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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