Portland City Council: Steve Novick is in.
Kari Chisholm
On the heels of Commissioner Randy Leonard's announcement that he won't run for re-election, Steve Novick has jumped in.
And no surprise -- Novick's already loaded with plans and policy proposals:
I’m running because I want to try a new strategy on jobs and economic development: including making Portland the #1 city in America at controlling health care costs. If it works (and I think it will) it will give Portland a competitive edge that smart companies won’t be able to ignore. See details on one way to do it.
I’m running because I think the City of Portland can and should make some targeted investments in Portland’s schools, which have been battered by budget cuts for 20 years. In particular, I think the City can invest in giving teachers and principals opportunities to improve their skills – for instance, by providing scholarships to go through the National Board Certification process. (Again, you can see details on my web site.)
And I’m running because I think we can build a better public safety system, with more emphasis on prevention and less emphasis on reaction and incarceration. Right now, City police are often acting as first responders to what are really mental health crises – because the County doesn’t have enough resources for mental health treatment – which is partly because the State has cut funding to the counties – which is partly because the State is overburdened with rising prison costs. I think it’s time for cities and counties, starting with Portland and Multnomah County, to sit down with each other, and with the State, and develop a more rational, more coordinated strategy, and a more rational, coordinated allocation of resources.
Discuss.
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1:27 p.m.
Jun 29, '11
Steve will make a great City Commissioner.
7:54 p.m.
Jun 29, '11
Just a quibble, but shouldn't the headline read "Portland City Council race: Steve Novick is in.
He won't be in the City Council unless and until he wins the election.
8:53 p.m.
Jun 29, '11
I'm loving this. I have read Steve's 3 concepts and they make sense to me. Would he run into resistance from some quarter on each? Sure, but they are to me fresh and provocative and exciting ideas and I want to hear a lot more about them. Carry on, Steve!
9:40 p.m.
Jun 29, '11
Lots better ways to spend targeted money for education than board certification help. How about using money to increase offerings or after school athletics in the middle grades. You know, something which directly affects kids.
1:08 a.m.
Jun 30, '11
Or Mandarin study-abroad programs.
1:46 p.m.
Jun 30, '11
Pretty funny, Kari. Truth is too much time and money in education is being spent on the adults, not the kids. Just look at the bills out of the legislature that concern education. Other than the kindergarten bill it is hard to find one which directly concerns children.
10:15 a.m.
Jun 30, '11
Research on the effectiveness of National Board Certified Teachers has shown mixed results and raises as many questions as it answers. There's a good review of the research here:http://svefoundation.org/svefoundation/files/nbct_research.pdf?PHPSESSID=f63b1e2580e96078f6069aae4c97e04d "What Research Says About the Impact of National Board Certification" At this point in time, with monies flowing away from classrooms, I would agree with Steve Buel, that money should be spent on programs that we KNOW will directly and positively impact students. If we have to choose (and we do) the focus should be on early childhood education and early intervention programs.
8:46 a.m.
Jun 30, '11
If given the chance to do so, Steve Novick will represent the people of Portland very well.
8:33 p.m.
Jul 3, '11
as much as I respect and admire Novick, I think he should focus on city issues. Goodness knows there are many, many problems the the city faces to spend time wording about how to fix the schools. Obviously, there needs to be coordination with the county and the school district, but I am looking for a city commissioner who will put first emphasis on those topics that the city is charged with.
8:25 a.m.
Jul 5, '11
Actually, Stephen, I saw Steve's "spend some money on training" as a way to check the education box without promising to fix the schools from City Hall.