and eviction court monitoring, and is all too familiar with the intricate absurdities and injustices of housing court.
Eviction Representation for All will also require that tenants be furnished with a lawyer at “first notice of termination, rather than court filings,” Carroll noted — an important nuance. The rapidity of eviction court means that time is of the essence. And, she continued, “It appears on paper that [Portland has] low eviction numbers compared to many other places in the United States. But what isn’t documented is that many,the court process.
Though, if passed, Eviction Representation for All’s incarnation of right-to-counsel will be limited to Multnomah County, a successful measure promises to have catalytic effects on future initiatives, as well as tenant power and collective bargaining. “Tenants in [other counties] are looking to the Multnomah County measure and saying yeah, if we had that protection, we would feel safer organizing [for] repairs, for rent caps, and all of that,” Carroll related.
The excitement and optimism of advocates on the topic is palpable. All are in agreement that collective action has been the source of the recent string of successes, and remains the means by which further wins will be realized.