The Wheeler-Outlaw Ordinance Restricting Protest Fails to Get a Vote

Mayor Wheeler’s emergency ordinance to restrict Portland protesters failed to get a vote at city hall yesterday afternoon.

The Mayor quickly substituted a new ordinance and Council voted to at least hear from the assembled stakeholder.

As Mayor Wheeler noted in his opening remarks, the divides or our nation are mirrored in this very issue.    

And, indeed, statements by Police Chief Outlaw and Mayor Wheeler on the one and the National Lawyer Guild and Jo Ann Hardesty, on the other, represent remarkably different perspectives.

KBOO’s Joe Meyer was at city hall and filed this report.

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Mayor Wheeler’s so called free speech zone ordinance was dead on arrival at city hall yesterday afternoon.

Since everyone was there anyway, Council voted to hear testimony on a revised ordinance.  Here is Mayor Wheeler introducing the ordinance

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The invited presenters for the YES side included Chief Outlaw

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Those were voices of Mayor Wheeler and Chief Outlaw.  Their arguments   start with danger and fear and conclude with more police power to preemptively protect property and the Portland’s brand.

On the No side of Wheeler’s ‘free speech zone’ ordinance, Kimberly McCullough of  The ACLU was the first to testify.

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That was Kimberly McCullough of  The ACLU:  neutral enforcement of Wheerler’s proposed ordinance would be difficult given the problematic history of Portland police predjudice.

Beth Wooter of the National Lawyer Guild has experience on the ground at Portland protests and offered a sharper critic of Wheeler’s proposal.

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That was Beth Wooter of the  National Lawyer Guild.

Mayor Wheelers ordinance is playing into the white nationalist narrative and the Portand police ar the greatest providers of street viaoles

The final invited presenter was Portland Commissioner Elect Joe Ann Hardesty

 That was Portland Commissioner Elect Joe Ann Hardesty. Their personal experience speaks to the impossibility of so called content neutral enforcememnt.  Stay tuned to KBOO for continuing coverage of Mayor Wheeler’s ordinance.