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COPS [Community Oriented Police Services] Director Appointment
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Jose Cerda's Files
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Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
SUBJECT/TITLE
DATE
RESTRICTION
AND TYPE
001a. letter
Lee P Brown to John R. Schmidt re: non-selection (2 pages)
08/25/1994
b(6)
001b. list
Candidates re: non-selection (16 pages)
00/00/0000
b(6)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
Domestic Policy Council
Jose Cerda
OA/Box Number: 5872
FOLDER TITLE:
COPS [Community Oriented Policing Services] Director Appointment
2016-0931-S
rc2325
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - 15 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA]
b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA]
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA|
an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA]
financial information |(a)(4) of the PRA]
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
information |(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA]
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy |(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA
b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes |(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
of gift.
financial institutions |(b)(8) of the FOIA]
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C.
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
2201(3).
concerning wells ((b)(9) of the FOIA]
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
LRM - MAY 1993
PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
Cop Director
Beverly
= Harmon
Avenue
- Potter
David
- claose
Mitchell
(NOWICKI)
Nicholw
Pustone
-
- LC. Scoott
-
Williamo
- Public Waison и
Carivax
\
Gother:- dot. wants 2yre
Subfoll
ctf
- - Moss - usteven exp. us chief
- itaumon - Republicant
/
06/09/94
11:15
OMB LRD.ESGG
001
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
6pgo
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Washington, D.C. 20503
June 9, 1994
LEGISLATIVE REFERRAL MEMORANDUM
LRM #I-2933
TO: Legislative Liaison Officer -
TREASURY - Richard S. Carro - (202) 622-1146 - 228
GSA - William R. Ratchford - - (202) 501-0563 - 237
OPM - James N. Woodruff - (202) 606-1424 - 331
FROM:
JAMES J. JUKES (for)
Assistant Director for Legislative Reference
GENEVIEVE SIRI (395-3454)
OMB CONTACT:
RONALD JONES (995 3386)
Secretary's line (for simple responses) 8 395-3454
SUBJECT:
JUSTICE Proposed Amendment (s) RE: HR 3355,
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
of 1994
DEADLINE: June 10, 1994
COMMENTS: Justice intends to submit the attached amendments to
the conferees on H.R. 3355,
OMB requests the views of your agency on the above subject before
advising on its relationship to the program of the President, in
accordance with OMB Circular A-19.
Please advise us if this item will affect direct spending or
receipts for purposes of the the "Pay-As-You-Go" provisions of
Title XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990,
CC:
Jose Cerda
Karen Hancox
Tracey Thornton
Clarissa Cerda
Melissa Cook
Ray Kogut
Matt Blum
Barbara Retzlaff
Ken Schwartz
Jim Duke
Harry Meyers
Chris Brown
Margaret Shaw
Gail Zimmerman
06/00/04
11:10
OMD LRD/CSGG
002
LRM #I-2933
RESPONSE TO LEGISLATIVE REFERRAL MEMORANDUM
If your response to this request for views is simple (c.g.,
concur/no comment) we prefer that you respond by faxing us this
response sheet. If the response is simple and you prefer to
call, please call the branch-wide line shown below (NOT the
analyst's line) to leave a message with a secretary.
You may also respond by (1) calling the analyst/attorney's direct
line (you will be connected to voice mail if the analyst does not
answer) ; (2) sending us a memo or letter; or (3) if you are an
OASIS user in the Executive Office of the President, sending an
E-mail message. Please include the LRM number shown above, and
the subject shown below.
TO:
RONALD JONES GENEVIEVE SIRI
office of Management and Budget
Fax Number: (202) 395-3109
3454
Analyst/Attorney's Direct Number:
(202) 395-3986
Branch-Wide Line (to reach secretary) (202) 395-3454
FROM:
(Date)
(Name)
(Agency)
(Telephone)
SUBJECT: JUSTICE Proposed Amendment (s) RE: HR 3355,
Violent crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
of 1994
The following is the response of our agency to your request for
views on the above-captioned subject:
Concur
NO objection
No comment
See proposed edits on pages
Other:
FAX RETURN of
pages, attached to this
response sheet
06/09/94
11:16
OMB LRD/ESGG
003
OND
008/008
06/07/94
12:50
202 514 OUDA
DOJ-OPD
CBADMIN.1 Draft May 27, 1994
Subtitle
--
The Crime Control and Prevention Grant
Administration Act of 1994.
SEC.
1. OHORT TITLE.
This oubtitle may be cited as the "Crime Control and
Prevention Grant Administration Act of 1994".
SEC.
2. PURPOSE.
TO provide The Department of Justice with emergency hiring
authority and other such authorities as may be necessary for the
management and administration of new programs authorized under
the Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
SEC.
3. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED.
There are authorized to be appropriated from funds
authorized under any of the provisions of this act such sums as
may be necessary to carry out the management and administration
of such programs.
SEC.
4. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF LIMITATION ON APPOINTMENTS.
During the period beginning on the effective date of this
Act and ending on September 30, 1995, the provisions of title 5
of the United States Code governing appointments in the
competitive service shall not apply with respect to appointments
under ocction 3 of this ACL.
SEC.
5. STAFF AND OTHER EMPLOYEES.
The Attorney General or designee, in carrying out the
provisions of this Act, may employ staff and other employees,
including volunteers, experts and consultants.
(a) The Attorney General may, accept and employ volunteers
and uncompensated services. notwithstanding the provisions of
Litle 31, section 1342, of the United states Code.
(b) An expert or consultant employed under title 5,
section 3109, OF the United States Code, in connection with the
implementation of this Act may be compensated at a rale of pay
not in excess of the daily equivalent 01 the rate of basic pay
for Level IV of the Executive Schedule.
SEC.
6. PROCUREMENT OF SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
During the period beginning on the effective date of this
- 10 -
004
06/09/94
11:17
OMB LRD.ESGG
UND
08/07/94
12:36
202 314 603A
DDJ-OPD
CBADMIN.1 Draft May 27, 1994
Act and ending on September 30, 1996, the Attorney General or
designee may acquire supplies, equipment, and services needed to
support the administration of new programs, authorized under the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, without
regard to competitive procurement procedures including the
Commerce Business Daily publication requirements.
SEC.
7. SPACE ACQUISITION.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the Attorney
General is authorized to enter directly into agreements to lease,
renew leases for existing departmental locations, regardlese of
original lesec, and pay lessors directly for rcal property for
office, storage or such other space as is necessary to carry out
the purposes of this Act, wherever the real property is situated,
including the District of Columbia, and under such terms and
conditions ao the Attorney General finds to be in the best
interest of the United States, provided that no lease agreement
or option to renew exceeds ten years. The Attorney General is
authorized to enter directly into agreements for architectural
and engineering studies and services, alterations and
construction operation and maintenance, and other such services
for real property leased under this section. Other than
requirements pertaining to health, safety and accessibility,
under this Section, the Attorney General shall be exempt from any
General Services Administration space or facilities management
reg
- 11 -
06.109.94
11:17
OMB LRD/ESGG
005
06/07/94
12:58
202 514 8639
DOJ-OPD
+++ OMB
0004/008
PROPOSED STATUTORY LANGUAGE TO RAISE THE NUMBER OF ASSISTANT
AFTORNEYS GENERAL TO BLEVEN
striking: section 506 of title 28, United states Code, is amended by
"ten",
and inserting in lieu thereof;
"eleven".
