Marisha Childs grew up in Troutdale in the early 1980s and has lived in District 1 for the past 11 years. She attended Oregon Institute of Technology and graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law. She is a mom, a lawyer, a runner and a small-business owner.
Childs is a four-year member of the Reed Neighborhood Association, serving as chair for the past two years. She is the legislative advocate for the Cultural Enrichment Committee for the Winterhaven Parent-Teacher-Student Association and is a board member of the Oregon National Organization for Women.
As an attorney, Childs has worked with youths in dependency and truancy proceedings and seniors seeking care and housing solutions.
Childs is running for Multnomah County commissioner in District 1. Here are her responses to Street Roots' candidates pop quiz — a mix of short-answer, yes-or-no, and multiple-choice questions. (Read other candidates' responses.)
QUESTION 1
What area of the county government are you most interested in working with and why? (100 words or less)
Addressing and eliminating the significant racial disparities that exist in the justice system. There is a culture of tolerance that exists, not only in Multnomah County, but in society generally. Further, there is a culture of placating the one experiencing inequities (“No, I’m sure that’s not what s/he meant”).
I am also very interested in the County Food Action Plan, although I am concerned about recent events rendering many ineligible for SNAP. The county must ensure seasonal fruits and vegetables are grown around our community (at county buildings) for those who have recently lost SNAP benefits as well as others.
QUESTION 2
What is one solid step you will take to expand affordable housing countywide? (150 words)
I would try to negotiate with property owners of vacant buildings (or partially vacant buildings), to at least temporarily allow homeless people to stay there while permanent housing is being built. I understand that one property developer (Menashe) has been open to this kind of idea. This is not a permanent solution, but at least a temporary fix until the county can develop something more robust.
QUESTION 3
Yes or No: Would you support establishing a safe injection site?
Yes. A safe injection site is more hygienic, and using at a safe injection site/supervised injection reduces the likelihood for sharing needles. Further, in the event of some sort of medical emergency, personnel is there to respond accordingly.
QUESTION 4
Beyond Portland, Multnomah County encompasses smaller municipalities all dealing with housing and homeless issues, with the county often picking up the slack. How will you get other municipalities to better address these issues? (150 words or less)
It’s important that all regions/municipalities recognize this problem. The issue needs to be humanized with some of these other smaller municipalities, so that folks suffering with housing security and homelessness issues are treated as individual people, and not just a “problem.” Multnomah County, as the leader in the area, needs to work with the smaller municipalities to figure out why it’s an “us versus them” scenario. I think if representatives of these smaller municipalities saw the individual faces and heard the individual stories of homelessness, we might make more progress.
QUESTION 5
Story question: If Multnomah County’s budget projections showed a severe deficit by 2017, what would be your approach now to prevent or mitigate that situation? (150 words or less)
It would really depend on where the deficit was coming from. What agencies or departments have the largest budgets, and how are they spending those portions of the county’s budget? I would work closely with the auditor’s office to see where changes and reductions could be made. I would be transparent about that projection, and work with partners to chip away at that projected deficit.
QUESTION 6
Complete this sentence with the following options: I smoke marijuana ________________
a. For medicinal purposes only.
b. To decompress after a stressful day.
c. Recreationally. Hey, it’s legal.
d. Rarely.
e. Never.
e. Never.
QUESTION 7
Make one promise to the city’s people of color that you will deliver on as commissioner. Street Roots will check on its status every year.
I will work to ensure actions are taken now, that data supports, what many in communities of color know: generally speaking, people of color in Multnomah County have a lower quality of life. I want to see an Office of Civil Rights created in Multnomah County. I want better training at the Sheriff’s Office and in jails for cultural competency and trauma-informed care. I also want to see this training in the District Attorney’s Office. This kind of training needs to be monitored regularly, to see that changes are truly happening, and not just relying on the word of the department heads. For example, in jails, the inmates (not just staff) need to be heard from, to hear about their experiences in jail. The social services agencies also need to treat the county’s people of color with respect and understanding.
QUESTION 8
How will you ensure young people of color will succeed in Multnomah County? (150 words or less)
The county needs to provide opportunities for young people of color, including after-school activities and vocational training. This would also include opportunities for young people of color leaving jail, to make sure that they have opportunities and do not just end up back in the criminal justice system. This would require a re-allocation of funding, away from punishment for committing crimes, to preventing crimes in the first place.
Young people of color also need to see positive examples of leaders of color. I hope through myself, other people of color with interest in county and city leadership, and other leaders of color in the community, that young people will benefit from such examples.
QUESTION 9
Pair the issue with the sentiment. Use each sentiment only once:
1. Sell Wapato Jail
2. Appointed (not elected) sheriff
3. Rent control
4. Regional Air Quality Bureau
a. Great idea
b. Good idea
c. Needs work
d. Nope
1. Sell Wapato Jail – d. Nope
2. Appointed sheriff – c. Needs work
3. Rent control – b. Good idea
4. Air quality bureau – a. Great idea
QUESTION 10
The county’s Racial and Ethnic Disparities Report reveals that black people are 320 percent more likely than whites to be prosecuted for a crime, 500 percent more likely to spend time in jail, and 600 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison. What will you do to help correct that? (150 words or less)
My answer would be very similar to the answer I provided in response to Questions 7 and 8. Better training of law enforcement officers, the District Attorney’s office, mental health providers and jail personnel would be a great start.
QUESTION 11
What is one thing you will do to better serve people experiencing mental health crises? (150 words or less)
We need to provide more supportive living environments. The stigma attached to mental illness needs to be removed, and it needs to be considered on par with physical illness such as cancer and heart disease. Mental health issues need to be addressed earlier; children need to have services such as more social workers in the school. I am looking for a paradigm shift in the way mental health services are delivered. It’s not always possible for people with mental health crises to come to a clinic; social workers and other care providers need to be able to meet the people suffering mental health crises where they are (tents, the library, the trail, etc.). I also want to continue to work on law enforcement training, so that those first responders have at least some basic skills on appropriately and effectively interacting with people in the midst of a mental health crisis. “Mental health” should be an option when a person in distress calls 911 for help.
QUESTION 12
As the community faces a housing crisis and growing economic and racial disparities, services aren’t going to cut it. Give an example of one thing you will do to prevent this opportunity gap from widening.
I am not really sure that I understand this question. “Services” is such a broad topic; I don’t know if the question refers to working with landowners to allow homeless to use vacant spaces at least temporarily. Part of this is working with community partners (NAYA, Urban League, Jade/APANO, PCRI, etc.) to come up with creative solutions and communities of support, even if this may not technically be “services.”
QUESTION 13
Select a local artist – professional or amateur – to draw your favorite thing about Multnomah County.