Page 54 RAIN Oct./Nov. 1983 just that: the ‘'innocent'' federal response to the interference mth cities in the sixties has resulted in an unprecedented new relationship between citizens and their government. In this briefarticle, Mary Catherine, one ofPortland's early neighborhood activists, discusses some of the early events in Portland's neighborhood organizing" ■—S] RAIN: What events led up to organized neighborhoods in Portland? CATHERINE: One event took place in northwest Portland. In August 1971,1 took a position with Good Samaritan Hospital to help the neighborhood and the hospital work out their differences over a project the hospital had proposed to the federal government involving expansion of the hospital into the neighborhood. The neighborhood association in the area, the Northwest District Association (NWDA), was opposed to it because it would change the character of the neighborhood, including the razing of some prime Victorian housing. In July 1972,1 took on a part- time position as executive director of the Northwest District Association, and in the end the neighborhood and the hospital worked out a compromise. The action had brought out the neighborhood activists, and things would never be the same. Another factor in the development of neighborhood associations in Portland was the announcement of building of major freeways. In southeast Portland, it was the ill-fated Mt. Hood Freeway, and in southwest and northwest Portland, the 1-405 connection. Both announcements incited more neighborhood grassroots activity. At about this same time, Neil Goldschmidt was elected mayor, and Mildred Schwab was appointed to fill Goldschmidt's City Council position. That complexion of personalities touched off a different approach to neighborhood activity in Portland. A study was done on neighborhoods, and it came to Schwab for consideration. She felt that city ordinances should come out of the study and opened a job for someone who would carry on with the study. I had been NWDA director for a year, applied for the job, and got it. My first task was to figure out what kind of language the city could adopt that would make sense to the neighborhoods. So a number of us—city staff and neighborhood leaders—sat down and pulled together a draft of recommended ordinances. We then announced a public meeting to discuss the plan and all holy heck broke loose. Over 100 people came to the meeting. There was fear that the city was about to create another bureaucracy. After an emotional start, Ogden Beaman, then Chairman of the NWDA, turned it around and got many good suggestions for changes in the draft ordinances. and they were adopted in January 1974. RAIN: And what did the ordinances spell out? CATHERINE: They spelled out a process for a relationship between the city and its neighborhoods. A central part of that being the formation of the Office of Neighborhood Associations which would funnel funds out to the neighborhoods by establishing contracts with recognized neighborhood groups. I think it was the first city in the U.S. that did it by contract. RAIN: How did the contracting process work? CATHERINE: A group of neighbors could form a nonprofit corporation, like the NWDA, and contract with the dty for running a neighborhood office. The neighbors would interview applicants and make the initial selection and send the person's name to the appropriate city commissioner for review. Over the years the relationship between the city and a neighborhood groups has become more complex. The neighborhoods can now send in their budget requests for neighborhood improvements through the Office of Neighborhood Associations, and new functions have been added, including a neighborhood crime program and neighborhood mediation program. RAIN: So, how did the advent of organized neighborhoods affect city government? CATHERINE: The city leaders have become more sensitive. They used to see someone come in and start testifpng, and they had no idea whether that person had touched base with anybody else or was only representing his or her own self-interest. Well, now they have a reasonable degree of confidence that when a neighborhood leader comes to them and says, "we've done a survey about needs in the neighborhood, and this is what we're recommending," the City Council has more confidence in acting upon the recommendations.
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