We Asked Two City Council Candidates: Should Portland Have a Curfew? What About the National Guard?

They both were alarmed by it and didn’t like the Guard coming to town.

June 30, 2020. (Aaron Wessling)

Former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith and onetime All Hands Raised executive director Dan Ryan finished in the top two in the May 19 primary for the City Council vacancy created by Commissioner Nick Fish's death Jan. 2.

Because it's a special election to fill that vacancy, Smith and Ryan will be on the ballot for a runoff Aug. 11 rather than in November.

To help voters make a choice, we will ask them questions each week for the next month. This week, we asked about the citywide curfew imposed after the May 28 riot downtown and whether the Oregon National Guard should be deployed in Portland. (We asked the questions on Monday. Mayor Ted Wheeler subsequently canceled the curfew for Tuesday.)

Mayor Ted Wheeler imposed an 8 pm curfew on Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights. Was it a good idea? Why or why not?

Loretta Smith: No. "I don't believe a mandatory curfew was the right answer. If we're going to deal with looting and crime associated with a riot, then let's have that conversation. But to call for a broad suppression of a people's constitutional rights to gather and voice their grievances isn't the answer. It hasn't worked in other cities across the country, and from the thousands of people who protested last night, it's clear that it's not working in Portland either.

"We need to acknowledge the anger people are feeling and then turn our attention to getting some real work done. As a black mother who has raised a black son in this city, I fully understand why people are upset. As a black woman who has served in elected leadership in this city, I understand why the lack of significant policy change is frustrating and exhausting to advocates who have asked for change for decades.

"Let's focus our efforts on that piece of this tragedy. Let's not let another loss of life, and the strong rebuke from the community, pass without actually changing things for black and brown men and women in our community and across the nation."

Dan Ryan: No. "This weekend we saw property destruction and life-threatening actions when a small group of individuals used this moment of national pain and reckoning to feed their own appetite for destruction. Their attempt to burn down the Multnomah County Justice Center could have resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives.

"But this weekend was mostly dominated by passionate, purposeful and peaceful protests. That's how Portland was truly sharing our grief, anger and demand for change. Curfews don't help that—curfews get in the way of us sharing our grief and anger. We need to be able to engage in peaceful, nonviolent protest without the risk of arrest. In this case, curfews made things worse.

"Leaders must lean into what is possible and what is going to help our communities channel their righteous anger and pain over the continued murder of Black Americans by law enforcement. We need to build bridges with the community and rally leaders who are working to help. Don't shut them down; lift them up."

2. Wheeler has also called for the governor to deploy the Oregon National Guard. Do you support that idea?

Ryan: "No, I do not support deploying armed units of the  National Guard. That action escalates the conflict and militarizes the protests. I was quite young when incidents like Kent State occurred, but I cannot forget the tragic impact of deploying the National Guard in our nation's history."

Smith: "I'm vehemently opposed to the request for the Oregon National Guard to be deployed. The mayor said he has asked Gov. Brown three of four times to deploy the Oregon National Guard, and she has wisely declined. I don't believe we need a further escalation of tensions between the community and law enforcement. I believe the growing number of peaceful protesters pouring into the streets is a direct response to feeling muted and dismissed by the curfew. In taking such a strong stance as activating the National Guard, I worry what blowback we will see from the community and how many people are injured or, worse, killed in the wake of that conflict."

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