Minority oversight resolution approved

December 16, 2009 Nathalie Weinstein
Portland city council today unanimously approved a resolution requiring the inclusion of at least one minority evaluator on all panels that review and award city contracts not based on low bids.

“This is going to be a long process,” said Roy Jay, president of the Alliance of Minority Chambers of Commerce, the organization charged with vetting potential candidates to sit on the panels. “I don’t expect this to go into effect until mid-April to late May. But I already have half a dozen people today tell me they are willing and ready to serve. This a win for the entire city.”

An amendment was added to the resolution by Mayor Sam Adams calling for the Alliance to provide regular updates to the council on its meetings and selection process. A coordinator between the city and the Alliance has also been selected to act as a liaison and to keep the city appraised of the Alliance’s efforts.

The next steps will be for the city’s chief procurement officer Christine Moody to work with the Alliance on a memorandum of understanding, according to Ty Kovatch, Commissioner Randy Leonard’s chief of staff. The Alliance will then get its own infrastructure in place to start serving as the conduit for minority panelist selection. Jay says Steve Watkins and Associates have been retained to put together an online database where people interested in being on the panel can submit their qualifications, which will then be reviewed by the city when it chooses panelists.

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