City Council Can NOT and Should NOT Try To Micromanage Home Forward

Public Pressure on Home Forward Ramps Up

“Is this system to its core rotten?” Councilor Eric Zimmerman mused in a meeting last week.

https://www.wweek.com/news/2026/03/11/public-pressure-on-home-forward-ramps-up/

Published Comment

The Public Housing Authority of Multnomah County, aka Home Forward, is not a stand alone quasi-government agency. Board members ostensibly represent various jurisdictions, such as Multnomah County, Portland etc. If the leaders of any of these jurisdictions do not complain to the Portland City Council about the behavior of their appointed board members then, by default, those leaders approve of their behavior.

These jurisdictions have an expectation that those board members, approved by each jurisdiction, will actually represent their groups’ interests. If these groups find that their representatives on the Home Forward board are NOT serving the interests of their jurisdictions then they have every right, indeed, obligation, to ask the Portland City Council to demand that the mayor remove their representative. The Power To Control Home Forward Belongs To The Portland City Council.

The mayor of Portland has the legal authority to terminate any member of the Home Forward board. Unless and until the mayor says otherwise, there is a de facto understanding that he and the Portland City Council approve of how Home Forward is being run. The mayor is obliged to carry out any policy or directives he is charged with by a majority of the Portland City Council. If a majority of the Council does not approve of how Home Forward is being managed by its board, the Council can demand that the mayor instruct Home Forward board members to take actions recommended by the Council including removing any Home Forward board members who refuses the mayor's instructions. ALL power over all policies and the commensurate accountability resides with the Portland City Council. ALL successes and failures of Home Forward sit directly on the shoulders of the Portland City Council.

At the top of the Who’s In Charge and Accountable Authority hierarchy at the Public Housing Authority of Multnomah County is The Portland City Council.

Portland City Council

Mayor of Portland

Public Housing Authority of Multnomah County - Board

Public Housing Authority of Multnomah County - Director

Public Housing Authority of Multnomah County - Staff

The chain of command is very clear. Council directs mayor, mayor directs Board, Board directs Director, Director directs Staff. The Portland City Council does NOT direct Staff.

Now, you may ask, Why is the Portland City Council the single legal authority over the behavior of board members representing several public jurisdictions? This power structure dates back to the days when the Public Housing Authority of Multnomah County of today was known as HAP, The Housing Authority of Portland. HAP’s jurisdictions expanded but all the power remained in Portland. Shouldn’t all the players have equal or at least weighted authority? Worth a public conversation don’t you think?

Richard Ellmyer

Portland resident since 1975.

Oregon Voter since 1971. NAV, Non Affiliated Voter. Citizen Activist.

Campaign manager and legislative assistant to state senator Bill McCoy 1980-1981.

Campaign manager and senior staff to Multnomah county commissioner Gladys McCoy 1981-1984.

Celebrate North Portland award 2016 for Volunteer Work and Service with Political and Social Issues Impacting North Portland.

Certified Oregon Change Agent by Governor John Kitzhaber 2011.

PSU Senior Adult Learner, Spring 2021 - Public Participation GiS, 500 level class

PSU Senior Adult Learner, Spring 2024 - Planning and Housing Markets, 500 level class

Author of more stories on the politics, players and policies of Public Housing in Oregon over the last twenty-three years than all other journalists and elected officials combined.

Project Champion and Data Wrangler - Metro/Oregon Public Housing Location Maps https://www.goodgrowthnw.org/maps

GIS for Activism conference, May 23, 2022, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon

Richard Ellmyer - How I, A Citizen Activist, Used GIS To Effectively Tell A Necessary Yet Unavailable Truth About Public Housing

30 minute Video https://media.pdx.edu/media/t/1_2vrzokta

Lifelong Learning at PSU by Jennifer Jordan-Wong.

LET KNOWLEDGE SERVE THE CITY [Section] “Richard used a course he audited at PSU to create a citizen activist mapping tool to benefit Oregon residents, stakeholders, and policy makers…His interest in mapping as a tool for change began when he noticed that public housing was not being distributed equitably”

https://psucollegeofed.wordpress.com/2022/09/23/lifelong-learning-at-psu/?fbclid=IwAR3S9Pff0mBGeT6Ha8dQeAqL0nAqU7QzZ-0pJC_oTQJxBWlAb2fdXzdE0w4

Author of The Ellmyer Report, a newsletter that informs, educates and influences on public policy. Its target audiences are elected officials, journalists and civically engaged citizens. Facebook, Portland Politics Plus. Contributor: Patch news.