REDLINED VERSION OF THE STATUTE AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
[
$ 505.
Assistant Attorneys General
The Precident shall appoint, by and with the advice and
consent of the senate, tenti Assistant Attorneys General, who
duties.) shall assist the Attorney General in the performance of his
06/09/94
11:17
OMB LRD.ESGG
006
+++ ONB
003/003
08/07/24 12:37
202 514 8838
DOJ-OPD
METORNEYS GENERAL TO TWO
PROPOSED STATUTORY LANGUAGE TO RAISE THE NUMBER OF ASSOCIATE
(a) The heading of section 504d of title 28, United States
Code, is amended by striking:
"Attorney",
and inserting in lieu thereof:
"Attorneys".
(b) Section 5048 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by striking:
"an Associate Attorney",
and inserting in lieu thereof:
"two Associate Attorneys".
REDLINED VERSION OF THE STATUTE AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
(
§ 504a.
Associate Attorney General
The President may appoint, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senatc, an Associate Attorneys No
General.)
09:32
202 514 1724
DOJ-OAAG
@002
002
Basic Answer
The accounts in the news stories do not reflect my
understanding of what happened two weeks ago, when Mr. Potter
and Mr. Schmidt spoke. At that time, while we were still
reviewing Mr. Potter's qualifications and background, Mr.
Schmidt raised with Mr. Potter the question of whether his
activities might make him a controversial choice for the job --
and whether that controversy might impact the new COPS program.
Mr. Potter, very early into this conversation, told Mr. Schmidt
that he shared this concern, and that he wanted to withdraw
from consideration. The decision to withdraw was Mr. Potter's.
Q. If Potter had not withdrawn, would he have been considered?
Would he have been selected?
A. Had Mr. Potter not withdrawn, we would have finished our
review of his background and qualifications. Since we did not
finish that review, I cannot tell you if we would have
ultimately selected him or someone else.
Q. Potter says that Schmidt used the word "problem" to
describe Potter's views on gay rights. Is that correct?
A. The "problem" that John was raising was the question of the
controyersy surrounding Mr. Potter's views and practices -- not
Mr. Potter's views themselves -- and whether that controversy
might impact upon the implementation of this new and important
program. Again, it was John's sense that Mr. Potter shared
this concern, and very quickly into the conversation, withdrew
from consideration.
Q. Was this material from the FBI report that raised this
issue?
A. No. The FBI report had not been completed, and was not in,
at the time that Mr. Potter and Mr. Schmidt spoke.
Q. Isn't it discrimination, or at least hypocrisy, for this
administration to deny someone a job because they are pro-gay
rights?
A. We did not deny a job to Mr. Potter, he withdrew.
10/20/94
09:33
202 514 1724
DOJ-OAAG
003
Q. Are you saying that if Mr. Potter were still interested, he
would still be considered at this point?
A. In the two weeks since Mr. Potter withdrew, we have
progressed with the review of the remaining candidates, and are
near a final announcement. And I have no reason to think that
Mr. Potter wants to be re-considered for this full-time post --
in fact, he has instead expressed interest in serving on a
group that advises the COPS program.
Q. But if Potter called today, and said, "I want to be
considered," would you consider him?
A. Yes.
Q. You portray this as Potter's decision. But Mr. Potter says
he withdrew only because he knew he was going to be rejected.
A. John Schmidt told me that day, and again this morning, that
had Mr. Potter not withdrawn, we would have proceeded to
complete the review of his candidacy. Again, my understanding
is that, early on in his conversation with John, Mr. Potter
indicated that he shared the concern that he could become a
lightening rod for criticism of the COPS program, and that he
no longer wished to be considered for the Director position.
Q. What changed? Potter says that early on, he had been told
that his activities were not a problem. What changed between
his initial interview in August, and the schmidt-Potter
conversation in October.
A. As with all the candidates for this position -- or any
other -- we gathered more information on Mr. Potter as the
review proceeded. Again, though, we did not reject Mr. Potter
-- it was his decision to withdraw.
Q. Did the White House tell the Justice Department not to pick
Potter? Did it weigh in on this?
A. The White House reviewed Mr. Potter's and several others
that we submitted as potential candidates, and approved them
all, including Mr. Potter.
2
10/19/94
12:44
202 514 1724
DOJ-OAAG
002
OCT 19 '94 07:47AM USAO PORTLAND OR
P.2
THE OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 19, 1994
Potter said he explained his advo-
cacy for gay rights in his Initial in-
terview OD Aug. 31 with officials
from the Justice Department, and It
was not raised as a problem then.
A12
He said officials told him be had
gained approval from the White
White House
House, and he even went as far as
Potter:
filling out personnel forms and tak.
ing a required drug test.
finds Potter
According to Potter, Schmidt told
too close to
Gay rights
him the FBI check had raised the
fact that the anti-gay-rights Oregon
Citizens Alliance had called for Pot-
ter's resignation as police chief in
gay issues
advocates
1991 because he was specifically re-
cruiting gays and lesbians as police
officers.
former Portland police chief
unhappy
Justice Department officials de-
nied the FBI checks were a critical
had been In the running to lead the
factor.
Continued from Page One
federal community policing program
the United States and how that
Potter said he told Schmidt, "If
could really hurt the president."
I've got to be rejected for the job, I'd
Schmidt, contacted late Tuesday,
rather be rejected for a principle I
By ERIM HOOVER
was hesitant to talk about the specif-
stand for than for a flaw in my Der-
of The Cregonien staff
sonality.
Ics of the conversation with Potter.
"I told him that the consolation
Former Portland Police Chief Tom
"I don't think I should get into a
prize for me in all this is that I get to
Potter said he withdrew his name from
discussion into what partícular fac-
go back to Portland and retire again.
consideration to run a federal commu-
tors went into (Potter's) thinking or
Actually, I felt pretty good when I
nity policing program after a U.S. De-
anyone else's," Schmidt said.
walked out of there."
partment of Justice official told him
Potter "came to the conclusion We
Reaction among gay rights activ-
that his advocacy for gays and lesbians
shouldn't go forward," Schmidt said.
ists was less charitable.
could hurt the Clinton administration.
"I think he intends to be strongly
supportive of the program."
