Progressives Denounce "People for Portland" Lobbying Campaign at City Hall
Two state representatives—both progressive women of color—have signed an open letter denouncing the advocacy campaign People for Portland for engaging in what the letter characterizes as racist fearmongering that demonizes the poor.
Reps. Andrea Valderrama (D-East Portland) and Khanh Pham (D-Portland) are among more than 300 signatories to the Nov. 17 letter, which asks Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Commissioners Mingus Mapps and Dan Ryan to denounce the campaign, whose funders remain a secret but include business executives Tim Boyle and Jordan Schnitzer.
“It pretends the last 18 months since George Floyd’s murder never happened and expects us to acquiesce to a collective amnesia,” the letter says. “Tens of thousands of us marched shoulder-to-shoulder in the streets, calling for an end to systemic racism and police brutality. Yet People for Portland demands more police, without full accountability.”
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The campaign’s two known donors, Boyle and Schnitzer, have also donated more than $200,000 to the gubernatorial campaign of state Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose), who is challenging the Democratic Party from the right as an unaffiliated candidate. Her campaign will almost certainly capitalize on deep voter dissatisfaction over homelessness and crime in Portland.
Read more: https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2021/11/18/progressives-denounce-people-for-portland-lobbying-campaign-at-city-hall/
(Williamette Week)
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