City of Portland December 7, 2020 Important and thoughtful members of our community recently received threatening, violent, hateful, and racist letters. They received the threats because of their work towards a more equitable city and because they are Black. The threats are abhorrent and disgusting and stand against our values. Our own Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has been among the recipients of these letters. As members of the Portland City Council we unequivocally condemn those who wrote them. The racist rhetoric, and those who hold similar white supremacist and violent ideologies, are not welcome in Portland and should not be welcome anywhere. We expect and support an investigation into the threats being conducted by the Portland Police Bureau, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies to find, arrest, and hold accountable those responsible for the threats. Threats aimed at intimidation and silencing political speech are particularly heinous. Their aim is to stifle people based on their racial identity and beliefs. We must not allow people’s voices to be silenced or lives threatened by those who seek to stop the long overdue progress toward racial justice. We offer our full support to those who have received threats, including our colleague Commissioner Hardesty. With January 2021 bringing the most diverse City Council body in Portland, it is important we condemn this racist activity whenever we witness it. As the four non-Black members of City Council it is doubly important that we intervene in these moments and commit ourselves to carry out the anti-racist values of our city. Sincerely, Ted Wheeler Amanda Fritz Chloe Eudaly Jo Ann Hardesty Dan Ryan 1221 SW Fourth Avenue ♦ Portland, Oregon 97204 .