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Mayor Kenneth Gibson

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Regional Collective Call to End Violence Letter

Today we are unified in calling on residents and visitors to our respective communities to refrain from violence in the exercise of our First Amendment rights to free speech and to peaceably assemble.

Black Lives Matter.

Violence has no place in civic engagement and protest.

Throughout 2020, and in too many years prior, we have born witness to instances of racial injustice, police brutality and the rise of white supremacist rhetoric throughout our country, and right here at home. Even now we are experiencing unhelpful and inflammatory comments and acts, from many quarters, including the highest office in the land. The overwhelming majority of our community who have risen to protest for social justice and against racial inequities have done so peacefully, in keeping with public health guidelines and within the bounds protected by our state and federal constitutions.

Unfortunately, there are some individuals who have chosen violence over peaceful protest, violence towards other protestors, violence towards police officers and even an instance of deadly violence experienced recently in downtown Portland. While we recognize the outrage toward racial injustice is the foundation for the past 100+ days of protest, we call on everyone in our community seeking to confront racial injustice and to demand police accountability to forgo the path of violence.

We invite every member of our respective communities to continue to engage with our governments, to hold us accountable and to contribute to and facilitate a transformation away from racist systems and towards a more equitable, just community.

Similarly, we ask those who may want to demonstrate to do so peacefully and safely. The challenging work of our law enforcement agencies is only made more so when protests turn violent. We must speak up against violence, all violence.

We have zero tolerance for outside provocateurs bringing hate into our communities.

We acknowledge Oregon’s long and difficult history with racism. And we commit to continuing to do the work to dismantle these systems. Our communities have a proud history of supporting the right to free expression, of recognizing a wide array of political viewpoints and of understanding the role dissent and debate play in our democracy.

What we ask now is that each of us fully embrace non-violence in the pursuit of these principles.

Thank you.

State of Oregon	Washington County
Chuck Riley, Senator	Kathryn Harrington, Chair
Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, MD, Senator	Dick Schouten, Commissioner
Ginny Burdick, Senator	Pam Treece, Commissioner
Kathleen Taylor, Senator	Jerry Willey, Commissioner
Laurie Monnes Anderson, Senator	Roy Rogers, Commissioner
Michael Dembrow, Senator
Alissa Keny-Guyer, Representative	Clackamas County
Andrea Salinas, Representative	Jim Bernard, Chair
Anna Williams, Representative	Martha Schrader, Commissioner
Brad Witt, Representative	Paul Savas, Commissioner
Chris Gorsek, Representative	Sonya Fischer, Commissioner
Diego Hernandez, Representative
Janeen Sollman, Representative	Multnomah County
Jeff Reardon, Representative	Deborah Kafoury, Chair
Margaret Doherty, Representative	Lori Stegmann, Commissioner
Maxine Dexter, Representative	Jessica Vega Pederson, Commissioner
Rachel Prusak, Representative
Rob Nosse, Representative	Metro
Sheri Schouten, Representative	Lynn Peterson, Council President
Susan McLain, Representative	Shirley Craddick, Councilor, District 1
Tawna Sanchez, Representative	Christine Lewis, Councilor, District 2
Tiffiny Mitchell, Representative	Craig Dirksen, Councilor, District 3
City of Beaverton	Juan Carlos González, Councilor, District 4
Denny Doyle, Mayor	Sam Chase, Councilor, District 5
Cate Arnold, Councilor	Bob Stacey, Councilor, District 6
Lacey Beaty, Councilor
Marc San Soucie, Councilor	King City
	Ken Gibson, Mayor Jaimie Fender, Council President Gretchen Beuhner, Councilor Smart Ocholi, Councilor Dave Platt, Councilor Micah Paulsen, Councilor Shawna Thompson, Councilor
City of Cornelius
Jeffrey Dalin, Mayor	City of Lake Oswego
Dave Schamp, Councilor	Kent Studebaker, Mayor
Luis Hernandez, Councilor	Theresa Kohlhoff, Councilor

City of Durham	City of Milwaukie
Gery Schirado, Mayor	Mark Gamba, Mayor
	Kathy Hyzy, Councilor
City of Estacada	Wilda Park, Councilor
Kimberlee Ables, Councilor

City of Fairview	City of North Plains
Darren Riordan, Councilor	Teri Lenahan, Mayor
Keith A Kudrna, Councilor
	City of Portland
City of Forest Grove	Ted Wheeler, Mayor
Pete Truax, Mayor	Amanda Fritz, Commissioner
Timothy A. Rippe, Councilor
Val Valfre, Jr., Councilor	City of Sherwood
	Renee Brouse, Councilor
City of Gladstone	Sean Garland, Councilor
Matt Tracy, Council President
Thomas Mersereau, Councilor	City of Tigard
Neal Reisner, Councilor	Heidi Lueb, Councilor
	Jason B. Snider, Mayor
City of Gresham
Karylinn Echols, Mayor	City of Tualatin
Eddy Morales, Councilor	Frank Bubenik, Mayor
Vince Jones-Dixon, Councilor	Nancy Grimes, Councilor
Mario Palmero, Councilor	Paul Morrison, Councilor
	Robert Kellogg, Councilor
City of Hillsboro	Valerie Pratt, Councilor
Steve Callaway, Mayor
Beach Pace, Councilor	City of West Linn
Kyle Allen, Councilor	Russell Axelrod, Mayor
Olivia Alcaire, Councilor
Anthony Martin, Councilor	City of Wilsonville
Fred Nachtigal, Councilor	Tim Knapp, Mayor
Rick Van Beveren, Councilor	Kristin Akervall, Councilor

Tualatin Hills Parks & Rec Dept	City of Wood Village
Heidi Edwards, Board Director	Scott Harden, Mayor
Ashley Hartmeier-Prigg, Board President	John C. Miner, Councilor

A Letter From the Mayor - We Celebrate Juneteenth!

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

On September 22, 1862, with the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln changed the legal status of enslaved black people in the Confederate states from a slave to a free people, a status previously only enjoyed by white people. As bold a move as this was, the news of emancipation took several years to spread. Being the most remote of the Confederate States, Texas had not enforced the proclamation for roughly two and a half years.

June 19^th marks the day that Union Army General Gordon Granger announced to Texas, in the city of Galveston, federal orders that ended slavery. This day is commemorated by the name Juneteenth, which was created by combining June with the 19th day. Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day and Liberation Day. Texas established Juneteenth as a state holiday under legislation effective January 1, 1980.

As Governor Brown recently acknowledged, it is time for the State of Oregon, as well as the rest of the nation, to begin to recognize and commemorate true American history.

"This year, celebrating Black freedom and achievement on Juneteenth is more important than ever as people across Oregon, the United States, and around the world protest systemic racism and unequivocally show that Black Lives Matter," Brown said.

I support Governor Brown's efforts for Juneteenth becoming a state holiday. Oregon can show leadership in this undertaking and commemorate a day all America celebrates.

As mayor, I encourage all of us to recognize and understand the significance of not only Juneteenth, but American history that has led us to this 2020 awakening. We acknowledge our past and now we work towards a future that only unity, respect and appreciation can bring. To the countless supporters, organizers and attendees of Juneteenth celebrations hosted all across this nation and beyond, you are writing the history of our country and our world – there can be no greater honor than that. We thank you.

WE CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH!
Kenneth Gibson, Mayor
City of King City

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