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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2018)
September 19, 2018 The Page 3 INSIDE Week in Review This page Sponsored by: page 2 pages 8-11 Arts & photo by D anny p eterSon /t he p ortlanD o bServer County Clark Sheriff Chuck Atkins joins a group of law enforcement leaders in Vancouver speaking out to denounce hate, racism and prejudice, a sentiment that is being shared by local civil rights groups, representing communities of color in southwest Washington. ENTERTAINMENT United Against Hate Clark sheriff, others speak out on racism page 9 Clark County officials in south- west Washington want the public and its employees to know that it rejects hate groups that propagate violence and discrimination, a message that’s now being shared by civil rights groups representing black and Latino communities in the area. On the heels of recent violence attributed to extremist right-wing groups in Vancouver and the re- gion, as well as a former Clark County Deputy Sheriff who was let go for her affiliation with one such group, Clark County Sher- M ETRO pages 12-13 O PINION C LASSIFIEDS iff Chuck Atkins released a joint statement with Prosecuting Attor- ney Tony Golik to denounce prej- udice in all forms. “We reject hate, bigotry, harass- ment, violence or the inciting of violence, and all actions intended to harm or intimidate others based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, immi- gration status, or any other attri- bute which serves to marginalize people or groups of people,” said the statement, issued earlier this month. In response, a joint statement was released from the Vancouver NAACP and League of United Latin American Citizens express- ing appreciation of Atkins, Golik and other community members who stand up against hate, as well as calling for greater scrutiny of background checks for incoming and current law enforcement em- ployees, among other concerns. Atkins told the Portland Ob- server there wasn’t a single inci- dent in particular that spurred the statement, but an accumulation of hate-related incidents or move- ments in general over the last year and a half or so. Right wing Patriot Prayer was one such protest group, which had a penchant for assembling in Vancouver and transporting them- selves to downtown Portland. Atkins, who was elected Sheriff of Clark County in 2015 and has a career in law-enforcement there spanning 35 years, said there’s C ontinueD on p age 5 pages 14 Hardesty Disputes Smith Charge page 15 F OOD Portland City Council Candi- date Loretta Smith accused her November election opponent Jo Ann Hardesty of theft by mis- management of funds Tuesday after a story on Oregon Public Broadcasting about a lack of fiscal oversight at the Portland NAACP when Hardesty served as presi- dent of the organization. According to the OPB story, Hardesty helped revive the civil rights group after it become de- funct, but records and interviews with people both inside and out- side of the organization raised questions about its financial over- sight and record keeping during Hardesty’s term as the former president of the organization. The Hardesty campaign called Smith’s allegations a desperate at- tempt to tarnish Hardesty’s cred- ibility.
