The stars of CNN

No, not Ted Turner’s outfit. Like many Americans, I watch my TV news on The Daily Show and Colbert Report on Comedy Central (reruns at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 8 p.m. on Comcast Channel 60 the following day, if the scheduled start of 11 p.m. is past bedtime for you, as it is for me). The CNN I’m talking about is Central Northeast Neighbors, the coalition of eight Portland Neighborhood Associations south of the airport, north of I-84 and west of I-205. When I called around on behalf of the Committee for Accountable Government, the group of citizens opposing the Form of Government change in the Charter measures, CNN Executive Director Alison Stoll, and their chair, Bob Ueland, did not hesitate or waffle. “We had someone supporting the Charter changes at our Board meeting, it’s only fair to give equal time to a representative of opponents”, they said. I’m sad and surprised to find not all coalitions agree with their assessment, but that made my visit to the CNN Board meeting last night even sweeter.

CNN offices are partnered with the fire station at NE 87th/Sandy, opposite The Grotto. Nice place, delightful people. The meeting last night reminded me why I put so much heart, time, and effort into my campaign last year. All over the city, there are groups of volunteers, working away at issues many of which have little or no prospect of personal benefit or financial impact for the participants themselves. All they want, is to see good things happen for their neighborhoods – and when possible to avoid having bad things happen. And they give hours, months, years of their time to these goals, trying to get elected officials and agency staff to work with them.

Bob Ueland has been an active participant since 1965, and seems as enthusiastic about public process as ever. It’s always good to see a chair moving a meeting along and ending on time, while still making sure everyone has ample opportunity to speak. Others at CNN have new energy, stepping up to serve their community. Chad Ernest and Frank Walsh, volunteers from Roseway and Madison South Neighborhood Associations, gave an update about the proposed mega-store development opposite Madison High School – the Mercury covered their “Think Beyond the Big Box” event, which attracted more than 100 supporters. News from Kathy Fuerstenau of Cully about winning $1.6m in funding for a make-over of Cully Boulevard from Metro. That was the good news – the bad was that this is only half the amount needed to do the project, so CNN is lobbying the Portland City Council to provide the rest in the current budget decisions. Also from Kathy, an update on HB 2170, on liquor license legislation now being considered by the Oregon Senate. If you want to know what’s happening on a wide range of current policy and project issues, going to a Portland neighborhood meeting is a great place to start.

At the other end of the spectrum, a charming report from Rose City Park about their 100th anniversary celebrations, including a rose-planting event featuring Frances Boly, a Rose City Park neighbor who was Rose Festival Queen in 1938, and a golf tournament. And then an impressive update by Erwin Bergman, a Cully neighborhood volunteer who is a retired engineer. He’s written a 30-page review on the Port of Portland’s plans for updating the Airport Master Plan, including an analysis of why and how it doesn’t meet federal standards. I’ll give you details on all these issues, and more, as soon as I can write them up.

This is the work neighborhood volunteers do. It’s awesome. And after I presented my spiel on the Charter, and Bob Ueland asked for comments around the table, not one person spoke in favor of the changes and most gave additional reasons to oppose them. The current structure of City Government allows active citizens like the CNN Board volunteers access to their elected officials, and to affect the decisions all five Council members make.

It wouldn’t be quite the same, taking your neighborhood issues to a Deputy Chief Administrator, would it? Or taking them to a City Council member who isn’t the Mayor, and trying to figure out how to get attention from the Mayor, the CAO, and the rest of the Mayor’s appointed bureaucracy?