DECEMBER 20, 2019 KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
CITY CHARTER REVIEW
Hearing on potential council
election changes TBD
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
After kicking off a review of
the Keizer city charter with a
bang in November, the mem-
bers of the task force slowed
things down a bit at its Dec.
11 meeting.
The possibility of electing
councilors by wards or districts
received a lot of attention
a month prior, the group is
postponing that conversation
for later and will likely hold a
public hearing once a draft of
the revised charter is available.
“I think it would be some-
thing we’d want to hear from
a number of people regarding.
There are any number of ways
we could change it if we don’t
feel the current way [of elect-
ing councilors] is adequate-
ly representing people,” said
Kathy Lincoln, a member of
the task force.
In addition to dividing the
city up into wards, other elec-
tion options include ranked
choice voting. Any switch
would likely require some
education for voters before a
public hearing.
Councilor Kim Freeman
said it would be better to have
a working draft of the docu-
ment before the group begins
holding hearings on individual
topics.
“I think we should keep
going and then present all of
the recommendations at once.
I think our citizens deserve
our best work possible and
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some of the ideas are going to
take time to research,” Free-
man said.
No major immediate re-
visions were discussed during
the meeting, but members of
the task force also briefl y con-
sidered altering the terms of
city councilors. There were no
motions to change the current
terms of two years for mayors
and four years for city coun-
cilors, but task force member
Pat Fisher fl oated the idea of
making some council seats
two-year stints. Fisher said it
might broaden the pool of po-
tential candidates without as
much time to commit to pub-
lic service.
Freeman and Garry Wha-
len, another member of the
task force and former city
councilor, thought it would be
a diffi cult change.
“I like the idea, but I think
it would be really hard for
someone to come in for only
two years,” Freeman said.
“It takes 12 to 18 months
before you are really con-
tributing,” added Whalen. “I
think [four-year terms] create
a more educated and stable set
of decision-makers.
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The McNary Jazz 1 Band took fi rst place at the Greater Valley Jazz Festival on Saturday,
Dec. 7 at McKay High School. Front Row: Tessa Welterlen (Jazz Band Director), Gavin
LaRoche, Torren Hamilton, Nathaniel Eggert, Nicholas Weathers and Julia DaSilva. Back
Row: Felipe Hernandez Estrada, Jacob Zelenka, Joshua Coburn, Dante Olivo, Wyatt Kirk
and Colin Vasas.
Perry wants advisory committee
to address equity in schools
By HERB SWETT
For the Keizertimes
Superintendent
Christy
Perry urged the Salem-Keiz-
er School Board on Tuesday,
Dec. 17 to think about the
possibilities rather than im-
mediately forming an advi-
sory committee on equity
matters.
The occasion was a board
work session for counteract-
ing the problems that have
kept minority students as
a whole from equaling the
achievements of students
who are white, native En-
glish-speaking, straight, iden-
tifying with birth genders and
without disabilities.
Perry and other adminis-
trators showed slides listing
the objectives of equity train-
ing, which were:
• Review board member
team priorities.
• Defi ne equity-based
leadership.
• Understand psychologi-
cal framing
• Set goals
Linda Myers, an assistant
superintendent, defi ned equi-
ty as a system that supports all
students and said it involves
diversity (honoring individ-
ual differences) and inclusion
(welcoming all people).
Another assistant superin-
tendent, Kraig Sproles, said
equity calls for working to
understand the problems of
minorities and seeking out
different viewpoints.
with handbell music and
candlelight communion
Tuesday, Dec 24th at 7pm
Come celebrate
the birth of Jesus,
the Hope of the World
JOHN KNOX
PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
Administrators
divided
people in attendance into
small groups, with board
members rotating around the
groups to get their ideas. Af-
ter they conferred with the
groups, several board mem-
bers discussed what they
learned.
“I hope the invitations
provided for us are followed
through,” said Danielle Beth-
el.
Satya Chandragiri, who
immigrated from India, add-
ed: “Thank you for the op-
portunity to listen to others’
experiences.”
Jesse Lippold, amember of
the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde, said: “I was not
trusting of my tribe (while
growing up). You start to real-
ize there is a difference.”
One idea on which sever-
al of the speakers agreed was
that hiring more minority
teachers and administrators
would help achieve the goals.
“Probably the best part of
this was you (Perry) telling
me we needed to listen. I ap-
preciate people sharing their
experiences,” Board Member
Sheronne Blasi said.
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