"We're here on behalf of the people who put us here, and who need to know that their government is accountable to them, and that we, their representatives, will ask questions and investigate discrepancies on their behalf," said District 2 Councilor Sameer Kanal.
OPB first reported on the councilor's comments and ordinance, and has confirmed Smith's decision to rescind the proposal. "To be clear, I denounce violence. I want to emphasize that violence is not the first and only solution to solving matters," Smith stated in a news release Friday. "And improving our security protocols is the best first action rather than an open carry ordinance."
The councilor's comments came a day after it was reported that she was drafting an ordinance that would allow councilors to openly carry weapons while at City Hall, as an extra layer of self defense. Portland city codes prohibit the possession of a loaded firearm in public spaces or vehicles, with exceptions for those with a concealed carry permit, law enforcement officers, and others designated in Oregon law.
A new union representing Portland City Council aides and operations staff filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) complaint against the city for alleged anti-union conduct from Councilor Loretta Smith's office. The complaint, filed January 13, alleges Smith retaliated against and fired a former aide due to his role in organizing the Council staff union. The aide, Adam Murray, worked as a policy staffer in Smith's office for about nine months until he was fired last week.
Owendoff has had a sizable sway over the city's decision-making for the past 15 years. Through his role as a commercial real estate broker, he's involved in several political and business groups. During Sam Adams's tenure as mayor, Adams appointed Owendoff to a panel focused on planning the future of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Owendoff was forced out of a real estate job in 2011 for posting hundreds of caustic comments on the Oregonian website.
In early June, after organizations like HOLLA had been notified of their selection to receive grants from the Portland Children's Levy (PCL), the Portland City Council made an unprecedented decision: voting to reject $70.9 million in grants the PCL allocation committee had awarded for the coming fiscal year and instead extending funding to the program's current large grantees for another year.
Wednesday's budget discussions resurfaced tensions over police funding, particularly after a few councilors threw around the word "defunding" to describe the shift of an extra $2 million from the Portland Police Bureau's budget to the parks bureau. Councilors Angelita Morillo and Candace Avalos chastised their colleagues who used a boogeyman approach to drum up public fear over the move. "I'm not interested in slogans that are just trying to make political tension out of what is a fiscal responsibility," Avalos asserted.
