LWVPDX Podcasts League of Women Voters of Portland

This webinar highlights the ways Portland Public Schools is moving forward in the face of many challenges. Four panelists, who are leaders in the administration of Portland Public Schools, discuss both  PPS's successes and challenges.  The panelists are:
Dr. Sandy Husk, Portland Public Schools Interim Superintendent

Michelle DePass, Portland Public Schools Board of Education 

William Fernandez, Senior Professional Development Officer, Office of Research, Assessment and Accountability 

Kristina Howard, Interim Chief Academic Officer, Senior Director, Teacher Professional Learning, Office of Teaching and Learning The panelists also answer questions asked by the live audience when this podcast was recorded. 

This podcast was produced by the League of Women Voters Education Fund in cooperation with MetroEast Community Media. 

In March 2024, the League of Women Voters  of Portland held a Community Education program, “Solutions to our Affordable Housing Crisis.”

Portland  and Oregon are experiencing a dire lack of affordable housing. The causes include limited rental vacancies and housing costs rising faster than wages.  This program focuses on what is being done to help solve our housing crisis. 

PANELISTS
State Representative Mark Gamba represents Portland neighborhoods. He advocates for actionable solutions and investments in affordable housing and housing for the unhoused.
Brian Hoop, Executive Director of Housing Oregon. Housing Oregon is a statewide association of affordable housing organizations.  They convene the 90 member organizations to develop and advance policy, organize a conference and other educational events, support peer groups, and communicate industry news to members.
Dominique Merriweather (Dom), Executive Director, Proud Ground.  Proud Ground brings permanently affordable housing opportunities to first-time homeowners using a land trust model. 
 

This  is a podcast of a November 2023  webinar on some of the most urgent challenges facing transportation in Portland, Oregon, and the surrounding Metro area. 
The panelists are:
Moderator: Chris Smith, a transportation policy expert and a long-time community volunteer. Chris  explained how Portland’s transportation system fits into Metro regional transportation planning.Millicent Williams,  Director, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) discussing funding concerns. Funding is a major challenge confronting multiple government transportation agencies. In part, this is due to less revenue from gas taxes. However, Portland also faces other revenue and expense concerns. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) must deal with this issue now as the City of Portland is developing budgets for its next fiscal year. Zachary Lauritzen, Interim Executive Director, Oregon Walks, discussing transportation safety. Safety on, and alongside, our roads continues to be a difficult problem with consequences that can be deadly. Addressing safety concerns requires action by multiple agencies– not just the transportation sector. Jana Gastellum, Executive Director, Oregon Environmental Council, discussing climate concerns. Transportation is Oregon’s largest source of carbon emissions, so it is an important factor in addressing climate concerns. Options to reduce driving and the transition to electric vehicles reduce gas tax revenues. This requires consideration of additional state-level funding approaches.

In this podcast, members of a volunteer Police Accountability Commission (PAC) describe their proposal for a new Community Board to review complaints of police misconduct. The PAC spent thousands of volunteer hours planning the details of how this new community board will operate. The final plan carries out the requirements in the charter amendment that Portland voters passed in November 2020 by almost 82%.  A representative of the U.S. Department of Justice  also explains the role of the U.S. DOJ in reviewing this proposal.

A panel of leading experts discusses the work accomplished through September 2023 and work that is underway to ensure effective and fair implementation of the  charter reforms that Portland voters approved in November 2022.  The panelists are:
Melanie Billings-Yun, Charter Review Commissioner, 2020-22 (Moderator) Shoshanah Oppenheim, Charter Transition Project ManagerMarcus Mundy, Executive Director, Coalition of Communities of ColorLeah Benson, Co-Chair, Government Transition Advisory Committee (GTAC)Alex Zielinski, Reporter, Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB)

This Voter Information Forum features two candidates running in May 2023 for a position on the Portland Oregon Public Schools Board of Education. The candidates, Derrick Peterson and Patte Sullivan explain their experience, why they are running and answer questions about the policies they would support.