Portland and Riverside: Discourse on civilian review

Riverside's ball fields at Orange Terrace Park have opened.



The Press Enterprise's Editorial Board also liked the upgrade of traffic signals to accommodate emergency vehicles.


(excerpt)


The Fire Department and ambulance service in Riverside still face delays in responding to emergencies, particularly from train traffic. If proposed grade separation projects win funding from Prop. 1B, the state transportation bond voters approved in 2006, emergency response times could improve significantly over the next few years.

The intersection projects, in contrast, should be finished within a few months. It's a welcome safety improvement for emergency crews, other drivers, and those who need help in a hurry.




Riverside's ownership of land in Colton is causing some consternation.

Riverside officials have said they want to be kept in the loop.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)



Three property owners -- the city of Riverside and two family trusts, Roquet Family LLC and W & P La Loma Hills Inc. -- control 80 to 90 percent of the site, Colton officials said.

During a specially called Colton council meeting on the Pellisier Ranch Specific Plan, Riverside Councilman Mike Gardner expressed disappointment that Riverside officials haven't been kept in the loop. He asked the council to delay action for two weeks.

Suchil countered that Colton doesn't always know what is going on in Riverside, even when Colton development officials seek information.

"The secrecy needs to end," Suchil said. "We need to work together -- we both have an interest in this area -- and that needs to start today."




And Riverside also wants whatever project increases the land's value. Will this work with the plans already made by Colton? You can't blame Riverside for looking for higher land value which could if sold, provide revenue for Riverside Renaissance because it's looking at the issue not simply as a public agency but a property developer.


(excerpt)



In August, Riverside officials made it clear to Colton that they want to see the land developed in a way that increases the property's value.

"It was also made clear that we want to see the area developed in such a way that it adds value to the surrounding area, while maximizing the value of our property," the unsigned memo reads. "We are approaching this project as a responsible developer -- not just a public agency."

In an interview, Gardner said he preferred an option that would have designated most of Riverside's land for a business park. Land zoned industrial carries almost as much value as residential property but with less traffic, he said.

Colton did not sign off on that option.



That's not the only upheaval going on in Colton. There's much more of that and probably much more to come.






The struggle is heating up in Portland, Oregon over who controls the debate over the future of the Independent Police Review. Mayor Tom Potter has announced that at least temporarily, the IPR won't be controlled by the city's auditor, Gary Blackmer according to The Oreganian.



(excerpt)


Potter said he was frustrated that an outside consultant's report on the effectiveness of the Independent Police Review Division had led to a quarrel instead of meaningful debate.

"I think lines are being drawn up on both sides. The auditor made it clear he will only make the changes he deems appropriate," Potter said. "I think the whole issue is becoming adversarial."

Community members have been quick to embrace the consultant's findings, saying the report supported much of what they've been complaining about for years -- that the public lacks confidence in Portland's police oversight, and the police review division's lack of transparency contributes to community distrust that complaints about police misconduct are seriously addressed.

But Auditor Gary Blackmer, who oversees the process, released a lengthy critique of the report Thursday, challenging many of the findings and rejecting some of the recommendations. He said he's disappointed in the report, saying it wasn't worth $60,000 and contained "a lot of mistakes" that his office wouldn't produce.



Potter plans to ask the city council to pass an ordinance to place the IPR under his own office. No doubt that has Blackmer more than a bit miffed.




Community members including members of several watchdog organizations have made it clear that they intend to be part of the discussion whether or not the city government invites them or not. Earlier, a city council workshop on the issues raised by consultant Eileen Luna-Firebaugh in her report was going to be held but wasn't taking public comment. Earlier, both Blackmer and the director of the IPR had challenged Luna-Firebaugh's findings and rejected some of her recommendations.

That workshop was ultimately canceled, news which didn't stop the community from holding its own forum right where the one that had been denied them was scheduled to take place.



Portland bloggers took note that actor Tim Robbins had appeared at the public forum but no one was sure why he was there.



Commissioner Randy Leonard through an email to Potter which was published in the Portland Mercury. The email was CCed to city council members and Blackmer.


(excerpt, email)


Early on in the analysis being prepared by Professor Luna-Firebaugh, Auditor Blackmer met with me to discuss some concerns he had with the methodology being employed by Professor Luna-Firebaugh in developing her analysis. Auditor Blackmer also shared with me his concerns that Professor Luna-Firebaugh was restricting her community input to those who are critical of IPR while minimizing contact with those who may have a different perspective. As an example, he told me that while Professor Luna-Firebaugh met in person with various community groups for discussions relative to IPR she only conducted a five minute interview via the telephone with Portland Police Association President, Robert King.

