7.24.2019 City Council Work Session Minutes

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Council Discussion o Councilor Clark- clarified language proposed because he had put forth multiple options, choosing Republic in the first instance and emphasizing in the second; said he thinks it's important to make this statement and wants to vote in favor of the resolution after removing areas that are condemning people's beliefs; read the proposed changes: o All mentions of us as a Democracy be changed to a Constitutional Republic. (or a Republic) o Item C - Replace "...the belief that.." with "...the promotion of the idea that..." o Item D - Strike "and alt -right' and "many of which have been emboldened by the national political dialogue." o Item E - Replace the word "maintaining' with the word "promoting' or "emphasizing'. o Item H - Strike all that begins with "For example ...... (begin again with)..... The State of Oregon also has..." o Councilor Pryor - said it feels as if the council will be saying that they want to condemn racism and racist actions, but that it's okay to be a racist and that sits uncomfortably with him because there are certain things that it's not okay to be; said that in the current political climate being a racist is very difficult to hide because it comes out in words and if you are the group in power saying things about groups not in power, that in its nature is intimidating and needs to be condemned. o Councilor Syrett - said she could support the motion with all proposed changes except the striking of the word "maintaining' because she believes the purpose and scope of white supremacy is to maintain that regime; said that we should not make space in our community to accommodate or tolerate the robust expression of beliefs such as white supremacy and does not want to be silent or timid in the face of these beliefs. o Councilor Clark and Semple accepted Councilor Syrett's suggestion as a friendly amendment. o Councilor Clark- said he would be willing to give up changing all mentions of'Democracy" to help meet in the middle. o Councilor Taylor -said that when people have to hide something, it becomes more dangerous. o Councilor Zelenka - said he was bothered by two of the changed proposals, including striking "many of which have been emboldened by the national political dialogue" noting that this conversation is happening because of the national political dialogue; said he could see the problem with the wording in Item H implying that white supremacist groups called for the deportation of Japanese -Americans following Pearl Harbor. o Councilor Pryor proposed amending the substitute motion to read, "Extreme racial prejudice resulted in the deportation of Japanese -Americans following Pearl Harbor..." in Item H. o Councilor Clark and Councilor Semple accepted Councilor Pryor's proposal as a friendly amendment. o Councilor Zelenka - supported the friendly amendment but is still bothered by striking text about the national political dialogue. o Mayor Vinis proposed rewording the sentence in Item D to read, "We recognize that there has been a rise of white nationalist and white supremacist groups in the United States, and that the national dialogue reflects that racist tension." o Councilor Clark and Councilor Semple accepted Mayor Vinis' proposed rewording as a friendly amendment. o Councilor Yeh - said she was not comfortable striking the sentence, "Today, white supremacy groups, including militias, are advocating for the apprehension, detention and deportation of Central American refugees legally seeking asylum in the United States." o Councilor Clark- said he had a problem with the statement that anyone who believes in deportation of illegal immigrants is a racist. MINUTES — Eugene City Council July 24, 2019 Page 2 Work Session