APRIL 23, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A11
Harris' failed leadership test
By ADRIANA COHEN
It’s been an inexplicable 22 days and
counting that Vice President Kamala
Harris has not visited the U.S. south-
ern border or detention facilities since
President Joe Biden announced she’ll be
the Administration’s point person handling
the immigration and humanitarian crisis.
Harris’ glaring absence at the border
and U.S. detention facilities that house
thousands of illegal immigrants and unac-
companied minors is a political misstep.
She is squandering a golden opportunity
to demonstrate leadership to the American
people and convince voters, on both sides
of the aisle, she’s capable of being presi-
dent someday.
Instead of taking a backseat from her
new role by exploring the root cause of
mass migration from Mexico and the
northern triangle countries, Harris should
be in the driver’s seat assembling an all-
star team of immigration and homeland
security experts, child welfare advocates
and humanitarian professionals to address
the spiraling crisis.
Harris should then hold a press con-
ference outlining her plan to fix the myr-
iad problems unfolding at the southern
border and child detention facilities that
Democrats used to call “cages.” Next, she
should visit the border and detention facil-
ities in Texas, California, Arizona and else-
where with her team—and press in tow —to
document her problem-solving skills to the
American people.
That type of hands-on leadership is
something she could and should highlight
when she runs for president in 2024, if not
sooner, should Biden fail to serve out his
four-year term.
It goes without saying that one of the
basic job requirements to be president
of the United States is the ability to lead,
manage the government and solve com-
plex problems while keeping America safe.
Harris should be illustrating those critical
skills right now, given the mushrooming
immigration crisis at hand while keeping
in mind that our country has never elected
a female president.
As such, Harris is missing a ripe oppor-
tunity to show voters she has the chops to
What is she afraid of?
The reality is if the vice president can’t
handle securing the U.S. border, stemming
the massive tide of illegal immigration and
drug and human trafficking, then she’s unfit
to be commander in chief. That’s some-
thing the GOP will be quick to point out in
future political ads, the upcoming midterm
elections and 2024 presidential debates.
If Harris has political instincts, she’d
visit the border and detention centers
immediately to ensure unauthorized immi-
grants and children in U.S. custody —on the
Biden and Harris administration’s watch—
are being treated properly and humanely.
This would impress voters and bolster her
image as a “take charge” kind of leader ver-
sus someone that turns a blind eye to child
exploitation and other reported horrors.
The American people have seen the
Day's decorum
other
VOICES
highly disturbing video of a smuggler
dropping two young migrant children over
a 14-foot barrier near Santa Teresa, New
Mexico, this month, plunging a toddler
and another child to the ground. We’ve
seen the heartbreaking video captured by
a U.S. Border Patrol officer of the sobbing,
terrified 10-year-old boy wandering alone
after being abandoned by coyotes while
crossing the Rio Grande in Texas. And
we’ve heard enough of the scores of undoc-
umented immigrants being physically and
sexually assaulted, or worse, en route to the
United States.
But that’s not all.
At a stunning news conference last
week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott
announced that an investigation is under-
way about troubling reports of child abuse
at a San Antonio detention facility housing
over 1,300 migrant minors. “Earlier today
the Texas Health and Human Services
Commission and Texas Department of
Family and Protective Services, separately
received tips that alleged child abuse and
neglect at the San Antonio migrant facil-
ity,” said Abbott.
“Abbott said there were four complaints;
claiming child sex abuse at the facility,
understaffing, children not eating and the
failure to separate children with or without
COVID-19,” reported NEWS4SA. “In short,
this facility is a health and safety night-
mare,” Abbott stressed.
Harris’ failure to see firsthand what’s
going in this facility and others on U.S. soil
damages the Democratic narrative that
they are the party of immigrants. Voters
will have a hard time believing that whop-
per come the midterms and beyond when
undocumented children are reportedly
being abused and neglected on the Biden
and Harris administration’s watch.
Bottom line: Kamala Harris should be
taking charge of the immigration crisis not
hiding from it. A failure to rise to the occa-
sion and fix the problems at hand won’t
impress voters next election cycle.
(Creators Syndicate)
K EIZER times
PUBLISHER
& EDITOR
Lyndon Zaitz
publisher@keizertimes.com
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To the Editor:
I’m writing in response to the Keizer City
Council meeting last night and the behav-
ior displayed. In just four short months,
Councilor Ross Day has established a
pattern of behavior unbecoming of a city
councilor. He shouted down a constituent
attempting to respond to his line of ques-
tioning during the April 19 council meeting.
This isn’t the first time he’s treated coun-
cil chambers like a courtroom. His behavior
appears to be at odds with Council Rules of
Procedure 5.2 outlining expected decorum
during meetings, “Council members shall at
all times conduct themselves in a manner
appropriate to the dignity of their office.”
Perhaps censure or a statement of con-
cern is warranted? I believe it’s absolutely
fair to wonder about Councilor Ross being
held to the exact letter of the law he seems
so concerned about holding others to. The
Procedures should be followed, but if they’re
not to be used as a weapon against others,
all need to be held accountable to them.
LaTonya Gibbs
Keizer
Apologize or resign
To the Editor:
Monday night, April 19, I got to speak to
the Keizer City Council about a lovely com-
munity garden I’ve had the honor of help-
ing build.
As the council meeting went on, public
testimony mostly focused on some very
good points regarding the double standard
in the attacks on Councilor Roland Herrera.
Most of the council members were respect-
ful as they heard opposing views. Except for
Councilor Ross Day.
He dodged answering any direct ques-
tions and instead tried to make the conver-
sation about himself. That’s where I started
seeing similarities between him and my
stepfather. My stepfather would constantly
gaslight my mother in his verbal attacks on
her and would make any conversation about
himself to not have to hear what others are
Letters
saying. Then to prove his fictional points he
would cut her off as she was speaking. That’s
exactly the same abuse seen in Councilor
Day at that City Council meeting.
It got so bad that I shouted, “Let her
talk!” before I had to leave the room due
to the intrusive memories of the domes-
tic violence my cousins suffered through
with their abusive boyfriends, my friends
through with their abusive fathers and the
vision of abuse I hope my daughters never
have to go through. Keizer City Council
meetings should be inclusive and wel-
coming for all. That cannot happen with a
councilor who has shown a pattern of gas-
lighting and bullying Keizer citizens with
tactics commonly used in domestic vio-
lence cases. What does that say to Keizer
residents living here at the Simonka Place
Domestic Violence Shelter? What does that
say to our largest demographic of individu-
als who live here? What does that say to our
newest Keizer resident that the city council
only five minutes earlier tried to recruit for
volunteering with the Girl Scouts?
It says that Keizer does not respect
women. I want to call for Mayor Cathy Clark
to ask Councilor Ross Day to make a pub-
lic apology for his abusive tactics towards
women. If he cannot bring himself to be
genuinely sorry for his ways, then I call for
him to resign. That abuse towards women
is not the Keizer Way and has no place in
Keizer leadership. Lastly, I want to com-
mend Michele Roland-Schwartz for stay-
ing cool and collected. How she managed
to stay so calm after the barrage of verbal
abuse gave me empathy for what women
must go through everyday in private, in
public and at work. She is the beacon of
hope we need in Keizer.
RJ and Lucy Navarro
Keizer