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Murmurs: Turmoil Over Cops at Transition Projects In other news: Rumblings in the next governor's race.
Rukaiyah Adams (Christine Dong)
Updated March 3
TURMOIL OVER COPS AT TRANSITION PROJECTS: Since last summer, dozens of employees at Transition Projects Inc., the Portland nonprofit that runs 10 local homeless shelters with a budget of about $20 million, have pushed to expel two board members: Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese and Portland Police Bureau Assistant Chief Jami Resch. The employees' objections were not personal but rather a reflection of the negative interactions many homeless people and TPI staff have had with police. TPI executive director George Devendorf says the board took the requests very seriously, brought in an outside consultant, and held a series of meetings with employees, but ultimately decided it "makes more sense to engage with law enforcement than to turn our backs." The issue is far from over, but Reese, who sat on the board for 13 years, left at the end of December when his term expired. Resch will remain. A recent letter to the board signed by 110 of TPI's 375 employees says the struggle to oust law enforcement and make other social justice gains will continue. "We are at a pivotal point in history," they wrote, "where we must make a choice between remaining complacent in an oppressive institution, or rising up with the Black community in demanding justice."