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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 2021)
Starr addition to Keizer's council By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Of the Keizertimes The Keizer City Council appointed Shaney Starr to a seat on council that has been vacant since November in a split vote Monday evening. Starr will replace Ross Day, who resigned on Nov. 3, and will fi ll his position until his term was set to expire in January of 2025. “In a special session that concluded at 6:30 this evening, we interviewed six applicants for the position and I have to tell you, once again, Keizer showed up. Incredibly talented, capable peo- ple all of whom were willing to step up and take a role as being a city councilor for the city of Keizer. The city council has selected Shaney Starr as our new city councilor number two,” Clark said at the beginning of a regular session that immediately followed the special session. The vote to appoint Starr came at the conclusion of a public special session Monday where a total of six candidates were each given fi ve minutes to speak in front of council. In addition to Starr, LaTonya Gibbs, Don’ll McBride, Rich Rodriguez, Michele Roland-Schwartz and Hersch Sangster were also seeking the appointment. Anthony J. Rosilez withdrew after he was unable to attend the meeting due to business and Julianne Jackson was removed from consideration after not meeting residency requirements. Candidates were asked to speak about themselves in addition to answer- ing a list of prewritten questions submit- ted by councilors. Questions included the candidate’s thoughts on diversity in leadership, ability to engage with other viewpoints and how a candidate would represent the people of Keizer. “I will represent Keizer and our cit- izens by listening, asking questions, studying the issues and asking more questions. Also, engaging in civil discourse, which I think our society has sadly forgotten how to do,” Starr said during her remarks. Following the speeches, council- or’s each submitted ballots with their top choice for the seat. The council’s fi rst vote did not provide the majority needed, with three votes going to Starr, two to Roland-Schwartz and one for Sangster. A majority of the six-person council, which would be four votes, had to vote for one person in order for them to be selected. The second vote, which only included Starr and Roland-Schwartz, gave the seat to Starr — with her receiving four votes from councilors Dan Kohler, Elizabeth Smith, Kyle Juran and Mayor Clark and Roland-Schwartz receiving two votes from councilors Roland Herrera and Laura Reid. “There will be times when I don’t take the popular position and that’s okay. But at the end of the day, if I can look my fel- low citizens, my councilors, and myself in the eye and know that I treated peo- ple with dignity and respect, then I will have done my job,” Starr added. Starr has lived in Keizer for 13 years and has served as the executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Marion County for the last fi ve years. She has worked in the non- profi t sector for more than 20 years and currently serves as President of the Oregon CASA Network, Chair of the Marion County Commission on Children and Families, President of the Board for Joys of Living Assistance Dogs and as a member of both the Corner Peace and Community Resource Trust Board of Directors. By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Of the Keizertimes Selections for Keizer’s newly formed Community Diversity Engagement Committee were announced by coun- cilors during their Monday, Dec. 20 regular session meeting. Each city councilor was allowed to appoint one community member to the commit- tee with the mayor being tasked with appointing a youth member and two city councilors. The Keizer City Council voted to create the nine-person diversity com- mittee at a Nov. 1 city council meeting. During the meeting, the council also voted to give each councilor sole dis- cretion in appointing one member to the committee. “I would like this person to be a direct extension of me to talk about what I want to talk about through this committee,” Councilor Kyle Juran said at the Nov. 1 council meeting. The community members selected for the committee were: •Markey Toombs (selected by Juran, Kim Freeman (selected by councilor Elizabeth Smith), R.W. Taylor (selected by councilor Laura Reid), Claire Snyder (selected by councilor Roland Herrera) and Kacey McCallister (selected by councilor Dan Kohler). New Keizer councilor Shaney Starr, who was appointed earlier in the meet- ing, will make her selection during a Jan. 3 council meeting after she’s had a chance to review the applicants. There were 17 letters submitted by community members interested in serving on the committee. Snyder and Freeman were the only two selec- tions that came from those 17 letters of interest. Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark chose to appoint Navea Music for the youth position and Reid and Herrera for the two city council positions. Herrera declined and nominated Smith — who accepted. “I declined the position on the com- mittee as I see the committee as very important for the Keizer community and I can serve that community best by appearing before them as a private citi- zen instead of a city councilor,” Herrera said in a statement following the meet- ing. “That way I can talk more openly about my experiences as a Latino cit- izen and a Latino city councilor as opposed to speaking as a public offi - cial. I believe I can serve Keizer best in this way and am looking forward to it.” Herrera added that he was disap- pointed that more Latinos, who rep- resent the largest minority group in Keizer, weren’t selected for the com- mittee. The racial makeup of each can- didate is unknown to the Keizertimes. Each non-councilor committee member will be appointed for a three- year term, with initial terms being staggered so that not more than three expire in the same year. The committee will act in an advi- sory capacity to the Keizer City Council and hopes to help the council increase engagement in the civic process. Appointees to the committee will be asked to “think broadly in terms of how issues of racism, sexism, ableism, and other discriminatory and prejudicial biases impact all residents in Keizer.” DECEMBER 24, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3 of the Week presented by Shaney Starr attends her first regular council meeting following Monday's special session. Photo by JOEY CAPPELLETTI of Keizertimes Diversity committee members selected TINA STONE Where and how do you volunteer? "CASA of Marion County. I am a court appointed special advocate for children in foster homes. I volunteer by visiting the children at their current placement home, check in with teachers and DHS caseworker. I also write reports for the current presiding judge and speak on the behalf of the children in court." Why do you volunteer? "I feel that every child should be given the opportunity to feel safe, secure and loved. They should be given the chance to be all that they can be by growing up in a home that helps provide this. By volunteering I get to help with making decisions in the best interest of the children. I listen to what they want, their dreams and aspirations, I then get to be their voice." What does volunteering do for you? "Volunteering brings me joy knowing that I helped keep a child safe." How would you get others to volunteer in their community? "Anyone interested in volunteering should check out the website at www. casamarionor.org or they can reach the office by phone @ 503-967-6420"