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February 13, 2019
Mayor Ted Wheeler
Bobbin Singh
City Targets Racism
A city ordinance condemning
white supremacy and alt right
groups has the unanimous approv-
al of the Portland City Council.
Adopted last Thursday, the res-
olution calls for the city to work
with community organizations to
inform the public about the his-
torical discriminatory impacts of
white supremacy in Portland and
the state and how to identify and
push back against racist ideolo-
gies today.
“This is not a silver bullet, but
I’m hopeful this resolution is the
start to meaningful action,” Mayor
Ted Wheeler said.
The measure comes in part as
a response to rise in hate crimes.
The Portland non-profits Council
on American-Islamic Relations,
Oregon Justice Resource Center,
and the Western States Center all
voiced support of the resolution
and outlined six action items they
would like the city to address in
regard to white nationalist and alt-
right group activity in Portland.
“Our proposals build on the
important step Mayor Wheeler
and the City Commissioners have
taken today,” said Bobbin Singh,
executive director of the Oregon
Justice Resource Center.
In a joint statement, the three
organizations said they hope to
work closely with City leadership
to implement action items.
FBI Task Force Vote Set
Hardesty moves on
campaign promise
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Portland City Council will vote
Wednesday whether to pull out
from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task
Force, an issue Commissioner Jo
Ann Hardesty promised to bring to
the fore during her campaign last
year.
The JTTF, which is a partner-
ship between federal and local law
enforcement agencies, was disso-
ciated back in 2005 by then Mayor
Tom Potter, a former police chief.
It was fully re-established in 2015.
San Francisco chose to dissolve a
similar partnership in 2017.
Some local advocates have
voiced their support of pulling out
of the agreement, including those of
nearly 50 individuals and organiza-
tions who co-signed a letter calling
for an end of cooperation with the
FBI’s Terrorism Task Force.
Albina Ministerial Alliance Coa-
lition for Justice and Police Reform,
ACLU of Oregon, NAACP Portland
Branch, Unite Oregon, Veterans for
Peace Chapter 72, Portland’s Resis-
tance, and Occupy ICE PDX were
among the signers and endorses.
Critics said the JTTF lacks transpar-
ency and oversight, and promotes
profiling based on race, religion, or
country of origin.
“Now, under a president who
targets people based on their re-
City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty
ligion (Muslims), national origin
(immigrants), and political beliefs
(protestors, Black Lives Matter),
it is more important than ever to
stop participating in the federal
government’s dragnet surveillance
and spy program,” the ACLU of
Oregon stated in a message to city
councilors.
Supporters of the law enforce-
ment partnership, like Commission-
er Nick Fish, who voted to rejoin
the JTTF in 2015, said at that time
he believes it can strengthen public
safety and security.
While Commissioners Hardes-
ty and Amanda Fritz both support
pulling out of the FBI partnership,
Mayor Ted Wheeler said he recom-
mends preserving it. Commissioner
Chloe Eudaly is expected to be the
swing vote on the matter, but she
had not publicly stated her defini-
tive stance on the issue.