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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 2020)
PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 14, 2020 Charter task force Jazzed backs Sec. 44 deletion By MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes The Keizer Charter Re- view Task Force held their fourth monthly meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 4, where they fi nished their initial review of a revised charter. One of the main topics of discussion was Section 44, the anti-LGBTQ+ section of the charter approved by Keizer voters in 1993. Section 44 prohibits the city from extending minority status to individuals based on sexu- al orientation and expending funds that “promote homo- sexuality or express approval of homosexual behavior.” Eric Howald, a resident of Keizer and volunteer advisor to the Gay-Straight Alliance club at McNary High School, gave a heartfelt message to the members of the charter board towards the beginning of the meeting. “I would love to see the residents of this city engage in a full-throated conversation of voting by district or ward in inclusivity resolutions. But I am concerned about losing sight of the diseased tree that spreads its plight to the rest of the forest. It’s true that the contents of section 44 was rendered unenforceable, but its words are still hurtful,” Howald said. In previous meetings, topics like voting by ward or district and adding language attesting to Keizer being an inclusive community were discussed. Howald passionately advo- cated for, not just a change in language of Section 44, but a complete removal of the sec- tion. “Removing Section 44 needs to be of the utmost pri- ority to this task force. If we keep the focus on that, I know dozens of students that will be better of for it,” Howald said. When asked if revising the language of Section 44 would be enough, he said it was not. “You could re-word sec- tions of (Section 44), but I still fear that it still casts a cloud over this city. Leaving any rem- nant of this in there, whether they realize it or not, can im- pact the young people I work with,” Howald said. City attorney Shannon Johnson also voiced his dis- pleasure of Section 44. “The issue of Section 44 has been a sore spot for a lot of years for the people that knew about it,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t make sense to have it in there because it’s unlawful under state law.” These words didn’t fall on deaf ears. Committee mem- ber Broderick Pack suggested that the board waste no more time and implored that the task force to motion for Sec- tion 44 to be eliminated from the charter, which was passed unanimously. “I’m glad we were able to jump that ahead and get that on there,” committee member Kim Freeman said. The committee also spent a large portion of time dis- cussing Section 8.1 of the city charter, which affects the Keiz- er city manager position. It was decided, with sug- gestion from Johnson, that the committee remove subsections 8.1 (8) and 8.1 (9) from the charter, which requires the city manager to encourage and support regional and in- tergovernmental cooperation, as well as promote coopera- tion among the council, staff and citizens in developing city policies and building a sense of community. “It’s easy to see whether or not the (city) manager pre- pared and administered the city budget, but it seems more diffi cult to say whether or not they promoted cooperation among the staff,” committee member Shannon Flowers said. “If we remove (8 and 9), we’re not harming ourselves. I think who ever future councils will bring in as city manager will be looking at these traits without having it spelled out,” added committee member Garry Whalen. The committee also decid- ed to remove subsection 8.1c, which requires the city man- ager to reside within city lim- its. Additionally, the committee elected to move subsection 8.1i to a different part of the charter at a later date. Section 8.1i forbids city council mem- bers from attempting to coerce the manager or offi ce of man- ager in the appointment or removal of any city employee, or in any administrative deci- sions regarding city properties or contracts. The task force will review a draft of the new charter at the next meeting, which is on March 3, then will sched- ule a public forum sometime next month to give voters an opportunity to see what will potentially be at the ballot box in November. The McNary Jazz 1 Band took third place in the High School Heavy Division at the West Salem Jazz Festival on Saturday, Feb. 8. Over 35 jazz bands from Oregon and Washington competed at the festival. The McNary Jazz 1 Band also qualifi ed for the Oregon Music Education Association State Jazz Band Competition, which will be held May 30 at Mount. Hood Community College. 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