhood associations. This seems like the headlong actions of Councilwomen Chloe Udaly and not a reasoned action. Or is it a thinly veiled effort to give developers even more license to make all neighborhoods concrete wastelands?

You don’t need to silence some voices to make room to hear others. One of the qualities that attracted me to Portland almost 2 decades ago was the strong since of community and the unique characteristics of each neighborhood. I would argue that there’s actually very little engagement across the board and we should be engaging and encouraging more citizens to become more involved in their local neighborhood associations — whether they rent or own, are part of an under-represented or marginalized group, etc. When I was a teenager, I spent 4 years in a “Youth in Government” program, shadowing elected officials including mayor for my final term. One of the biggest takeaways I gained during that time was that you have the most impact at your local level — neighborhood *then* municipality. As someone who was a former renter and knows the struggles for which many in our city deal with, I voted for Chloe Eudaly because I thought she would help champion some of those voices that need one. But not at the expense of the other voices and neighborhoods that deserve to be heard and represented as well. I regret my vote as a result of many of her actions and am hopeful that the voice of neighborhood associations are not squashed under her reckless direction.

Everyone lives in a neighborhood! Regardless of their other affiliations. Removing neighborhood associations from their current role in civic engagement will be diminishing the voices of many more than could possibly be expected to newly participate in other guises.

If you wish to expand inclusion, then subtracting the official voice of the Neighborhood Associations is quite the opposite of that. Add voices, don't take them away! And certainly don't give even more power to the (Re)Developers...

Neighborhood Associations are essential to Portland. They give the everyday resident a local voice.

Community is how we all maintain.

Please don't take power away from the tax-paying people who live in your city and pay your salaries.

Leaders are meant to serve and act on behalf of the people they represent not push them out of their own processes, especially in a place that claims to be open and inclusive of everyone. This is a very sad and incredibly telling action part of city council.

Neighborhood Associations are essential to Portland maintaining what makes Portland, Portland.

Neighborhood Associations are essential to Portland.

The neighborhood associations are an important part of what is good about Portland. I take exception to the fact they are being called elitist. The organizations are freely open to each and every citizen of Portland. Eliminating a working system will not change the participation of those who are not participating now.