"This is the Justice Department
Potter, 54, had been a finalist to run
that is headed by Janet Reno? I'm
the federal Cops
Another Justice Department offi-
absolutely stunned," said William
program, which
cial close to the decision. who spoke
Warren, a Portland activist who is
administration
on condition of anonymity. elabo-
on the Police Bureau's Sexual MI-
officials say will
rated in an Interview late Tuesday.
norities Roundtable.
help put as many
Potter "described what he thought
as 100,000 new
"If anyone has any doubt in this
the political pitfalls (of his views)
police on the
country at this time that the issue of
would be. He knows his peers. He
streets in the
someone's sexual orientation is not
knows how line officers react." the
next few years.
an opportunity to discriminate, here
official said, "It would have been
Justice Depart-
is a Very fine example of it. Reno
huge distraction from the very
ment officials
and staff have to do some explain-
gram be wanted so much to
had asked Potter
Ing."
ceed."
a apply for the POTTER
Scot Nakagawa, an organizer with
job.
Potter said that when be spoke to
the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Schmidt. it seemed as if he "was
The program is part of the Clinton ad-
Force, the Justice Department's
ministration's new crime law, which
under a lot of pressure."
concern thrown into question how
was passed by the U.S. Congress and
"I told him that I understood" the
gays and fesbions fit III where public
signed by President Chiston in August
concern, Potter said. "I said, I think
safety is concurned.
Potter said be of the adminis-
I know where you re going
But Nakagawa commended Pot
tration's cons
Oct 6 during a
I'U just withdraw my name.'
ter's integrity. saying. "It speaks
mesting with
Limidt, lead ad-
said. 'OK'
well of him to not be willing to care
ministrator for the office law.
Arthur Jones, a White House
promise his views for his own
"We've got a problem, Tom," Potter
spokesman, refused to comment 8
sonal gain."
said Schmidt told him "The FBI back-
Potter and the Cops job.
Even the Oregon Citizens Alliance
ground check is completed, and it's
Potter, who said be would serve as
was surgrised at Potter's descriptions)
your stand on gays and lesbians that we
8 consultant to the Cops program If
of what happened.
have a problem with."
needed, made national beadlines
"Usually It's the opposite, that if
Potter said Schmidt went on to say
when he marched a police chief
there isn't & sensitivity or tolerance
that administration officials were wor-
his uniform in several By pride pe-
to homoseruals in this administra-
ried "now it could be construed with
rades in Portland.
tion, that he wouldn't have been
some of the very conservative groups in
Potter was Portland's police chief
consider That would have
from 1990 through 1893. He openly
our paraphative of it," said Monte
Please turn to
supported his deughter, Pertland DO
Stamper, the state business director
POTTER, Page A12
lice officer Katie Potter, when
for the OCA
publicly acknowledged she at
Aaron Fentress and Rom Ellen
an
in
1991.
Andress
MA
O'Connor The Oregonize suff con-
as chief Potter Yes active in
tributed to report
Oragon say rights
10/20/94
13:43
202 514 1724
DOJ-OAAG
002
AP v5108 rw 3exec Reno-Police, 540
10-20
12:16p
Reno Says Potential Controversy, Not Gay Advocacy, Was Issue in
Police Job
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Administration officials discussed
possible controversy arising from gay rights advocacy by a former
Portland, Ore., police chief but never thought his views would
bar him from a top Justice Department job, Attorney General Janet
Reno said today.
"He would still be under consideration if he had not
withdrawn," Reno said at her weekly news conference.
The former chief, Tom Potter, said Wednesday his support for
gay rights led him to give up a chance to head the new federal
community policing program. Part of the recently enacted crime
bill, the program is designed to pay for local communities to
hire 100,000 policemen over the next six years in programs with
high citizen involvement.
"I don't think his advocacy
his belief is a concern,"
Reno said. "I think if there are issues with respect to
controversy that his advocacy or his work might have generated,
those have to be addressed in determining the impact on the
program.'
She said Potter raised his homosexual advocacy first in
talks with her, and it did not derail his candidacy. She said
Associate Attorney General John Schmidt brought up potential
controversy over it in a later talk with Potter Oct. 5.
"Mr. Schmidt said that he raised the question and that Mr.
Potter at that point withdrew," Reno said.
Potter said he withdrew as a finalist for the job after
Schmidt told him his stand on gay rights could hurt the Clinton
administration.
"I thought it was in the best interest of the program and
certainly the Clinton administration," Potter said.
Potter, 54, served as Portland's police chief from 1990-93.
He made national headlines when he marched in uniform in several
gay pride parades.
He has openly supported his daughter, Portland police
officer Katie Potter, who is gay. Since his retirement as chief,
he has been active in Oregon on gay rights issues.
Justice Department officials asked Potter to apply for the
job in August.
Potter said he learned of the administration's concerns
earlier this month after meeting with Schmidt, the lead
administrator for the crime law.
"John Schmidt raised the issue by saying, 'there's a
problem or 'we have a problem,' and then we started talking
about that issue," Potter said.
Potter said he brought up his stand on homosexuality during
initial interviews, but it didn't become an issue until
subsequent background checks revealed that he had openly
recruited homosexual officers.
10/20/94
13:43
202 514 1724
DOJ-OAAG
003
Potter said the administration was concerned that his
advocacy could harm the program and act as a barrier between him
and other police chiefs around the country.
A Justice Department official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the administration was surprised when Potter
withdrew his name.
Schmidt was traveling Wednesday and was unavailable for
comment.
The Justice official said St. Louis police chief Clarence
Harmon withdrew from consideration for the post a week ago after
deciding he didn't want to leave his job.
The official said other candidates were under consideration
but would not name them.
Withdrawal/Redaction Marker
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
SUBJECT/TITLE
DATE
RESTRICTION
AND TYPE
001a. letter
Lee P Brown to John R. Schmidt re: non-selection (2 pages)
08/25/1994
b(6)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
Domestic Policy Council
Jose Cerda
OA/Box Number: 5872
FOLDER TITLE:
COPS [Community Oriented Policing Services] Director Appointment
2016-0931-S
rc2325
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - |44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - 15 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P1 National Security Classified Information |(a)(1) of the PRA]
b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office |(a)(2) of the PRA|
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
P3 Release would violate a Federal statute |(a)(3) of the PRA|
an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute |(b)(3) of the FOIA|
financial information |(a)(4) of the PRA]
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRAJ
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy |(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy |(a)(6) of the PRA]
b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes |(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
of gift.
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C.
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
2201(3).
concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIA]
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
Withdrawal/Redaction Marker
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
SUBJECT/TITLE
DATE
RESTRICTION
AND TYPE
001b. list
Candidates re: non-selection (16 pages)
00/00/0000
b(6)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
Domestic Policy Council
Jose Cerda
OA/Box Number: 5872
FOLDER TITLE:
COPS [Community Oriented Policing Services] Director Appointment
2016-0931-S
rc2325
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - 15 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P1 National Security Classified Information |(a)(1) of the PRAJ
b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office |(a)(2) of the PRA|
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRAJ
an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA]
financial information |(a)(4) of the PRA]
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors |a)(5) of the PRA]
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy |(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy |(a)(6) of the PRA]
b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes |(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
of gift.
