Mayor taps Mohlis for PDC

Portland Mayor Tom Potter has appointed John Mohlis, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbia-Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council, as a commissioner on the Portland Development Commission.

Mohlis, 50, is a former business manager of Portland Bricklayers Local 1. He was elected to the building trades post last December. He has served as a trustee on the Northwest Bricklayers Pension Trust since 1990, overseeing a $75 million trust. He is a member of the Oregon State Apprenticeship and Training Council, which is responsible for overseeing apprenticeship programs, especially for those in the building and construction trades.

Mohlis began his own apprenticeship as a bricklayer in 1978 after attending the University of Iowa.

 He also has served as a member of the Portland South Waterfront Apprenticeship Agreement Oversight Committee, the Eastside CSO Oversight Committee and the Construction Apprenticeship Workforce Solutions (CAWS) board.

 “John brings broad experience in problem solving, a passion for creating family-wage jobs and an important added perspective to an already diverse board,” said Mayor Potter. “I believe that his background will help provide insight into how we can increase opportunities for minorities and women on Portland’s construction sites.”

Potter will bring the nomination to the City Council at the conclusion of the PDC’s current study of construction wages in the Portland market. Mohlis has been participating in that study as a representative of construction unions. The work sessions and PDC recommendation should be completed by the end of November.

Mohlis is the mayor’s fifth appointment to the five-person PDC, which is made up of volunteers who serve three-year terms. The board oversees the city’s semi-autonomous economic development agency, which focuses on neighborhood revitalization, housing and job creation.

Last year, Potter made three PDC appointments: In February, Bertha Ferran, a senior mortgage consultant who has spent much of her career working on affordable housing issues, joined the board. In April, Mark Rosenbaum, a financial planner and longtime community activist in children’s issues, joined her and eventually became board chair. The third appointment in June was businessman Sal Kadri, the owner of ValueCAD, a Portland-based information technology, computer-assisted drafting company with offices in Portland and San Francisco. In July, Potter appointed financial analyst Charles Wilhoite.