Monday, November 2, 2009

Let the People Talk

One member of the City Council who chose to respond directly to the Mayor regarding her comment in Speechless In Eugene below:

"Mayor,

I hope that there is some sort of mistake and that this email was not written by you. If it was, it is one of the most shameful, insulting sophomoric responses to Eugene citizens pointing out a serious problem I have ever read. I am horribly offended just reading it.

We intentionally protect the identity of rape victims to insure that they aren't further victimized. That would be a better analogy than the ugly, hateful reference below to the KKK.

I have experienced ugly, nasty, hateful responses from people in the liberal majority in this community that think it is O.K. to vilify those with whom they disagree. Speaking out in a way that is only vaguely conservative in this community is done with a cost. I know this from personal experience. There is genuine fear in our community to speak up. Shame on you for mocking those who are afraid.

Mike"
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Mayors response to the City Councilor:

"Mike,

I am sorry to hear you took my response that way. My point is that hiding behind a name or a sheet endangers our democracy. I made no analogy in terms of the people or their intentions. I share the concerns they express and actually appreciate their desire to make our community safer and better. I would never call you or your response to anything sophomoric. I recognize the seriousness of the problem. I ask that people who are concerned be forthcoming about who they are because I believe that is important to our democracy and community conversation. I will answer and try to be helpful to anyone who identifies him or herself. And, I will respect the needs for confidentiality for any individual. I agree that nasty comments can come from anyone on the political spectrum. And to be clear I was not mocking anyone.

Kitty " (signed by The Mayor)

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From another Eugene resident:

"Wow!

Any reason, the RG or local news should not hear how Kitty feels about members of her community?"

(signed by a Eugene tax paying resident )

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From another Eugene resident:

"I must chime in by the need you have Mayor for identity of those that criticize the status quo. Knowing that you are the mayor of the third highest crime rate increase for cities over 100,000 per the FBI for 2008, logic would say that these anonymous complaints are real. Knowing you only patrol the downtown core four days a week and seeing the crime statistics versus when you took office, I think you have more important things on your plate than going on a witch hunt. If your pursued criminals downtown as aggressively it might do more good."

(signed by a Eugene business person, a tax payer and resident)

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"Kitty,

Again as I said the other day to you YOU are trying to shift the focus of the debate. Now you try to use the Klu Klux Klan. They are fresh in our memories. They use to be active in Oregon when you and I were young. So lets get back to the current debate. I note, with interest, today's article in the RG Increase police presence leads to more arrests. That is the debate, not the KKK."

(signed by another tax paying resident)

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Response from the Mayor:

"I don't see this as a debate and I don't know why anyone would. I am only speaking of the importance of transparency which is fundamental to our form of government. I very much appreciate the work of our police this last weekend. It all went very well. I also appreciate their challenges each and every day and the complexity of the public safety system they operate in. The system is frayed at every juncture from prevention, to intervention, to treatment, to the court system, to jail beds. We have to find a way to deal with this as a system and that is what the DA and chief and many community members will be working on. In the meantime, we will continue to develop and implement a range of strategies.

Kitty " (signed by the Mayor)

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Speechless in Eugene-Action now!!!

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City