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C.
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
2201(3).
concerning wells |(b)(9) of the FOIA]
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
The Ethnic NewsWatch
Portland Skanner
June 30, 1993
SECTION: Vol. 18; No. 37; Pg. 4
LENGTH: 332 words
HEADLINE: Welcome Aboard Chief Moose
BODY:
Welcome Aboard Chief Moose.
Mayor Vera Katz should be applauded for taking a long step towards improving relations
between the police bureau and North/Northeast Portland.
The appointment of Charles Moose as chief of police is the right move at the right time.
Portland is at a crossroads. Unprecedented growth has brought big city problems, while
shrinking state resources have thrown more of the burden of caring for disadvantaged
residents onto local shoulders.
Never has the need been greater for private citizens and city government to
work closely together. And no city agency works more directly with citizens than
the police bureau.
But for residents to work with police -- particularly in the hard hit neighborhoods of
North/Northeast Portland a level of trust must be established. Racial bias and excessive
force must disappear from law enforcement.
Moose, the city's first African American police chief, has demonstrated that he is
committed to establishing that level of trust, and to making the police bureau accountable to
the public it serves.
He has publicly and repeatedly made himself clear on the subject. He is on record as
supporting citizen involvement in the handling of complaints against police officers, and
his presence alongside outgoing chief Tom Potter in local gay rights events is evidence of
his commitment to fairness for all.
He repeated the message at his swearing-in, enjoining officers to think in terms of service,
not just crime stopping.
We share Moose's commitment to community policing and applaud his stated intention to
make the police bureau more responsive and accountable to the community. His
appointment makes it clear that Mayor Katz shares that commitment.
We are also pleased to see that Katz chose her chief from within the ranks of the Portland
Police Bureau. The transition to community policing will be smoother with someone street
officers know and respect in the chief's chair.
Welcome aboard Chief Charles Moose.
The San Francisco Chronicle
JUNE 29, 1993, TUESDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A2
LENGTH: 566 words
HEADLINE: Anti-Gay Measure Returns
Election today on toned-down version in rural Oregon counties
BYLINE: Stuart Wasserman, Special to The Chronicle
DATELINE: Portland, Ore.
BODY:
Today, Oregon becomes the first state in the nation to conduct a statewide vote-by-mail
election -- and the growing and powerful right-wing Oregon Citizens Alliance is using the
ballot to bring a toned-down anti-gay measure to the state's rural communities.
State officials are touting the cost savings and increased voter turnout they expect from the
mail- in balloting on a statewide tax proposal. But the Oregon Citizens Alliance is heavily
publicizing its sponsorship of a measure that has been added to the ballot in some areas -- the
"Son of 9" anti-gay initiative.
Proposition 9 -- which would have required state schools to present homosexuality as
"abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse" -- was voted down in November, 56 percent to 44
percent. It lost big in the Portland metropolitan area.
Oregon Citizens Alliance leaders are taking the updated proposition directly to towns and
rural counties where it gained majority approval in November and the leaders believe they can
count on victory today. The measure will be voted on in four counties -- Douglas, Josephine,
Klamath and Linn -- and two towns -- Junction City and Canby.
Before year's end, the alliance hopes to qualify the measure in 30 municipalities, building
momentum for another statewide initiative in 1994, organizers say.
The alliance and its supporters say the measure is necessary to halt what they call an
aggressive homosexual agenda that, whether by design or not, undermines nuclear families by
granting special status to homosexuals. 'NO SPECIAL RIGHTS'
Under the banner of "No Special Rights," the toned-down measure would bar civil rights
protections for gays as a group and prohibit civic spending to "promote" homosexuality.
According to alliance president Lon Mabon, passage would mean "no city expenditures for
gay day parades, which cost in terms of police protection, rerouting of traffic and garbage
services."
PROTECTIONS SOUGHT
Oregon gays and lesbians say they do not seek special rights but want protections against
discrimination in jobs, housing and public accommodations.
Founded in 1986, the Oregon Citizens Alliance has grown to 33 chapters in 36 counties. It
organizes on a grass-roots level, mainly in churches. At neighborhood meetings, organizers
roll a videotape from the 1991 San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Day Parade that shows
naked men dancing on a float.
"Should that be seen on public streets?" Mabon asked.
"Public nudity is against the law," responded Portland's police chief Tom Potter as he
marched in Portland's Gay Pride Day parade last Saturday. Potter's daughter, who is lesbian,
serves on the police force.
The theme of Portland's parade was family values. There were several cars and horse-drawn
carriages with parents and their gay children. A male couple with their heterosexual teenager
rode with a banner reading: "Celebrating 19 years with our Hopelessly Heterosexual
Daughter."
While the Oregon Citizens Alliance is organizing to bar civil protections for gays, several
legislators, such as state Labor Commissioner Mary Wendy Roberts, are trying to pass
protective legislation at the state level. However, Roberts' bill, which would grant gays civil
protections in employment, housing and public accommodations, is languishing in the House,
bottled up in the Judiciary Committee.
Copyright 1993 PR Newswire Association, Inc.
PR Newswire
May 3, 1993, Monday
SECTION: State and Regional News
DISTRIBUTION: TO CITY AND RETAILING EDITORS
LENGTH: 2224 words
HEADLINE: SAFEWAY OPENS 'SUPERSTORE' WITH COMMUNITY POLICING
OFFICE
DATELINE: PORTLAND, Ore., May 3
BODY:
Safeway officials announced today Grand Opening details for the Safeway
MARKETPLACE at the Rose City Center in the Roseway Neighborhood on:
Wednesday, May 5, 7 a.m.
Safeway MARKETPLACE at the Rose City Center -- in the Roseway
Neighborhood
N.E. Sandy Blvd & N.E. Freemont Street, Portland
Portland Mayor Vera Katz and Portland Police Chief Tom Potter will join representatives
of the Roseway Neighborhood Association and Safeway Store Manager Art Galego at grand
opening/ribbon cutting ceremonies, which will begin promptly at 7 a.m.
According to Safeway's Galego, "Safeway is especially thankful for the support we
received from both Mayor Katz and Chief Potter as we worked out the details necessary to
open the very first community policing office ever located inside a retail food store! It's been
an honor for Safeway to have worked with city officials, the Portland Police Bureau and
neighborhood leaders as we joined forces to make this idea become a reality. Mayor Katz
and Chief Potter are strong supporters of the concept of community policing."
Safeway officials are excited to return to this growing and dynamic northeast Portland
neighborhood. The first Safeway markets in northeast Portland date back to the early 1940s
and included stores located at 57th & N.E. Fremont; 24th & N.E. Fremont; and 22nd & N.E.
Sandy.
Safeway also operated a store literally across the street from the 53,000-square-foot
Safeway MARKETPLACE at the Rose City Center. That store operated until 1972.
