Thread by @JoAnnPDX

This evening City Council voted unanimously in support of the resolution I created in collaboration with community advocates that refers a measure to voters this November to add a new police oversight system into the city charter. (Thread 1/14)

I am beyond thrilled that council voted to move forward to give voters the chance to put this long overdue, much needed system into effect. While we’re celebrating this moment with the community, the work only begins with the results of today’s vote. (2)

Accountability will not solve our issues with policing, but it is an important & necessary step as we continue to collectively re-imagine what community safety looks like. It is my hope that Portlanders send a resounding message in support of this ballot measure in November. (3)

The work this moment demands won’t stop here. As someone who has worked on changing policing from the outside for decades, being in the position I’m in now, during this time, is an opportunity I know I cannot waste. It’s also been a chance to learn and grow. (4)

This new system of community police oversight I hope to see pass this November is one piece of a complex puzzle. We are long overdue for a re-imagining of what community safety looks like, led by and for the community. (5)

Based off the community demands I have heard, this means:
• reducing & limiting the size & scope of our police force,
• reinvesting those dollars in community,
• creating alternatives to the police,
• decriminalizing non-violent offenses, and
• demilitarizing officers. (6)

Soon I will be convening community meetings to continue taking a deep look at the Portland Police Budget and what police alternatives Portland wants to invest in. (7)

Today we can celebrate that federal troops are on their way out of Portland, that community police oversight is in sight, and that we have a beautiful community of committed Portlanders that are uniting around the call for change. (8)

Then we get back to work, whether it’s on the streets of Portland or inside City Hall. Together, we will keep fighting for a better world. (9)

There are too many organizations and individuals to thank for contributing to the ballot measure referred to voters today, but here are just some of the folks and organizations that were deeply engaged in this process that I would like to recognize. (10)

Thank you, in no particular order, to Dr. Haynes and Dr. Bethel of AMA Coalition for Justice & Police Reform, Dan Handleman with Portland Copwatch, Debbie Aiona with the Portland League of Woman Voters, Jan Carson with the Oregon ACLU, Will Lang with Jobs with Justice (11)

Zakir Kahn and Seemab Hussaini with CAIR Oregon, Campaign Zero, Candace Avalos, Andrea Valderrama with the Coalition of Communities of Color, Dana Buhl with the First Unitarian Church of Portland, Rabbi Ariel Stone, Rabbi Debra Kolodny, Commissioner Elect Carmen Rubio (12)

Ricardo Lujan Valerio with the Latino Network, Representative Tawna Sanchez, Susan Hutson with the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, Elliott Young and Lakayana Drury with PCCEP, the Oregon Justice Resource Center, APANO (13)

Jason Kafoury and James Ofsink with Portland Forward, OPAL, Shanice Clark with Portland Public Schools, Alex Davis, Emory Mort with Portland’s Resistance, and Kayse Jama with Unite Oregon. (14/14 - End Thread)