Black Rights Activists Call Hales’ Tweets Regarding Police Forum “Propaganda”
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
One of Charlie Hales' tweets regarding the forum
On Saturday, the Portland Police held a forum with community members at Jefferson High School in Portland, designed to open lines of communication and foster goodwill between the police and residents of the neighborhood. Hales posted two pictures of the event on Twitter, with captions extolling the work of the city government and the police.
“If you think we need to keep building the relationship between @PortlandPolice $ the community, you need to see THIS,” Hales posted on his official Twitter account, @MayorPDX, after Saturday’s event.
Teressa Raiford, an organizer with Don’t Shoot Portland, told GoLocal Hales used last Saturday’s forum as a political event, rather than a true attempt at settling issues between minority residents and the city’s police and government. She called the event and the tweets that promoted it “propaganda.”
“We are not trying to make this into a political issue, but, especially around political season, Hales always seems to turn events like these into propaganda to show how things are improving,” Raiford said. “I know mothers of students who opted out of the program, and they were harassed. It was not a comfortable situation where a real discussion could be had.”
“Trying to Divide Us”
Raiford said that the Mayor’s comments showed that he is not truly committed to repairing the issues between Portland’s black population and the city’s police.
“There are serious issues that we have with the Portland Police, and for him to that tweet out with that picture makes it seem as though everything is just fine,” Raiford said. “The data does not lie. We are actively being targeted and harassed every day and messages like just belittle the true struggle.”
Ben Maurer, an activist with Don’t Shoot Portland, said that Hales is trying to gloss over the city’s racial issues.
“Is that the end of it? Just, "you need to see this," Maurer said. “We had a forum with him at our school last spring. It was a nice forum and our kids asked them the right questions. Our kids didn't like their answers and said they talked around issues. Hales thought they were doing the world a favor for just being there.”
Raiford said that Hales is trying to cause fissures in the black community in order to escape criticism and scrutiny before the upcoming Mayoral elections.
“He’s trying to divide us, so we lose track of the real issues,” Raiford said. “This at a time where we are fighting for unity and fighting to protect our lives and the lives of our neighbors and families.”
Hales Responds
After being made aware of criticism that his tweets, and the program itself, were receiving, Hales fired back, implying that those criticizing him should focus on working to improve the relationship between the community and the police.
“Lots of nasty comments about my tweets from this community-based event,” Hales said. “Maybe some who are jeering will help next year.”
Sarah Hottman, a spokeswoman in the Mayor’s Office, said that the Mayor’s tweets should not be taken to mean that there are no issues to be solved between the police and the people they are sworn to protect. Rather, they are an indication that there is hard work being done to build a relationship and solve these problems that do exist.
Hales agreed.
“Exactly,” Hales said. “We will continue to work for a more equitable police force and city, and continue to support Portland youth.”
Related Slideshow: Charlie Hales’s Top 15 Donors
Portland's mayoral election is still over a year away, but that hasn't stopped incumbent mayor Charlie Hales from launching his campaign. Thus far, Hales has raised over $88,000 in donations from more than 60 donors, whose contributions have ranged from $100 to $5,000 each. Using state campaign finance records, GoLocalPDX compiled a list of Hale's 15 biggest donors, many of which are major power players in Portland's development industry.
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