Pooneh Grey, a Vancouver lady who garnered media consideration for her efforts to reopen her mom’s 1989 homicide case, is working for Vancouver Metropolis Council.
“I do think that I’m going to bring the same level of passion and focus that I did on my mom’s case, and do that for citizens of Vancouver,” mentioned Grey, 57.
Grey is difficult incumbent Kim Harless, who’s working for reelection for the Place 1 seat on the council.
If elected, Grey plans to make use of her background in psychological well being, housing and sufferer advocacy to sort out security and social points in Vancouver, she mentioned.
1989 homicide case
Grey investigated her mom’s case for many years in hopes of discovering her mom’s killer and proving her father was harmless. Mike Entezari was convicted of killing his estranged spouse, Effie Entezari.
Mike Entezari was sentenced to 25 years in jail. He was launched after 16 years for good habits. He maintained his innocence till his loss of life in 2019, the household mentioned.
After Mike Entezari left jail, he twice sued Grey for allegedly refusing to return belongings she held for him whereas in jail within the quantity of $1.5 million. The lawsuits wound their means by means of court docket from 2007 to 2015. Grey mentioned this was not true (most of his belongings had gone to his protection and care) and that he faked promissory notes. Each instances had been dismissed.
Grey took out on-line, social media and TV advertisements in 2024 calling for Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik to reopen the homicide case, to no avail.
She’s not working for Vancouver Metropolis Council to strain Golik to reopen the case, she mentioned. However she does wish to see prosecutorial reform.
“I plan on being an advocate for victims … to ensure that there are safety measures in place to ensure that what happened to my parents doesn’t happen again,” Grey mentioned.
Companies
After acquiring a grasp’s diploma in psychology, Grey went on to work for the state of Oregon, Yamhill County, Ore., and nonprofits offering psychological well being therapy, together with remedy, she mentioned.
She’s now a businesswoman, with 9 complete energetic companies in Oregon and Washington in actual property administration and growth, in response to state information.
However she’s not snug sharing the title of 1 in Oregon.
To maintain the title and site of that enterprise personal, she requested an exemption from disclosing detailed monetary affairs info protecting the earlier 12 months, which is mostly required for folks working for workplace in Washington.
In a Washington State Public Disclosure Fee assembly, Grey’s lawyer, Dan Brady, famous the civil case in opposition to Pell and mentioned there was substantial threat to Grey if the exemption wasn’t granted.
“As part of that case, you see that not only do we have somebody who murdered her (mother) but a hit man and some sort of organized enterprise behind it, all of whom are still in the community,” Brady mentioned.
Filling out the shape utterly would supply “a convenient inspiration and road map” to these at-large as Grey continues to pursue justice, he mentioned.
The fee agreed to the exemption so long as Grey submits a sworn assertion that her sources of earnings don’t conduct enterprise with the state of Washington, its subdivisions or town of Vancouver.
In an interview with The Columbian, Grey defined that her enterprise in Oregon companions with hospitals, nonprofits and the state of Oregon to put folks with psychological diseases in transitional and rehabilitative housing owned by Grey. She worries for the protection of these people, she mentioned.
However she did disclose her companies in Washington, she mentioned, that are additionally actual property associated.
‘I really think I can help’
If elected, Grey needs to deal with improving Vancouver’s homelessness disaster and security.
Though she believes town council is doing its finest to deal with homelessness, Grey would encourage an individualized and rehabilitative strategy to housing folks by partnering with companies to resolve different points they could face.
“That doesn’t mean that they’re going to be moving into their own apartment in five months, but it means that we start the process of getting them back on their feet and moving hopefully in the right direction by giving them the support systems they need,” she mentioned.
After seeing firsthand how legislation enforcement in Clark County is overwhelmed and under-resourced, Grey needs to deal with making Vancouver safer.
“You don’t constantly have to pass levies or want more money to actually make things happen,” Grey mentioned. “You just have to run more efficiently.”
Grey additionally plans on advocating for victims of crime.
She believes all her experiences rising up in Vancouver — together with taking good care of her little brother and dealing a number of jobs after her mom was murdered — would carry a novel perspective to metropolis council.
“I really think I can help, and I think I can do it cost effectively,” Grey mentioned.
