September 19, 2018
The
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INSIDE
Week in Review
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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
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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
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Hardesty Disputes Smith Charge
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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.