Merkley’s Rental Health
WW talks to Senate candidate Jeff Merkley’s other constituents—his renters.
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[September 12th, 2007]
Oregon House Speaker-turned U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley has a few unhappy constituents—the renters of property he owns in Portland and Tualatin.
WW set out to find how well Merkley manages 10 rental units owned by him and his wife, nurse Mary Sorteberg. The conclusion from talking to a half-dozen renters: the Democratic speaker may be a neat “master of the House” in Salem, but Merkley also has a track record of being comfortable with a little shabbiness when it comes to managing his own rental units. He recently switched property managers for the Tualatin units after almost four years.
No code violations were found, but Merkley’s tenants were eager to speak about problems in their units. The 10 rental units that house a few dozen tenants include one small house in Southeast Portland and nine duplex units on Tualatin’s Southwest Santee Court. Together the properties pull in at least $100,000 a year in rent before expenses.
As a lawmaker, Merkley has earned a reputation as a brainy progressive. Lobbyists and other legislative observers have praised Merkley’s legislative acumen; earlier this year they gave him high marks in WW’ s 2007 legislative survey (see “The Good, the Bad and the Awful,” WW , June 13, 2007).
But tell that to Danitra Lewis, Merkley’s tenant in a 972-square-foot Mill Park home in outer Southeast Portland. She and her husband, Wayne, a bank operations processor, pay $900 a month in rent for the three-bedroom home. Yet Danitra, a health-care worker, says she’s tired of waiting for her water heater and furnace to be fixed. She estimated it’s been a real problem for a couple months.
“As time’s gone by he’s been bogged down with family, state work,” said Lewis. “But if he doesn’t want to fix my furnace…well, shoot.”
In addition to his investment properties in Southeast Portland and Tualatin, Merkley also rents out two homes. One in Washington, D.C., is currently being used by Lutheran Volunteer Corps as a group home for the mentally ill. The other, which is in Northeast Portland, until July housed volunteers through the Portland chapter of the Christian volunteer group Holy Cross Associates.
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That Portland house, a blue 1,500-square-foot Craftsman on Northeast 15th Avenue, was Merkley’s own residence before he moved further east into the Mill Park neighborhood, Merkley spokesman Russ Kelley says.
The property houses five former post-graduate volunteers, whose $1,475 in monthly rent is covered by the Holy Cross program.
In Tualatin, Bryan Marsh and his family pay $760 a month for their three-bedroom duplex. Marsh says he’s patched the walls of his unit, installed baseboards and replaced the screen door without getting compensated by Merkley. Tenant law doesn’t make Merkley financially responsible for those repairs. But the drip of complaints continued from Marsh, who says an on-site manager told him Merkley wouldn’t pay for water Marsh wanted to use on the lawn.
“Merkley didn’t want to pay for the water, so all the grass died,” Marsh said. Merkley now appears to have recognized the problems, however.
On Sept. 1, Lake Oswego’s L. Moore Management, a company specializing in keeping up residential properties, took over Merkley’s units in Tualatin. Merkley previously had used an on-site manager for those Tualatin properties. L. Moore already manages Merkley’s other properties in the Portland area.
Merkley announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate Democratic primary on Aug 1. (Activist Steve Novick is also in the primary, seeking the nomination to take on U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore.). But Kelley says the timing of the switch was coincidental and not linked to the Senate run.
“Shortly after the last legislative session, he became aware that the current management situation wasn’t working out, so he made a change,” Kelley says.
About time, says Marsh. According to Marsh, the on-site manager, paid by Merkley to keep up Santee Court, was given a “tight budget” to work with, much tighter than before the Merkleys bought the development in 2002.
Bryan Marsh’s wife, Michelle, was much less sympathetic about Merkley’s efforts to maintain her family’s duplex on Santee Court.
“He has no management ability at all,” she said.
Coyote, you should ask your good friend gordo smith that question
This article smacks of sloppy journalism.
Just two weeks after accusing Kari Chisholm of roguish behavior through his �machine politics� support of Merkley, the Willamette Week has rounded up a story on some rental properties that Merkley owns. This story seems to be a continuation in the weekly paper�s series of poorly-investigated expos�s into the so-called Democratic �establishment�, from state Sen. Betsy Johnson, Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Chisholm. And like those other forays into investigative journalism, this one comes up short.
See the rest of my argument at Beaver Boundary.
Wow, another perfect example of WW creating news where there is none.
I have lost all respect for this rag. So very slopping. First Kari and now this?
Aren't you guys embarrassed? Do the editors not check up on their writers anymore?
C'mon people, lighten up. One Pulitzer and Willy Week is suddenly supposed to have "journalistic standards"? Remember these articles are just here to provide visual separation between the adds for escort services and the bar's band schedules.
The "investigation" is over when you find out the biggest complaint is from a guy paying $700 for a 3 bedroom because the lawn wasn't watered. But you go ahead and run the story? There's no story! I don't get this at all, so totally irresponsible. I've talked to so many folks today who've wondered what has become of ww. This is an embarrassment. You even say Merkley hired a property manager to take care of the problems! What more so you want him to do? This is so ridiculous!
Seems that dimmo's can't take the heat same as repugs. Merkley's track record on " Ethic Reform" was as bad as his managerial skills.
I've had 37 years as a rental housing owner and 20+ years as a tenant, some simultaneous. Paul Leonard's article impresses me as an excellent report. Good landlords pay attention to detail, create ways to respond quickly to complaints, and don't shirk on maintenance. If Mr. Merkley wants power to manage my tax dollars, he should first demonstrate his management ability in his rental property. I was never afraid of having my renters asked what they thought of my management.
