If I Had a Hammer

Posted by Sarah Lane on October 26, 2008

Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley spent his Saturday helping Habitat for Humanity build homes for people in need. Jeff is passionate about helping families get ahead and increasing home ownership among working families. Before Jeff was elected to the Oregon House, he was the executive director of Portland's Habitat for Humanity. More below the fold....

Here's a pic of Jeff hammering away....

When Jeff was hired to become the Executive Director of Habitat in Portland, Oregon, he had to overcome dangerous obstacles to make the launch of the Portland Headquarters successful. Here's a snippet from the Oregonian about Jeff's early experiences working at Habitat for Humanity

Eager to show off his activist side, Merkley folds his 6-foot 3-inch frame into the backseat of a Toyota Prius -- no easy task. He guides his driver to Northeast Killingsworth for a quick tour of his past.

When he and his wife, Mary Sorteberg, moved to Oregon in 1991 they chose to live "in the middle of the Bloods district," Merkley says. "I pulled a shotgun out of the bushes," he says. "We found baggies on the lawn."

Merkley says he could have lived in a different, safer, neighborhood. But he says he likes "having one foot in the world of what ordinary families face and one foot in the world where decisions are made and power is wielded."

He was hired to head the Portland branch of Habitat for Humanity in 1991. Early in his three-year tenure, he helped the group buy and renovate a building at Northeast 14th Avenue and Killingsworth Street, which remains Habitat's headquarters today.

The work gave him a front-row view to the Portland seen mainly by cops, gang members and drug dealers. One day, while he was with a group of neighborhood children on the front porch of the office, a car screeched to a halt in front of the building.

"A woman jumped out, action-levered a shotgun -- you know the sound it makes -- and laid it across the hood of the car," Merkley says. "I'm madly throwing kids inside the doors of Habitat." She eventually drove away without firing.

The biggest problem with the location, he says, was the constant stream of addicts driving up Northeast 14th to buy crack and other drugs. He called for a neighborhood meeting to request blocking the street at one end to discourage the trafficking.

"No one wanted to host a meeting because they were afraid they'd be shot at," Merkley says. But he pressed, and the city erected the barricade. Merkley points it out as the Prius pulls to the curb. With no easy access to the street, he says, drug dealing petered out.

Merkley says his success there is just one example of the way he handles problems. He brings people together, he says, works out a plan and takes action.

During Jeff's tenure as Executive Director of Portland's Habitat for Humanity, he spearheaded a number of affordable housing programs. Jeff created a Walk for Humanity, developed the Habitat for Home Building Center and created YouthBuild, a program which helps get disaffected youth back on their feet. If you'd like to read Jeff's plans to help working families get ahead, go here.

Here are a couple pics of Jeff helping Habitat build homes today.....

The race is still very close here in Oregon and we could definitely use your help. If you live in Oregon, or in nearby state, please consider volunteering. If you're out of state and want to see Jeff Merkley in the Senate, you can make phonecalls from anywhere! Contact Bridget at bridget@forwardoregon.org to find out more about our portable phonebanking system.

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