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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2017)
September 27, 2017 The Skanner Page 9 News cont’d from pg 1 “I will be leaving my position as Multnomah County Health Depart- ment Director at close of business today. I am grateful that it is possi- ble for me to step back from high pressure full-time work and pur- sue my many other pas- sions.” Fuller held her lead- ership position since 2013 and presided over of budget of $336 mil- lion and 1,400 employ- ees. County Chair Debo- rah Kafoury has asked deputy director Wendy Lear to step in as inter- im director in the short term. Fuller’s departure came days after Mult- nomah County settled with Tillman over “ spring after questions about her conduct — held a press conference Wedneday afternoon asking that Fuller’s retirement not be the end of the conversation about systemic racism within the county. “Beyond any one em- ployee or human re- sources situation, there exists entrenched bias that can be found in the pattern and practice of discrimination as ex- perienced by so many county employees of color,” wrote Smith in a statement Monday. Al- legations against Smith were not substantiated by an internal investi- gation. “For this reason I re- new my call to Chair Kafoury to order an I hope that the communi- ty continues to hold the County’s feet to the fire to address issues of systemic racism what the former public health director called “institutional racism and disparate treat- ment” regarding her dismissal. In a detailed letter to Kafoury, Tillman ex- plained how – upon re- turning to the county in July after an approved Family and Medi- cal Leave – “I was told by Joanne (Fuller) that my role as Public Health Director ‘was not work- ing out’ and we needed to plan my ‘graceful’ exit from the county…” Tillman holds an im- peccable track record of health equity work, on both the state and coun- ty levels, and flawless performance records, as shared by the Port- land Tribune and re- leased under Oregon’s records law. Her performance review from 2016 was peppered with positive remarks, including this from Fuller: “Tricia has a wonderful calming style that helps peo- ple focus on the work at hand… I am very pleased with her work and the work of the public health division this year.” Tuesday Multnomah County released the re- sults of an internal in- vestigation saying hu- man relations staff did not find any evidence Tillman’s race or pro- tected leave were nega- tive factors in her con- tinued employment. County commission- er Loretta Smith — who was investigated this investigation into the county’s Human Re- sources Department, the handling of these cases by the county at- torney, as well as how her own executive office processes com- plaints when lodged at the highest levels,” she continued. The county has agreed to pay Tillman adminis- trative leave from Sept. 14 through to Aug. 14, 2018, in addition to a sum of $25,000 and a letter of reference. In response to her set- tlement, Tillman issued the following statement through her lawyer, Dana Sullivan: “I have opted to put this situation behind me in order to focus on my family and move forward in my ca- reer. Even though my dispute with the coun- ty has been resolved, I hope that the communi- ty continues to hold the county’s feet to the fire to address issues of sys- temic racism and sup- port others who came forward with their cou- rageous stories during the 9/15 hearing.” The Sept. 15 hearing refers to a public fo- rum, called at the be- hest of Kafoury, where more than a dozen peo- ple testified about expe- riencing or observing systemic racism within the county’s workforce. The hearing prompt- ed the chair to launch a strategy to address complaints of racist and unjust employment practices. NFL Anthem Protests Evolve Past Kaepernick’s Original Intent AP PHOTO/JEFFREY T. BARNES Fuller Buffalo Bills players kneel during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Orchard Park, N.Y. By Jesse J. Holland and Errin Haines Whack Associated Press Writers W hat began more than a year ago with a lone NFL quarterback protesting police brutal- ity against minorities by kneeling silently during the national anthem be- fore games has grown into a roar with hun- dreds of players sitting, kneeling, locking arms or remaining in locker rooms — their reasons for demonstrating as varied as their methods. Yet people rallying to defend players or de- cry the protests aren’t talking about police brutality, or the fact that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is no lon- ger employed by an NFL team. Especially after President Donald Trump weighed in repeatedly to say that players should stand for the anthem or be fired for their defi- ance. Before NFL games began Sunday, the dis- course had morphed into a debate over the First Amendment, Trump’s insults, how much the NFL has been paid by the U.S. government for its displays of patriotism and the overall state of race relations in Amer- ica. Support and criti- cism came from fields well beyond the gridiron, including NASCAR, the NBA, MLB, activists, journalists, entertainers and politicians. Some worry that the expanded reasoning for the protests — fanned by the president’s incendi- ary stance — could dilute the passion and the per- manence of its original cause, drawing attention to interactions between police and minorities. “The issue has mor- phed beyond that be- cause Mr. Trump has in- terceded,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson said. More than 200 NFL players and owners — even anthem perform- ers — found ways to show dissent during pro football games over the weekend. Raised fists and other gestures came after Trump’s comments at a Friday night rally in Huntsville, Alabama, where he mused to the crowd: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when some- body disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now! Out! He’s fired. Fired!’” Trump’s remarks set off a firestorm on so- cial media. Ken Miles, a community organizer and entrepreneur liv- ing in Harlem, created a petition on Saturday around the emerging #TakeTheKnee hashtag in response. “This weekend was just a reminder of the role that power plays in this conversation,” said Miles, 32. “The president of the United States le- veraging his influence to call out players exer- cising their rights is an abuse of power.” The topic continued to dominate discussion in sports Monday as NFL players reflected, NBA teams met with report- ers and Trump doubled down on his position with tweets, saying the issue had nothing to do with race and using the hashtag “#StandForOu- rAnthem.” “He doesn’t understand the power that he has for being the leader of this beautiful country,” Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James said. Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com