Given those concerns, my office tried to set up a meeting with Professor Luna-Firebaugh, Auditor Blackmer and myself.

Professor Luna-Firebaugh refused to meet with me if Auditor Blackmer was present.

I went ahead and met with Professor Luna-Firebaugh. During our meeting I expressed disappointment that she would not meet with me if Auditor Blackmer was present. I explained that having them both in the room discussing their different perspectives may have allowed us to resolve any misunderstandings that may have existed between her and Auditor Blackmer.

She responded that Auditor Blackmer was not her boss, as she was under contract. I explained that my goal was to clear the air between them so that we could all move forward and focus on the work. As quoted in notes taken at the meeting, Professor Luna-Firebaugh told me that she had to draw the line somewhere as to who she would meet with and that if she had agreed to my wanting Auditor Blackmer present, she would be obligated to meet with all of the other Commissioner’s Offices with Auditor Blackmer present. She said it would be a waste of her time when she preferred to focus on policy.

I really did not know how to respond to that.




In a memo that he wrote that was included in the linked article above, Potter appeared to have supported Luna-Firebaugh's methodology and listed five recommendations that the city council should give immediate attention to at the workshop that ultimately didn't take place.


Politics especially involving those at City Hall have surrounded the civilian oversight mechanism in Riverside as much as that in Portland. Portlanders have said that the city wants the image of civilian review and not the reality itself. A local columnist in Riverside believes that the city has pretty much the implementation of civilian review that it wants. Community input seems to be very much a secondary consideration in both cities. After all, some of Blackmer's comments since the release of the report in Portland are very similar to what Riverside community leaders and members have been hearing for the past two years.

It certainly is the case in Riverside where community leaders met with city management employees in early 2007 to try to find out why former executive manager, Pedro Payne had resigned.

One religious leader had said that City Manager Brad Hudson had told them that they'd fill the city council chambers with 35 or so people and then what?

It's also interesting to compare and contrast the role that the mayors played in both cities regarding civilian review mechanisms.

Portland has a stronger mayoral system than does Riverside. In fact, Potter, a former police chief of the Portland Police Bureau, is also the commissioner of public safety. In contrast, Mayor Ron Loveridge holds his position in a city that's based on a council-management system where the mayor has few powers.

What's interesting is that Loveridge rarely even threatens to veto and doesn't do it. The exception came in June 2004 when he allegedly was going to veto a motion made by then Councilman Art Gage to defund the Community Police Review Commission by up to 95% if it passed by four votes. The threat of a veto from Loveridge would have been more than enough to stop other members of the then GASS quartet from supporting Gage because they lacked a fifth vote which would have been necessary to override the veto.

That was Loveridge's one major action involving civilian review in Riverside, though he did formally endorse Measure II which was the initiative to put the CPRC in the city's charter which strongly indicated that Loveridge was aware of how those on the dais and their supporters were using the CPRC as a "political football".

Potter's main action lately was to remove the IPR from the office of the city's auditor as stated above and put it under his office. This action paralled that of Loveridge only in the latter's case the body involved was the Human Relations Commission.

The HRC noted that it began having problems with holding onto its staffing after it had sent a letter off to the city manager's office asking questions about the ethnic and racial makeup of the city's work force including at City Hall after the demotions, terminations and resignations of several Black and Latino management employees. Today, the HRC is no longer under the city manager's office but instead Loveridge's office oversees it. Still, there's plenty of boards and commissions left for the city manager's office to play with. The two to watch carefully in the next few months are the Board of Library Trustees and the Metropolitan Museum Board for obvious reasons.

It will be interesting to see if Portland's City Hall ever has a dialogue with its constituents even those who it doesn't view as being representative or part of "community" because they don't toe the party line. One thing to admire is that Potter does engage with the toughest critics of both the PPB that he used to lead and the IPR which is now under his purvue. Riverside? It pretty much just wants to deal with those who agree with its platform, which pretty much places it in the same camp with Blackmer.

That's why even an analysis of community sentiment on one single issue is filtered through the words of others looking at community. This is true at City Hall and it's true involving the CPRC as well. That's why Portland's much closer to seeing the civilian review that it wants while Riverside will have to settle for the civilian review it deserves.







All the links to Luna-Firebaugh's report and the responses from Blackmer and the IPR director are here




Portland CopWatch on why the IPR sucks.