PLEASE CHIP IN AND MAKE A DONATION TODAY!
Call or text Sam today, at 503-421-8925!
Singleton’s Lawsuit: Tents & Encampments in Front of Your Home are OK!
Dear Neighbor,
Picture this: It’s 7 am, and a homeless encampment is still on the parking strip in front of your home.
Your kids, on their way to and from school, are forced to navigate around the encampment, sometimes having to walk in the street because the sidewalks are blocked.
When desired shelters are full, or outreach workers overwhelmed, this remains the harsh reality too often in Portland today.
Why? Shannon Singleton, my opponent for County Commissioner.
Singleton's[i] lawsuit[ii] against the city’s camping ban and restrictions ordinance[iii] made this scenario more possible on a daily basis.
Her lawsuit was ideology trumping evidence-based simple, common sense. That’s not compassion, and the public safety implications for our neighborhoods are obvious.
Help both neighborhoods AND people experiencing homelessness:
Act now: Donate to my campaign
When confronted about potential negative impacts of what seems like her camp-where-even-you-want homelessness policy at a recent City Club debate, Singleton’s response[i] was shockingly dismissive:
“I think my opponent is here to talk about what the City of Portland does, and I am here to talk about what the county does.” [iv]
This seemingly nonchalant and bureaucratic indifference epitomizes the dysfunction plaguing our county too often to the top.
Singleton represents a broken system that to often finger-points instead of partnering without offering any viable solutions, and even worse has undermined effective solutions like in this case.
We need visionary change-maker leaders, not dismissive defenders of the catastrophic status quo.
Support real change: Contribute to my campaign today
Singleton's "Free-For-All" Policy: A Humanitarian Disaster
The real-world consequences of Singleton's approach are devastating:
Hundreds of sprawling self-sited encampments scattered across our county.
This scattering means most homeless individuals will continue not to get offered services.
Outreach workers find it difficult to connect to those who need help with drug addiction, mental illness and basic healthcare.
Too often unsafe and unsanitary conditions spring up for both housed and unhoused residents
I have effectively fought to establish hundreds of new alternative shelter beds, ensuring that individuals can move safely from the street to shelter where they can access basic services, safety on their path to housing.
Let’s change the status quo: Contribute to my campaign today
A Managed Approach: The Path Forward
I have comprehensive plans to better use the upwards of $700 million locally budgeted by Home Forward, City of Portland and Multnomah County to address homelessness humanely and effectively. Find more affordable housing resources. But I can't implement it without your support.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Powerful interests happy with the status quo will fight to maintain it. This election will be won or lost based on our ability to mobilize resources and spread our message.
Your contribution is critical. Donate now to fuel our campaign.
Together, we can transform Portland from a national cautionary tale into a model of compassionate, effective governance.
Read my full policy proposals: Homelessness and Housing.
Make your voice heard - donate today.
Call or text Sam today, 503-421-8925!
Sam
<><>
Citations:
[i] "I was a party to the lawsuit that successfully barred the city from implementing their [time, place and manner homeless camp management] policy ...it's not something that I support as a policy direction around ending homelessness.” (39:05), Impact NW's Meet the Candidates, Shannon Singleton, 4/12/2024
[ii] “But the city’s plans to enforce that ban were stopped short in November when a Multnomah County judge issued a temporary injunction until a class action lawsuit brought by the Oregon Law Center on behalf of a group of Portlanders experiencing homelessness is resolved. With that ban tied up in court, Wheeler proposed the scaled-back ordinance that the City Council approved in May.”
[ii] “Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler aims to ban people from pitching tents on public land anywhere in the city during daytime hours and restrict camping around-the-clock near schools and more than a dozen other locations, he announced Thursday.”
[iv] Adams: (9:43) Singleton: (14:50), City Club of Portland’s Multnomah County Commission District 2 Candidate Forum, September 9, 2024,
https://www.youtube.com/live/zCz_oUR4V6c?si=J-0MQl6TwQR4RMns
~Theresa Griffin Kennedy
Singleton: Tents in Front of Your Home are OK!