Jenni Simonis, a local activist, announced today that she will be seeking appointment to the Gresham City Council to fill the vacancy that will be left after Karylinn Echols’ resignation later this month.

Simonis, who has been active in the community since moving to Gresham over seven years ago, had already been planning a run for the council in 2008. Joining the council now allows her to begin the work immediately of bridging the gap between the community, the city, and other local governmental entities.

“In the past few years, there has been a growing gap between the residents of Gresham, the city, the county, and other governmental entities. While Gresham is the state’s fourth largest city, and home to almost 100,000 residents, we have limited access to public transportation, only one small post office, and a transportation plan more suitable for a small town, not a large city.

“We need the residents of Gresham more active in the process of identifying problems and potential solutions. We also need to work harder to build relationships with other governmental entities to ensure that the citizens of Gresham get the services they need and deserve,” said Simonis.

“With so many neighborhoods in Portland being priced out of the reach of its long-time residents, we’re seeing an influx of people and families into Gresham. This not only increases the need for services from the city, like parks and police, but also more cars on our already crowded roads and more people needing access to public transportation. The longer we wait to look at and fix these problems, the more expensive the solutions are going to be.”

Simonis says the city is also in need of more diversity on the city council. Currently, almost all the members of the council live in the same area of town – the central precinct south of Division/Powell. The issues and problems affecting the city vary greatly by the part of town one lives in – we need more members of the council from other parts of town to ensure those views are brought to the table.

Also, Gresham has a large population of residents who live in renter occupied housing, such as apartments, condos, and duplexes -- almost 48% of the city’s residents, according to the U.S. Census. That’s a 4% increase between 2004 and 2005, and 5% more than Portland. With land available for new houses decreasing, and less than 2% of homes available for purchase vacant, renting is often times the only option for many residents in the city.

“It is important that renters in the city have representation on the council as well,” said Simonis. “The actions the council takes affect us too – the roads, police, fire department, parks, and more. We pay taxes just like everyone else. When property taxes go up, our rent increases and/or we lose services. When water and sewer rates go up, our portion of the bill goes up.

“However, the issues and problems that affect those of us living in apartments, condos, etc. vary greatly from those who live in homes. We have a larger number of people living in a small area, which means traffic problems. We have limited access to recycling services. We often times have more problems with disorderly neighbors and noise complaints.

“We also have ideas on how to increase access to recycling services. How to cut down on the amount of green waste (grass clippings, leaves, etc.) and food waste that go into the trash. How to make more small plots of ground available for renters to be able to grow some of their own food, giving low income families and people greater access to fresh produce.”

Simonis, who moved to Gresham in 2000, married Sandy resident Andrew Simonis in 1997. They have one child, Abby, who will start school this fall. They are all members of Holgate Baptist Church in Portland. She is a stay at home mom who does web site design and maintenance for community groups, small businesses, and non-profits. Her past professional experience is based in working with the community, including working as an aide in a Congressional district office, as a reporter for small community papers, and for non-profits and local governments.

 

 

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