You have got to be kidding...the ability to subcontract out good rental management services is now a prerequisite for running for US Senate? HA!
Frankly, this type of worthless garbage politics are used to distract people from things they really care about. Will he work to withdraw US forces from Iraq ASAP? Will he work for universal healthcare coverage? Will he undo Bush’s tax cuts for the rich and will he represent me better than Gordon Smith?
These are the prerequisites
The reporter says he talked to 6 renters. There are quotes from 2. What did the other 4 say? Did he talk to former renters? Did he look for legal proceedings?
$100,000 is a lot of money, but did the reporter ask how much the expenses were? What about the mortgages?
Did he interview the management company? What is the management company's record?
Did he get copies of any communications between the Merkley/management co. and the tenants? Did he see if the lawn was dead in front of Marsh's residence? Did he visit any of the properties? Did he ask Ms. Marsh to qualify her statement that Marsh "has no management experience at all"? Why? Because of the water issue? (This is the issue where WW criticizes Portlanders for profligate water use, aferall.) Did Marsh request compensation for the repairs? Did Merkley actually refuse to compensate Marsh for the repairs to the building? Was there a dispute? What do the rental agreements say?
...and I especially like the quote they used to highlight, so if you're just flipping through all you know about the story is that he has no managerial skills. A little harsh for a guy who hired a property management company, don't you think?
WW, aren't you doing exactly what you accused Kari Chisolm of doing in your ridiculous rogue of the week? We all know you like Novick, but doesn't this take things a little far?
I'm really curious about this Paul Leonard character. This is the second time he's created news where there doesn't seem to be a story at all. You do realize that it doesn't make you a good reporter when you talk to 6 renters and only mention what 2 of them said. I think this is one of the most irresponsible stories I've ever read. WW, you should be ashamed that you let this story run.
All this does is make me (and many other folks I've talked to since yesterday) question everything I read in WW from now on, especially anything written by Mr. Leonard.
No wonder he feigns concern for the poor. -He's wants to make more of them!
How can you be poor if you're only paying $700 in rent?
I never cease to be amazed by the capacity of Democrats to excuse bad behavior by their own and to attack the messenger bringing news of such behavior.
If, as a landlord, you don't fix someone's water heater and furnace in a timely fasion, it's because you are deliberately neglecting the repair. There is no landlord so incopetent or stupid that they can't pick up the phone and call the plumber and the HVAC people.
If Merkley has neglected these repairs it is likely he has neglected his other properties as well. Landlords just don't maintain 9 properties impeccably and let the tenth go to seed.
Of course, representing the other side of the equation we have the entitlement mentality tenant with the dead grass who thinks his landlord should pay his water bill. The irony is, this guy is probably representative of Merkley's core constituency.
It's hard to believe that the change in management that came shortly before Merkley decidd to run for Senate was a coincidence.
Is this what you were looking for WW? Nice work Paul Leonard!
I'm not sure if he's a slum lord but his actions this last session make him a scum lord.
Huh? That doesn't even make any sense.
As long as Merkley's renters are following all lease agreements, they may have some room to complain. It also seems like the property management company involved has as much responsibility as Mr. Merkely.
There's another record all Oregonians should become familiar with- Senator Gordon Smith's. Anti-choice, anti-environment, pro-Bush- Smith has got it all. And now that he's back in Washington, I’m sure we’ll soon have plenty of more reasons to want a fresh face next fall.
Please let your friends and family know about how Smith votes on the issues that they care about the most. Visit StopGordonSmith.com today!
Why does WW allow this comment? It's nothing but spam.
No, Spam Hunter, "v!@gr@ c!@L1s 4 cheeeep!!!111" is spam. This comment is even on-topic—which is sometimes all we can ask.
This is trashy journalism. My landlord doesn't pay for my water either, it says so on my lease - so it's his fault that the grass dies? What crap, WW. But it's part of the agenda I guess - in WW's own faux-alternative way they're becoming more and more like Portland's print answer Fox News - when everyone thought it would be the Tribune! Ha!
Dear Editor,
I am the executive director of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC), a national volunteer service program. LVC volunteers work full-time in homeless shelters, environmental advocacy organizations, Latino health clinics, and women's rights organizations. To house the LVC volunteers during their year of work, LVC rents 19 different houses around the country, one of them from Jeff Merkley and Mary Sorteberg. The WW article incorrectly identifies the LVC residents as mentally ill--quite incorrect and laughable, but inescusable journalistically. Regarding Merkley and Sorteberg's management of the house LVC rents from them, LVC has been very happy with the management company and Merkley's own responsiveness. Merkely and Sorteberg are providing excellent housing for peace and justice advocates in the nation's capital.
Sincerely,
Rev. Michael Wilker
LVC Executive Director
We should recall that in 2002 the Democratic candidate, Bill Bradbury, was attacked via negative TV ads for cutting down trees (on his own private property). It was the first example of Karl Rove-style campaign tactics being used in Oregon: you take your opponent's greatest strength (or your greatest weakness) and you flip it and smear your opponent. Gordon Smith took $500,000 in campaign contributions from timber companies, and supports all efforts -- including irresponsible timber salvage bills -- to cut down more trees; Bill Bradbury led environmental organizations to save salmon from extinction. In short, Bradbury was "Swift-boated" before we knew what that was -- before we saw Rove do to John Kerry what Smith did to Bradbury in 2002. So....is it any surprise that a formidable U.S. Senate candidate who led Habitat for Humanity should be slandered as an uncaring landlord? See through the fog folks --Gordon's got $10 million to spend, and this is just the beginning...
Uh, don't you need stuff like this in your background if you are going to be a good Senator? I mean it is like a prerequisite no?
yip yip