Dud's next trial balloon

I see that Portland's inept mayor, Dud Wheeler, has allowed critics to shoot down his B-boy's proposal to usher all the city's tent dwellers into large shelters. So now Hizzoner has pivoted to pushing large managed camps.

Actually, shelters and managed camps might work pretty well together. But you know how it is, this being Portland. City Council member Dan Ryan is already pooh-poohing Wheeler's camps as "corralling people."

“Massive outdoor sheltering sites are a dangerous proposition. If I see a plan, I hope there is action to address the rampant crime related to cheap and easily accessible drugs in our community and our dire need for addiction services. I am open to thoughtful solutions—I’m all in for urgency—but I cannot support this idea to corral hundreds of vulnerable people without social services, without community safety assurances, or a strategic management plan in place.”

In other words, let's continue to do nothing because we can't do everything.

Ryan's been busy for months trying to site his tiny house camps. So far he's made precious little progress. And even if he gets his facilities open, they will be like emptying the ocean with a teacup. You'd need at least 100 of them. He'll be lucky to site two.

Dear Commissioner Ryan:

Let's be real. If you want the tents and zombie RVs and affiliated open-air chop shops gone, the people in them have to be moved. Realistically, there are five options for them:

1. Shelter bed.

2. Managed camp site.

3. Mental health treatment bed.

4. Drug addiction treatment bed.

5. Jail bed.

I guess you think "nice little apartment built by me and Deborah Kafoury" is a sixth option, but it's not only a fantasy, but also wrong-headed.

I'm starting to run out of enthusiasm for that guy, even faster than for Mingus Mapps. Maybe Ryan needs to be shown the door. He's up for re-election in May. I'd take a look at the opposition if someone better appeared, but last I heard, he's a shoo-in for another four years of sitting around moaning.