Progressive community leaders call for Portland mayor, police chief to resign

[alp227]

Source: The Oregonian

A group of leaders representing various progressive organizations from across the Portland area have called for the resignations of Mayor Ted Wheeler and Police Chief Chuck Lovell in the wake of Saturday’s fatal shooting.

Bobbin Singh, executive director of the Oregon Justice Resource Center, said the conditions leading up to the incident were predictable citing various instances of clashes between right-wing protesters and counter demonstrators over the years.

“These conditions have been created because there’s been a lack of leadership, a lack of vision,” Singh said. “We can no longer move forward with the current leadership that’s in place in Portland.”

The victim of Saturday’s shooting has not been identified but was wearing a hat bearing the logo of Vancouver, Washington-based Patriot Prayer. Leader Joey Gibson told The Oregonian/OregonLive that although he couldn’t provide a name, the deceased man was “a good friend and a supporter” of the organization.

Read more: https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/08/progressive-community-leaders-call-for-portland-mayor-to-resign-following-deadly-shooting.html

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Title ends with "following deadly shooting"; the "-ing" got cut off.

[ZZenith]

1. What bullshit.

You have the chief executive of the country stoking the white supremacists towards violence and you want the mayor to step down? Lousy aim of the blame gun there, people.

[Owl]

2. Exactly.

[Pobeka]

3. +1 n/t

[rockfordfile]

7. I agree

[Jose Garcia]

17. Why is Portland having so many riots compared to most other cities?

[Sapient Donkey]

24. I think it's a tradition.

I remember back in the early 2000s when I lived there, we had a few large protests. Although, it was nothing like what has been going over the past few years. Never saw large groups of opposing people have LARP battles in Pioneer Square.

[swag]

19. Clearly, you don't know our mayor.

[bottomofthehill]

4. There is an election in November

Go out and beat him if you don’t like him. BTW, he got about 55% in a 15 person race 4 years ago.

He is in a tough spot but is pretty progressive. I agree with him on Choice, Guns, many issues.. Am I a 100 % with him, nope but there is a lot worse out there.

[swag]

20. He has been shit for a mayor, and he has to go.

[mountain grammy]

22. I only know him from recent events

But he doesn’t seem to be in charge. I really don’t know..

[Sapient Donkey]

25. What are the biggest issues people had with him?

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. This is such bullshit

Portland's mayor is one brave MFer. I can't believe what I am reading.

[abqtommy]

9. +100

[bluestarone]

6. What the fuck

Man it's like RUMP owns this whole fucking world. I hate that motherfucker soooooo fucking much!

[Justice]

8. Who approved caravan of 200 militia types

Into downtown thru the protestors? At night?

That person should resign. Caravan of trucks should be able to protest but not thru pedestrians. That was insane. Frankly, lucky there was only one death.

[raging moderate]

11. Have they arrested the right-wing caravan member who shot this guy?

All the stories are written as though this had been just an unfortunate accident, but guns do not shoot spontaneously. Who was holding the gun when it went off? Was he aiming it at that particular guy? Did they know each other? Was this accidental or on purpose?

[LeftInTX]

15. The shooter was a LWNJ, the dead guy was a RWNJ

[swag]

21. Excellent summation.

[McKim]

10. They Should Be So Lucky!

They should be so lucky to have Ted Wheeler as mayor. He was on the country commission, he was a great state treasurer. He is a great mayor who has kept a steady ship in troubled waters.
Portland has had a rocky time and this is no time to change leaders. His family has been here for generations and he knows this city inside and out. The city council passed laws to fulfill the wishes of BLM and our state legislature had a special session to pass laws for BLM. Yes, maybe he could have cut the police budget more. I am a progressive and very much a leftist and I don’t get what more these people want. Ted Wheeler is very very Portland and we need him to be mayor for four more years!!!!!!

[pat_k]

12. Who else is sick and tired of the "message" being. . .

Who else is sick and tired of the "message" being. . .
... protesters = rioters/looters.

Throwing things -- I don't care what – is not protest. It's violence. It's indefensible. Breaking storefronts in anger, or to take things, is a crime. Potential allies are turned against ANYONE they perceive as being associated with the people who destroyed their neighborhood, livelihood, and lives.

Are there organizations out there making clear commitments to non-violence in short, compelling messages? And doing it every single day?

Are there organizations that take steps to make sure people committing to participate in sponsored protest have training in, or sign an online commitment to non-violent protest?

If this is happening, it’s not making it into the news. And needs to!

We must draw a clear line. No apologies for criminal conduct.

If the commitment to non-violence is clear, the message is more likely to “penetrate” the racist American psyche.
If we allow them to keep equating protest with violence, rioting, and looting, we are handing the White House to Trump for another term. A term that would take generations to recover from.

The appeal to “law and order” when confronted with “unrest” grabs a large proportion of Americans. It gave us Nixon. It could easily give us Trump II.
=

Calling for these resignations strikes me as cutting out people who could be engaged in meaningful negotiations; people who have experience helpful in organizing governmental an non governmental organizations to meet the immediate crises.

[The Mouth]

13. Every riot and rioter helps Trump

Sad fact, but it only takes one violent asshole to paint *ANY* group as thugs.

In the minds the public, a group is guilty of the worst behavior of any of its members; cops, Corporate boards, protesters. It only takes one violent dirtbag to stain everyone else in the view of media consumers.

[Steelrolled]

16. From what I have seen Wheeler has been totally ineffective

I have seen the governor's plan, and the solution might be to not replace Wheeler, but to let the state of Oregon solve it. One thing in the governors plan that I think is critical is this:

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office will work with system partners to hold individuals booked for violent behavior, and to ensure that there is adequate jail space to hold such individuals.

Oregon needs to hold these people as long as possible, using whatever legal means that are available given the circumstances. If released, they are almost certain to re-offend.

Edit to add link to governor's recent plan:

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protests/oregon-governor-announces-plan-to-bring-violence-to-an-end-protect-free-speech-in-portland/283-f682dd28-b474-4d48-8bd6-2c80ac90e730

[swag]

18. It is mystifying to me and many other Portland residents to see Wheeler praised nationally.

Where do I even start?

He has been completely ineffective at dealing with the Police bureau, which he supposedly heads, completely ineffective at dealing with the white supremacists who regularly invade our city (mostly from north of the Washington border) to terrorize residents and trash our city, and completely inept at dealing with the most basic functions of his office.

He is not who you think he is, from watching him on TV. Some people seem to think he's a god just because he says true bad things about Trump.

He is a failure and a problem, and he has to go.

[Steelrolled]

23. The governor is showing no confidence in Wheeler, and is not being subtle about it.

The governor's plan has no role for Wheeler except to find money to pay for outside law enforcement - that did not need to be said, and is a slap in the face. Other than that, the mayor gets to be a member of community forum that the governor will convene.