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Jo Ann Hardesty

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Jo Ann Hardesty
Portland City Commissioner
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byDan Saltzman
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 19th district
In office
January 1995 – February 2001
Preceded byAvel Gordly
Succeeded byJackie Dingfelder
Personal details
Born (1957-10-15) October 15, 1957 (age 67)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.[1]
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Portland, Oregon, U.S.
EducationBaltimore City Community College (AA)
Military service
Branch/service United States Navy

Jo Ann A. Hardesty (born October 15, 1957) is an American Democratic politician in the U.S. state of Oregon who is currently a Portland City Commissioner, having taken office on the Portland City Council in January 2019. She previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1995 until 2001. Hardesty is the first African American woman to serve on Portland's city council[2][3] and is an advocate of defund the police. In November 2020, a controversy over Hardesty's 911 over a Lyft driver who refused to roll a window up[4] drew national attention.[5]

Early life and education

Hardesty was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated from Edmondson-Westside High School and earned an Associate of Arts degree in business and accounting from the Baltimore City Community College.[6][7]

Career

After graduating from high school, Hardesty joined the United States Navy. She served for six years and was stationed in the Philippines.[8]

After leaving the Navy, Hardesty settled in Portland, Oregon. She was elected to the Oregon House in 1994, holding office until 2001, when she resigned to unsuccessfully run for chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. She later served as executive director of Oregon Action, and became president of the Portland chapter of the NAACP in January 2015.[9][10]

In 2007 Hardesty began hosting "Voices from the Edge," a progressive talk radio program on KBOO, a community radio station in Portland. The call-in show addresses racial disparity, government accountability, environmental justice and politics on local, state and national levels.[11]

Hardesty ran for Portland City Council in 2018, for the open seat being vacated by the retiring Dan Saltzman.[12] She won the race, against Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith; early returns showed her receiving approximately 62 percent of the votes cast.[2][3] She was sworn in as a city commissioner on January 2, 2019.[13][14]

In 2020, Hardesty voted to cut $18 million in funding from the Portland Police Bureau budget. The vote failed 3-2.[15][16]

Controversies

Hardesty called 911 during a dispute with a Lyft driver. The driver had refused to roll up a window, citing Lyft's pandemic air circulation recommendations. Hardesty was picked up from a casino, and was dropped off at a filling station along I-5 when she called 911 to report an emergency.[17]

Hardesty was placed at the scene of a hit and run in 2021. An internal investigation at the Portland Police Bureau found that there was no evidence behind the claims, and that the report claiming the incident was fabricated and disseminated to news outlets by three PPB officers, one of whom was acting as union president at the time. Hardesty has since filed a $5 million lawsuit against the city of Portland. [18]

As acting Fire Commissioner, Hardesty was criticized for her month-long vacation in August 2021, which coincides with peak fire season in the region. "That means she will not be available for feedback, council or check-ins. We do not make exceptions for this," announced her chief of staff of the move. This was the first time in over twenty years that a city commissioner took a full month away from the position.[19]

Hardesty has a strained professional relationship with the city's elected auditor.[20]

References

  1. ^ "Jo Ann Bowman's Biography". Project VoteSmart. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Monahan, Rachel; Shepherd, Katie (November 6, 2018). "Jo Ann Hardesty Is the First Black Woman Elected to Portland City Council". Willamette Week. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Templeton, Amelia (November 6, 2018). "Portland Voters Elect Hardesty As 1st Woman Of Color To City Council". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  4. ^ "Hardesty, Lyft driver each call 911 during ride from ilani". CBS. November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Portland Commissioner Hardesty's re-election campaign 'exceeds early fundraising goals'". KPTV.com. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  6. ^ Parks, Casey (June 19, 2015). "Portland NAACP president says organization needs white members: 'It's a matter of survival'". The Oregonian. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Candidate's Statement for County Voters' Pamphlet" (PDF). multco.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Queenz, UWB Zine (2019-06-10), "Jo Ann Hardesty", Badass Womxn in the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington Bothell and University of Washington Libraries, retrieved 2021-06-04
  9. ^ "Joann Bowman Resigns from Oregon Action". The Skanner. April 20, 2010. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  10. ^ Smith, Donovan L. (January 20, 2015). "New NAACP President JoAnn Hardesty on Civil Rights Now". The Skanner. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  11. ^ "Voices from the Edge". KBOO. 2007-03-17. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  12. ^ Monahan, Rachel (August 4, 2017). "Jo Ann Hardesty, Former Legislator and Head of NAACP Portland, Running for City Council Seat". Willamette Week. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  13. ^ Monahan, Rachel (January 2, 2019). "Jo Ann Hardesty Officially Becomes the First African-American Woman to Serve on Portland City Council". Willamette Week. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  14. ^ Friedman, Gordon (January 2, 2019). "Jo Ann Hardesty sworn in to city council, cementing Portland's liberal legacy". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  15. ^ Jaquiss, Nigel (5 November 2020). "Portland City Council Rejects Commissioner Hardesty's $18 Million Police Cut". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Proposal to further cut Portland Police Bureau budget fails".
  17. ^ Bernstein, Maxine (2020-11-10). "Jo Ann Hardesty, Portland city commissioner, calls 911, refuses to get out of Lyft car after driver cancels ride". Oregon Live. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  18. ^ Levinson, Jonathan (December 30, 2021). "Investigation documented 3rd Portland officer who leaked false Hardesty hit-and-run report". Willamette Week. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  19. ^ Monahan, Rachel (July 02, 2021). OPB. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "titlePortland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty Will Take August Off" ignored (help)
  20. ^ Jaquiss, Nigel (March 15, 2021). "After Contentious Budget Session, Auditor Warns Neither She Nor Staff Will Appear Before City Council Again". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2021-03-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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