Safeway first began operating stores in the Pacific Northwest in 1921 and currently
employs over 9,000 employees in 91 stores in Oregon and 11 in Southwest Washington.
The Rose City Center Safeway MARKETPLACE:
-- Will employ over 150 employees
-- Created 75 new jobs
-- Will stock over 40,000 items
The Rose City Center Safeway MARKETPLACE is part of Safeway's five-
year, $3.2-billion corporate capital spending program.
The Ethnic NewsWatch
Portland Skanner
March 3, 1993
SECTION: Vol. 18; No. 21; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 490 words
HEADLINE: Police Chief Potter Resigns
BYLINE: Foy, Jeff
BODY:
Police Chief Potter Resigns.
Portland Police Chief Tom Potter shocked city leaders today when he announced that he
would retire by June 30.
"My career with the Police Bureau has been very rewarding, but it is time to
move on," he said. Potter, 52, publicly announced his decision on "The Mayor's Forum"
telecast Wednesday morning. The weekly program is shown live on cable channel 30.
Mayor Vera Katz expressed disappointment over the chief's decision.
"I am deeply saddened that Chief Potter has decided to retire," she said, "especially since
he and I share the same vision for Portland's future." Potter was appointed in November
of 1990 by former Mayor Bud Clark. He won wide support for instituting community
policing programs aimed at involving citizens in law enforcement, and making police
accountable to the community.
He outlined his reasons for quitting during Wednesday's forum telecast.
"The decision is my own at a time in my life when I an still able to pursue and enjoy
other interests," he said, adding that he had made it clear he "intended to be an interim chief"
when he was selected for the post.
In statements made Tuesday, Sam Adams, Katz's executive assistant, characterized rumors
that friction between the new mayor and Potter had prompted the resignation as "garbage."
Potter expressed "admiration and respect" for the new mayor in his announcement, saying
that their "working relationship has been excellent."
For her part, Katz said she had asked Potter to reconsider and would be looking for
someone "very much like him" as a replacement.
She reiterated her dedication to the innovative policing principles championed by the
outgoing chief, saying the "community policing program will stand as a monument to Tom
Potter's skills and creativity as a law enforcement chief."
Potter himself was confident about the fate of community policing in Portland.
"The wheels of community policing have been set in motion and a solid foundation has
been laid for the Police Bureau...
And, "Due to the hard work of Bureau members and the good people of Portland many of
the programs envisioned have come to be a reality."
Not all of the City's leaders were as confident.
Commissioner Mike Lindberg characterized Potter's resignation as devastating and was
concerned about the possibility that police personnel might backpedal on community policing.
Katz plans to conduct a nationwide search for a new chief of police.
"We will be seeking candidates from within the bureau and in other jurisdictions across the
nation," she said.
A committee will be formed to aid in the search. The mayor's office will announce the
make-up of the group "within the next several weeks."
Katz confirmed that Potter will sit on the search committee.
Possible candidates from within the bureau include Assistant Chief Dave Williams, Deputy
Chief Chuck Karl and Deputy Chief Charles Moose. Moose is African American.
ETHNIC-GROUP: African-American
LANGUAGE: English
Los Angeles Times
February 4, 1993, Thursday, Home Edition
SECTION: Part A; Page 1; Column 1; National Desk
LENGTH: 2125 words
HEADLINE: COLUMN ONE;
WHY DOES AMERICA FEAR GAYS?;
HOMOPHOBIA IS LEARNED FROM KINDERGARTEN ON. THE TENSION, WHETHER
ROOTED IN
RELIGION OR SOCIETY'S NEED TO CONFORM, HAS SURFACED AS
HOMOSEXUALS SEEK TO SERVE
OPENLY IN THE MILITARY.
BYLINE: By JOHN BALZAR, TIMES STAFF WRITER
BODY:
Portland, Ore., Police Chief Tom Potter knows how far, fast and unexpectedly
the most rigidly fixed views can change.
Born in the Deep South and inculcated with the anti-homosexual beliefs of the
Southern Baptists, Potter recalls his shock "at discovering the difference between how I
thought the world was and how the world really was."
That occurred when Potter witnessed a close male friend grapple in midlife with his
sexual identity. "I watched as he worked through it and came to understand his
homosexuality. And I came to understand he was the same good friend as before," the
chief says.
Since then, Potter's daughter has become the first lesbian on the Portland police force
and the chief has become outspoken "in trying to raise the awareness of people."
"The very questions being raised today about military service were raised about gays
and lesbians on the police force: Can they share a locker room? Can you count on them
under fire?," Potter says.
"Today, some police officers still have problems -- those with strong religious views
and those that you might say are the super-macho types. But we've crossed the threshold
and we're inside the door. And 20 years from now, we'll look back and a lot of myths
will have been destroyed."
The San Francisco Chronicle
NOVEMBER 4, 1992, WEDNESDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A10
LENGTH: 321 words
HEADLINE: Oregon Rejects Anti-Gay Ballot Measure
BYLINE: David Tuller, Chronicle Staff Writer
BODY:
A hotly contested Oregon ballot initiative that would have declared homosexuality
"unnatural and perverse" was defeated last night, but a similar measure was winning in
Colorado.
With half the precincts reporting in Oregon, 55 percent voted against the measure,
although backers of the initiative refused to concede. Darrell Fuller, a regional director for
the Oregon Citizens Alliance, which sponsored Measure 9, said the early returns came from
the metropolitan areas, where support for the initiative is weaker than in more rural districts
of the state.
In addition to the results in Oregon and Colorado, an effort to repeal a gay rights ordinance
in Portland, Maine, failed, but a similar effort succeeded in Tampa, Fla.
The Oregon initiative has drawn international attention, and its backers said before the
election that they intended to take the fight to other states. In the weeks leading up to the
election, the explosive issue transformed the generally tolerant state into a fierce battleground
between religious conservatives and gay-rights activists.
Because both sides reported death threats against their supporters, police officials said
yesterday that they were increasing patrols and setting up rumor hotlines to prevent violence.
"I don't think we've ever taken the precautions we've taken on this election because
we've never had the volatility, emotion, fear and anger this election has," said Portland,
Ore., Police Chief Tom Potter, an opponent of Measure 9 whose lesbian daughter is also
a police officer.
Measure 9 would have amended the state constitution to prohibit the state or local
jurisdictions from passing gay-rights ordinances and would have required schools to teach that
homosexuality is "abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse."
The less far-reaching Colorado measure would prohibit the state or cities from passing
gay-rights laws.
Copyright Hachette Magazines Inc. 1992
Woman's Day
November 3, 1992
SECTION: Vol. 55 ; No. 17 ; Pg. 76; ISSN: 0043-7336
LENGTH: 2254 words
HEADLINE: "Mom, I'm gay." Attitudesincludes related material
BYLINE: Bartocci, Barbara
BODY:
Sometimes, even within a family, one parent is more accepting than the other. Over tacos
at their favorite restaurant, Tom Potter of Portland, Oregon, learned the truth about his
daughter, Katie. Instead of being shocked, the square-shouldered police chief smiled.
