Pearl neighbors gather to re-ignite public safety
Justice system leaders Bob Day and Nathan Vasquez say cuts in funding are the core problem
Pearl neighbors—about 500 strong—did it again, filling the Armory to learn how they can help keep their neighborhood safe.
The near-capacity crowd heard from Portland Police Chief Bob Day and Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, who delivered clear messages about what is needed.
Day was particularly candid. “Crime numbers in the Pearl suck,” he said. “You guys are getting hammered.”
His advice is to substantially increase police staffing, currently at 809 sworn officers and substantially down from a peak 25 years ago. He generalized about the historic high, but research by the Manhattan Institute puts that number at 1,054 in 2001.
Vasquez bemoaned the county’s additional revenues of $60,000 for homeless services while his office is taking a cut. He said Multnomah County has sufficient revenues; it just needs to change its spending priorities.
He has endorsed Julia Brim-Edwards in the race for county chair and said candidate Sharon Meieran would also be excellent. The other candidate for chair, Shannon Singleton, would “take us in the wrong direction.”
In City Council District 4, he supports incumbents Olivia Clark and Eric Zimmerman and candidate Eli Arnold, a Portland Police officer. He does not support incumbent Green, whose vote against an alternative budget led to cuts in police and fire spending.
The forum was sponsored by the Pearl District Neighborhood Association as part of its summer-long series of activities to Re-Ignite the Pearl. PDNA President Bruce Studer said the campaign is succeeding, particularly the Pearl Culinary Farmers Market, which is doubling in size after its first three weeks.
Outside the Armory, petitioners gathered signatures on an initiative that would transfer 25% of funds collected by the Portland Clean Energy Fund to police hiring and training.
