Portland stimulus package could have trickle-down effects for university

The Portland City Council unveiled an ambitious $503 million spending package this month designed to stimulate the local economy by fast-tracking public infrastructure projects, assisting small businesses and creating jobs.

While it’s unclear whether and how Portland State may benefit directly from the city’s Job Creation and Stimulus Package, the university may gain favorable, secondary consequences from the mayor’s plan.

In an executive summary released online Jan. 9, Mayor Sam Adams’ agenda for his first 100 days in office includes forming a number of committees to assist him in near- and long-term planning.

According to Jesse Cornett, PSU’s director of government relations, two administrators and one faculty member have already been tapped to advise the mayor.

PSU President Wim Wiewel has been appointed to serve in the mayor’s Planning and Sustainability Cabinet. Lindsay Desrochers, vice president of Finance and Administration, has served in a citizen’s capacity on the mayor’s Citizen Advisory Council.

It’s unclear whether more appointments from PSU are coming. Calls and e-mails to the mayor’s office have not been returned.

Other committees in the mayor’s proposal include Education Strategies Cabinet, Economic Cabinet, Regional Economic Strategy Council, Eco-District Development Steering Committee, Transportation Cabinet, Planning and Sustainability Cabinet, Re-usable Bag Policy Task Force and Arts and Culture Cabinet.

News of the formation of an economic cabinet came as a surprise to Randy Bluffstone, chair of PSU’s economics department.

“You’ve done me a favor,” Bluffstone said. “I hadn’t heard anything about this yet.”

The mayor also intends to create an economic development plan, which, according to the Portland Business Journal, Adams says has never been done for the City of Portland. It is too soon to tell what this means for Portland State.

However, it is not uncommon for government to seek the expertise of individual faculty members on budget and policy matters.

In 1995, economics professor Tom Potiowsky was appointed to Gov. John Kitzhaber’s Advisory Council, serving until 1998. Potiowsky took leave from PSU in 1999 to serve as the state’s economist, returning in 2007. In 2008, he was hired again as the state’s economist.

Concerning other education items on Adams’ agenda, one specific initiative calls for a Scholarship Endowment Campaign. It would involve developing “an assessment and cost analysis for 2,500 students to attend community college and four-year institutions of higher education.”

No details of student residency or other eligibility requirements were disclosed in the mayor’s executive summary.