Twenty-six years of police work had taught him to be observant. "I'm not shocked," he
reassured his dark-haired daughter. "It's OK with me." Today, Katie, 27, is a police officer on
her father's force, the first officer there to publicly acknowledge her homosexuality.
But when Katie told her mother, Ginger Hall couldn't stop weeping. Ginger's religious
background had taught her that homosexuality was wrong. "What will others say?" she
worried. "What will this mean for the rest of the family? What will friends think?" One friend
told her she should love Katie, the sinner, but hate her sin. That didn't seem right either.
For weeks, Ginger cried continuously. Katie, feeling rejected by her mother, moved in
with her father.
Tom talked to his ex-wife. He searched to find the words that would help her accept
Katie's homosexuality. "God brought our seed together to create a person; why would God
create something awful?" he asked.
The turning point to Ginger came when she realized it wasn't Katie who had changed, but
herself. "Katie was no different day after she told me than the day before," she acknowledged.
"That's when I knew I had to let Katie's sexuality be between her and the lord." Last year,
Ginger appeared with Katie on a local television show. She'd come a long way.
Chicago Tribune
October 20, 1992, Tuesday, NORTH SPORTS FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1; ZONE: C
LENGTH: 1312 words
HEADLINE: Oregon proposal to limit gay rights starts a brawl
BYLINE: By George de Lama, Chicago Tribune.
DATELINE: PORTLAND, Ore.
BODY:
The fire blasted Father Jim Galluzo out of bed. Flames licked at his office downstairs in St.
Matthews Catholic Church in suburban Hillsboro as his attackers drove off into the night.
Inside the church, where hours later he would preach the need to respect the rights of
homosexuals, Galluzo found spray-painted swastikas and messages of hate. "Kill Gays, Spics
and Jews," read one. "We Hate Gays." And "Yes on 9."
The fire was put out and no one was hurt. But last month, Mae Cohens, 29, a black
lesbian, and her roommate, Brian Mock, 45, a white gay man, were not so lucky. They died
when their home in Salem, Ore., was firebombed, allegedly by white-supremacists.
Fear and intimidation are on the rise in Oregon, scene of a bitterly divisive ballot initiative
aimed at reversing the political gains of gays and lesbians in what would be the most
sweeping anti-homosexual law ever enacted by a state.
Backed by Christian fundamentalists, Measure 9 calls for all state institutions from the
governor's office to local schools to present homosexuality as "abnormal, wrong, unnatural
and perverse" and to actively discourage its practice. It also would prevent the state from
outlawing discrimination against gays and lesbians.
An outgrowth of the Republican Party's family values campaign theme, the ballot measure
has made Oregon a national battleground, pitting the ascendant gay-rights movement against a
political backlash unleashed by social conservatives with close ties to evangelical preacher Pat
Robertson's Christian Coalition.
The vote in Oregon is part of a national crusade by the Christian Right, stymied so far in
its effort to repeal abortion rights. In Colorado voters will decide an initiative that would deny
minority status based on sexual orientation. A similar measure is on the ballot in the city of
Portland, Maine.
But the Oregon initiative, by requiring state institutions to condemn and discourage
homosexuality, goes further, belying the state's image of tolerance and progressive politics.
Opponents warn that Measure 9 would legalize discrimination.
Leading the fight for Measure 9 is the conservative Oregon Citizens' Alliance and its
leader, Lon Mabon, 46.
Their battle cry, "No Special Rights," has struck a chord with conservative white voters,
many of them descendants of transplanted rural Southerners, put off by what they see as gay
activists' increasingly visible presence and sometimes shrill tactics.
"The homosexual movement used to be content with tolerance and privacy. They've got
that. Now their goal is societal affirmation that their behavior is good and moral," Mabon said
in an interview. "They want their behavior, what they do in the bedroom, to be a full-fledged
minority classification, equaling race, gender and national origin, thereby closing opposition to
them, for whatever reason.
"We view homosexuality as a wrong behavior. It isn't good. It isn't right. It's wrong. If
teachers say to students that homosexuality is moral, is natural, then they have promoted that
behavior to our kids. Tolerance of homosexuals is one thing; promoting their behavior to our
kids is another."
Mabon's group has distributed videos of past Gay Pride parades in San Francisco and
attacked children's books explaining gay lifestyles such as "Heather Has Two Mommies" and
"Daddy Has a Roommate."
Oregon's political establishment has lined up against Mabon. Every statewide elected
official and major public and religious institution is in opposition, including the Catholic
Church and many Christian evangelical churches.
These critics fear passage would set off witch hunts to determine officials' sexual
orientation, making the state a national pariah for business and trade.
If passed, the measure would force the removal from the classroom of all teachers found to
be homosexual, ban scores of books and require Oregon schools to teach that homosexuality
is a moral sin linked to pedophilia. Opponents note that the vast majority of child molesters
are heterosexual, usually older relatives or family friends.
"Once you get control of the curriculum, then you can attack a variety of things you don't
like, whether it's gay or lesbian teachers, Jews or blacks or whatever," said Vickey Barrows,
president of the Portland Teachers Association. "This is an attempt to say the schools will
teach this view as truth, and that is unacceptable."
Polls show voters oppose the measure nearly 2 to 1. But a recent poll in The Oregonian,
Portland's top newspaper, also showed that while most voters favor equal rights for
homosexuals, they grow more anxious as gays and lesbians come closer to their children.
That ambivalence is evident at Rose's Restaurant, an old-style family eatery in the trendy
Nob's Hill section of Portland, where Dale Medley, 46, a car parker, and hostess JoAnn Ward,
50, have had to confront their consciences.
"My religious views would probably have me vote for the measure," said Medley, a
Baptist. "But my sense of fair play would probably have me vote against it.
"On the one hand, the measure is too extreme. But I agree with what they are trying to
limit."
Ward, a devout Catholic and mother of four grown children, said she would not have
wanted a gay or lesbian teaching her kids. But at the restaurant she has come into contact
with homosexuals for the first time, and now she cannot approve of discrimination against
them.
"I've had to rethink a little bit," she said. "I'm against homosexuality, but I think the greater
need is for humanity.
Mabon condemns the violence that has marred the debate and denies his organization is
involved. Supporters of the measure also have been attacked and harassed by radical
gay-rights activists, police say.
Portland Police Chief Tom Potter said that even though no evidence links Mabon's
group to violence, its zealotry has created a climate of intolerance that fuels violent acts
by skinheads and other groups.
Potter is caught squarely in the crossfire.
The 26-year police veteran has come under fierce criticism from conservatives and
from some in his department for marching in uniform in recent Gay Pride parades and
for his outspoken support of his daughter, Katie, 27, a Portland police officer who is a
lesbian.
