Sample Facebook / newsfeed posts

Please draft a Facebook and/or Instagram post for each of these items, as specified.

Do NOT assume that Metro staff have used proper spelling and grammar.

# 1 – Email and photo from Metro Council policy advisor – write Facebook post Hi there – Councilor Gonzalez would like a post about his friend Eddy Morales receiving the John Fregonese award. Can you draft a post for us? Looks like Council President Peterson was there as well.

#2 – Photo from park ranger – write Facebook post

The Parks team asked me to pass this along to the council office. I took this last Tuesday before volunteers arrived on site for the last field trip of the season at Scouters Mountain. I've been noticing a number of people lately doing some morning stretching and nature meditation up there at sunrise this season. It really is a lovely place.

#3 – Go to news.oregonmetro.gov and write a Facebook post by Council President Peterson promoting the “22 organizations in greater Portland receive grants to connect people to transportation” newsfeed

#4 – Selfies from Council President – write Facebook post

Email from Metro Council President: Hi from Sweden. I met with ReachNow (formerly Moovel) at the UITP conference. This seems like good Facebook content, yes?

#5 – Write newsfeed AND Facebook post

The Metro Council is voting to refer a $652 million housing measure to the November ballot. Write a journalism-style newsfeed for Metro’s website about the measure. Below are talking points the council will be using at their meeting.

ERIC SMITH

 My community has been supportive of a major transportation effort, the Southwest Corridor light rail proposal, that will make commuting between Tualatin and Tigard and downtown Portland so much easier and more reliable.  But we’ve also learned that the opening of that transit line will cause changes in the communities it serves. It just makes sense that when you take a 25 minute bus commute to, say, OHSU and turn it into a 10 minute train ride, demand goes up.  When service starts on the Southwest Corridor, it’s not just going to be doctors at OHSU riding the train to work.  The connection through Tigard and to Bridgeport Village will also be an important commute for service workers, who make far less than the median income. We need those service workers to keep our economy running, and they need a stable place to live.  So we have to work really hard to make sure we balance out these impacts, and that’s one of the most important things this measure does.  It gives Metro and its local partners the resources we need to get ahead of potential displacement, allowing for people to stay in the communities that make the most sense for them while still creating plenty of room for private investment.

FELICIA JIMENEZ

 I will be supporting referral of this measure for many reasons, two of which I’ll mention here today.  First, this really was a community-led process. Working together with our staff, we heard from dozens of stakeholders and civic leaders about the best potential approaches to this crisis.  The proposal before us is a marvelous proposal. It starts in the area of the greatest need – people who are making hard choices every day because they are trying to avoid homelessness.  In particular, I think about the seniors who are relying on their Social Security retirement income to get by.  The average Social Security income in the three-county area is around $1,400 a month. No matter how you slice it, that is not enough for food, medical care and housing in our region. This program would take a tremendous step for our region to help ensure these people can have a stable retirement.  I was really heartened to hear such support from the measure at last week’s Westside Economic Alliance breakfast forum. By my count, five of the mayors on hand were supportive of this measure. This crisis stretches from Forest Grove to Hillsboro to Beaverton to Wilsonville, and the leaders in those communities recognize that we have to work together to address this as soon as possible.  There’s more work to be done, and this bond measure is only part of the solution to our housing crisis. I look forward to continuing to work on this and I will be supporting the referral before us here today.

GEORGE MCALL

 I’m old enough to remember a time when we didn’t have to ask the voters for this. There was a time in our country’s history when money for affordable housing came from the federal government.  But just like money for roads, and money for water and sewer systems, the federal government has chosen to give tax cuts to the rich instead of paying for the basic systems we all need. And that leaves communities like Portland forced to address the issues on our own.  So this council is asking a basic question: Do the people of this region agree that this is a crisis that we can address? And I think the answer is yes.  For a modest investment by all of us, we can make sure that no elder is choosing between medicine and rent. We can cut down on the number of families who are moving from school to school as they jump around trying to find an apartment they can afford. We can give refugees a hand up as they establish a home in the United States.  And by doing it at the regional level, we can do all these things for 12,000 people for the modest investment of $5 a month for the average homeowner. So I am voting yes on referring this and I urge the public to support this measure in November.

BILL FREDERICKS

 The thing I really appreciate about this is that it’s a regional solution to a regional problem.  For too long, the cities of the Metro area have been left to fend for themselves when it comes to affordable housing.  But I think about a gentleman I met at an affordable housing building in Portland, a gentleman named Murray.  And Murray was caring for his ailing mother. When she passed away, he was left homeless.  He was living in a parking lot in Gresham – living in a car, getting around with a wheelchair. Now, Murray lives in a stable apartment he can afford, with access to services.  There are so many Murrays out there, and the only way to get housing built for them is if we work on it together. So I will be supporting referral of this measure.