Yay for the Commission form of government!

This morning’s Portland City Council session was a great example of where having five people with power can work really well. We saw it a little in Commissioner Sam Adams’ Sweatshop-free resolution, which was a congenial hearing, as expected, with no dissenting testimony. Erik Sten commented in voting for it how he appreciated not having to have been the leader putting so much work into crafting language everyone could support. But the Agenda item that most made me value the Commission form of government here in our city was Commissioner Leonard’s resolution on allocating City money for video screens at Memorial Coliseum.

I covered this issue in Next Up at City Council this past weekend, and Commissioner Leonard added more information in the comments. In the hearing this morning, it turns out that this indeed has been a problem that’s been festering for years. The Winterhawks organization seems to feel undervalued by the City, and cite their difficulties getting video screens at Memorial Coliseum as one of the irritants exemplifying their point. At the meeting yesterday that Randy referenced, the parties agreed that the City will pay $40,000 to rent the screens from the Winterhawks this year, with the possibility of buying them for $125,000 if it turns out they work well. I’m still troubled by the dollar figures and transparency of who pays what in a City-owned facility, but if that is the only subsidy for the Winterhawks (Is it? Please tell me in the comments or via e-mail if you know), that’s not much for keeping a sports franchise in town that gives pleasure and entertainment to thousands.

I went to Council this morning to support the Sweatshop-free resolution, and to testify on the Coliseum. I said it didn’t seem right to me that there would be a resolution on paying for video screens before one urging the management of the facility to hire a responsible contractor for janitorial services – one that would respect workers with fair wages, benefits, and hours. After my testimony, Sam Adams said his office has been working on this issue, and expects to bring something to Council within 30 – 45 days.

And that’s the Commission form of government working well. Commissioner Leonard taking the lead on the video screen issue, which clearly mattered a lot to the Winterhawks organization. Commissioner Adams working on justice for janitors at the facility, concurrently. When we have five commissioners empowered to work on both policy and implementation issues, no one person has to do it all. And when that means solutions don’t have to be either/or, but both/and, as appears to be coming forward in this case, that’s A Good Thing for Portland. Nice work, gentlemen.

Now, who’s taking the lead on improving the City’s response to sexual assaults? The danger is that with five people in authority, there’s more potential for items to be missed, with nobody covering them. When is the next report due on progress addressing that issue?