Potter has received death threats. His daughter, meanwhile, has been shunned by
some fellow officers. She said she fears for her job, and her safety, if Measure 9 passes.
"Once you dehumanize someone, it's very easy to take that next step, to hurt them,"
he said in an interview with his daughter. "Measure 9 dehumanizes a whole group of
people just because of one reason, their sexual orientation."
Recalling his daughter's teenage struggle to tell him she was a lesbian, Potter notes the
suicide rate for gay and lesbian youngsters is far higher than for other teenagers, and he
fears for teens trying to cope with their sexuality.
"The OCA says they're doing this to help protect kids," said Potter, a Southern
Baptist. "But this is going to devastate our kids. Kids already are having enough
difficulty dealing with becoming aware of themselves. If you tell them they're unnatural
and perverse, that doesn't promote family values."
Despite the polls, both sides believe the measure can pass. In 1988 voters approved an
initiative overturning an executive order that barred discrimination against homosexuals,
although polls showed it losing.
If Measure 9 prevails, opponents vow legal action to try to stall its implementation. But
either way, they say, the issue will not go away.
"All that hate and all that emotion are still going to be here said Potter. "If the
measure passes, we're going to have major problems in the city of Portland. If it doesn't
pass, we're still going to have major problems on both sides.
"I'm afraid what we have here is a lose-lose situation."
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE-MDC: 10-21-92
The New York Times
October 4, 1992, Sunday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section 1; Page 22; Column 4; National Desk
LENGTH: 986 words
HEADLINE: Chief of Police Becomes the Target In an Oregon Anti-Gay Campaign
BYLINE: By TIMOTHY EGAN, Special to The New York Times
DATELINE: PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 1
BODY:
Rarely a week goes by that Tom Potter does not receive either a death threat on the phone
or a nasty letter in the mail. As police chief of Oregon's largest city, Chief Potter said he had
come to expect that a small number of people would always hate police officers.
But he has been somewhat surprised to learn how many people also profess to hate
homosexuals. The reason Chief Potter knows is that his daughter, Katie, is an officer in his
department and a lesbian. And he has supported her by marching with her in two gay pride
parades here.
In a year when Oregon is receiving national attention for a ballot measure asking voters to
decide whether to classify homosexuality as "abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse," Chief
Potter, who grew up in an evangelical Christian household, has become an unlikely target in
the emotional debate.
As a 26-year veteran of the Portland Police Department, Chief Potter says he has developed
a thick skin. But never has he taken as many hits as in the last year, because of his high
visibility on gay rights.
Calls for Resignation
Recently, promoters of the anti-gay measure began circulating a cartoon showing one boy
trying to talk another boy into having sex with him. "The police chief says it's O.K. for us to
have sex," the boy says.
In fact, Chief Potter has never said any such thing. But what he has done is to march, in
uniform, in the last two gay pride parades in Portland. He has also encouraged homosexuals
to become police officers, saying he wants the department to reflect the makeup of the city.
Lon Mabon, leader of the Oregon Citizens Alliance, the group that led the campaign to
place the anti-gay measure on the ballot, has been calling for Chief Potter to resign. Mr.
Mabon said the Chief was setting a bad example for young people.
"I'm the Police Chief for all the people," Chief Potter said. "I've marched in St. Patrick's
Day parades, Fourth of July parades and parades against racism, all in uniform. It's only the
gay pride march that set people off."
As Chief, Mr. Potter has tried to stay out of the debate over the anti-gay initiative, Ballot
Measure 9, which would amend the State Constitution and require that all government
agencies in Oregon actively discourage homosexuality. But as a father, he said, he is worried
about what the measure could mean to his daughter.
Measure Is Vaguely Worded
His daughter, 27-year-old Katie Potter, who has been a patrol officer for nearly four years,
said she always wanted to be an officer.
"I used to talk to my dad about us being the first father-daughter team on the Portland
Police Department," she said. Instead, she has become known as the first openly lesbian
officer in the department. If Ballot Measure 9 passes, Ms. Potter said, she may be forced out
of the department. Legal scholars here say the measure is so vaguely worded that the city
could be seen as condoning homosexuality by allowing an openly lesbian officer to stay in
the department.
Mr. Mabon said the measure was intended to remove homosexuals from any public job
involving contact with children. The homosexuals could be transferred to other jobs without
losing their benefits, he said.
Some members of the Portland Police Association, representing patrol oficers, are angry
about Chief Potter's stance on gay rights.
Refusing to Back Down
Writing in the police newsletter, Officer Greg Pluchos said Chief Potter had set a bad
example by marching in the gay pride parade. "By encouraging police officers to put on their
uniforms and march in the gay pride parade, Chief Tom Potter may have opened a Pandora's
box," Mr. Pluchos wrote.
Chief Potter said he would not back down. "I'm not going to be invisible," he said. "I
believe very strongly in this issue. I don't believe gays should have any more rights than
anyone else. But most of these people don't understand that gays don't even have access to
the same rights I do."
Chief Potter, who can be removed by the mayor, has won widespread support from this
city's political establishment, including the two candidates for mayor. But among leaders of
Christian conservative groups, he has been demonized.
Chief Potter said he came to his beliefs in a roundabout way. He was raised in a family of
evangelical Christians. "So I grew up with all these perceptions of gay people as child
molesters and unnatural," he said. "I changed my view because one of my best friends, a
family man, came to me and said he was gay."
Chief Potter has four children, two boys and two girls. "Katie always seemed like a
tomboy, a little different," he said. "I believe my daughter was born that way. In the same
way I was born left-handed. But my parents tried to make me learn to be right-handed. As a
result, I developed a stutter whenever I tried to write with my wrong hand."
Many Letters Coming
Since appearing in a gay pride march with his daughter, Chief Potter has received
hundreds of letters. Many, he said, are positive, from parents of gay children or from young
homosexuals who say they are afraid to tell their parents about their sexual identity.
Father and daughter recently went camping together, and Chief Potter brought along some
letters.
"Even with the hate mail, it made us feel pretty good," the daughter said. "You realize how
many people you can help."
Some Portland officers have shunned her, she said, but most officers, even those who
oppose her father's decision to march, have been supportive.
"I have zero complaint with the Chief's daughter being a lesbian," said Mr. Pluchos, who is
secretary-treasurer of the police guild. "His daughter is a fine police officer and
well-respected."
Most police officers could not care one way or the other whether someone is a homosexual,
Chief Potter said. "What matters as a street cop," he said, "is whether you'll be there to help
when things get tough."
GRAPHIC: Photo: Police Chief Tom Potter of Portland, Ore., has been receiving death threats
since he marched in two gay pride parades while in uniform. Anti-gay groups say the Chief is
setting a bad example. (Don Ryan for The New York Times)
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
The New Republic
September 21, 1992
SECTION: Vol. 207 ; No. 13 ; Pg. 9; ISSN: 0028-6583
LENGTH: 1259 words
HEADLINE: Bashers; Oregon - Postcard: Oregon Citizen Alliance anti-gay/lesbian
ballot initiative
BYLINE: Sullivan, Robert E., Jr.
BODY:
Portland Police Chief Tom Potter has been the subject of numerous photocopied handouts
by Mabon, partly because he has spoken supportively of his gay daughter (a city
policewoman), and partly because he once discussed rest room etiquette with a group of
transvestites ("Chief Potter says it's O.K. for male cross dressers to use the women's rest
rooms!!" read one OCA handout)
Proprietary to the United Press International 1986
May 1, 1986, Thursday, BC cycle
SECTION: Regional News
DISTRIBUTION: Idaho
LENGTH: 162 words
DATELINE: PORTLAND, Ore.
BODY:
A former deputy police chief who sought and received a demotion before testifying before
a police review commission has been placed on paid leave by Police Chief Penny Harrington.
Capt. Thomas Potter, 45, had said he felt he could not criticize Harrington before the
commission while he was a high-level member of her administration. The three-member
commission is examining the effect of Harrington's reorganization of the Police Bureau on the
area's drug traffic.
Potter told the commission Monday he felt Harrington had misled the commission when
she implied that reorganization decisions were based on long-range planning. In a rebuttal
Tuesday, Harrington disagreed with Potter. Neither Harrington nor Potter were available for
comment Wednesday.
Police Bureau spokesman Henry Groepper said Harrington placed Potter on leave
Wednesday until she can select a new deputy chief. He said there are 12 captain positions
within the bureau and all are filled.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Proprietary to the United Press International 1986
April 28, 1986, Monday, BC cycle
SECTION: Regional News
DISTRIBUTION: Washington, Oregon
LENGTH: 335 words
HEADLINE: Harrington said to be misleading panel
DATELINE: PORTLAND, Ore.
BODY:
Portland police Capt. Thomas J. Potter testified before a special investigating commission
Monday that Police Chief Penny E. Harrington did not carefully plan the department's
reorganization as she had said.
Potter, who received a voluntary demotion Friday from his position as one of Harrington's
three deputy chiefs, said last year's decision to disband the Drug and Vice Division came
prior to command policy discussion and planning.
Potter said the chief revealed her intentions on her first day on the job, and that he and the
two other deputy chiefs -- Robert M. Tobin and R. Clell Winters -- were involved solely in
implementation.
"Having read her opening statement, the commission could easily get the impression that
the decision to move narcotics came about as a result of initial planning done to respond to
the burglary problem and a shortage of patrol officers," Potter said. "This is not the case."
Harrington testified on April 17 -- flanked by her three deputy chiefs -- that budget cuts
had forced her administration's hand in dispersing police officers in the old drug, vice and
intelligence squads, in assembling detectives as members of the new drug unit and in creating
the Juvenile Services Divisin.
Potter referred during his testimony to his notes from a Feb. 22, 1985 meeting,
paraphrasing Harrington as saying, "We'll use the budget cuts as an excuse to radically change
the organization."
Tobin said following Potter's testimony that while he disagreed with Harrington's decision
on the drug unit, he didn't think Harrington's presentation "misled anybody."
Potter said the commission was misled because "the information provided
implies we had a much larger base of information on which to make our decisions.
It also implies a rather comprehensive planning process occurred. This is simply
not so,' he said.
Harrington, who attended the hearing, is expected to offer a rebuttal Tuesday
to the three-man panel investigating the department and Harrington.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Proprietary to the United Press International 1985
September 12, 1985, Thursday, BC cycle
SECTION: Regional News
DISTRIBUTION: Oregon
LENGTH: 164 words
DATELINE: PORTLAND, Ore.
BODY:
Portland Police Chief Penny Harrington announced the appointment Thursday of
Deputy Chief Tom Potter as the Police Bureau's liaison to Portland's gay and lesbian
community.
The appointment resulted from a series of meetings between the police and members of the
gay and lesbian community. Harrington said the move reflects efforts to improve relations
between the police and Portland's estimated 35,000 homosexual citizens.
The police liaison will provide access for lesbians and gay men to express their concerns
about police actions or activities and will ensure that complaints of crimes such as assaults or
harassment are fully investigated, Harrington said.
Potter also will help educate police officers about the gay community's concerns and to
enunciate Police Bureau policies concerning members of sexual minorities. The Police Bureau
also will provide information to the lesbian and gay community on police problems and how
they can help the police, she said.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Date: 10/20/94 Time: 12:17
Reno Says Potential Controversy, Not Gay Advocacy, Was Issue in
WASHINGTON (AP) Administration officials discussed possible
controversy arising from gay rights advocacy by a former Portland,
Ore., police chief but never thought his views would bar him from a
top Justice Department job, Attorney General Janet Reno said today.
He would still be under consideration if he had not
withdrawn, Reno said at her weekly news conference.
The former chief, Tom Potter, said Wednesday his support for gay
rights led him to give up a chance to head the new federal
community policing program. Part of the recently enacted crime
bill, the program is designed to pay for local communities to hire
100,000 policemen over the next six years in programs with high
citizen involvement.
I don't think his advocacy
...
his belief is a concern, Reno
said. ``I think if there are issues with respect to controversy
that his advocacy or his work might have generated, those have to
be addressed in determining the impact on the program.
She said Potter raised his homosexual advocacy first in talks
with her, and it did not derail his candidacy. She said Associate
Attorney General John Schmidt brought up potential controversy over
it in a later talk with Potter Oct. 5.
Mr. Schmidt said that he raised the question and that Mr.
Potter at that point withdrew, Reno said.
Potter said he withdrew as a finalist for the job after Schmidt
told him his stand on gay rights could hurt the Clinton
administration.
I thought it was in the best interest of the program and
certainly the Clinton administration, Potter said.
Potter, 54, served as Portland's police chief from 1990-93. He
made national headlines when he marched in uniform in several gay
pride parades.
He has openly supported his daughter, Portland police officer
Katie Potter, who is gay. Since his retirement as chief, he has
been active in Oregon on gay rights issues.
Justice Department officials asked Potter to apply for the job
in August.
Potter said he learned of the administration's concerns earlier
this month after meeting with Schmidt, the lead administrator for
the crime law.
John Schmidt raised the issue by saying, `there's a problem'
or 'we have a problem,' and then we started talking about that
issue, Potter said.
Potter said he brought up his stand on homosexuality during
initial interviews, but it didn't become an issue until subsequent
background checks revealed that he had openly recruited homosexual
officers.
Potter said the administration was concerned that his advocacy
could harm the program and act as a barrier between him and other
police chiefs around the country.
A Justice Department official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the administration was surprised when Potter
withdrew his name.
Schmidt was traveling Wednesday and was unavailable for comment.
The Justice official said St. Louis police chief Clarence Harmon
withdrew from consideration for the post a week ago after deciding
he didn't want to leave his job.
The official said other candidates were under consideration but
would not name them.