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Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney sent an email Thursday to her 11 council colleagues containing data on who spoke the most from the dais.
The result: Councilors Sameer Kanal and Eric Zimmerman spoke far more than their counterparts. The Oregonian first reported on the email yesterday.
In her email, Pirtle-Guiney wrote she would seek to impose restrictions that she hoped would cut down on the disparity, but that she was open to any and all other suggestions.
In an email Friday morning, Council Vice President Tiffany Koyama Lane—who in recent weeks has publicly clashed with Pirtle-Guiney—took umbrage with the president’s actions.
“As I look at the data that was made public, I’m reminded of my many years as an educator and teacher mentor—I’ve learned that shame and control rarely lead to lasting, positive change," Koyama Lane wrote. “If that was not the intent of this communication, I understand that this is nonetheless how it is being received by some.”
Koyama Lane established herself early on as the peacemaker on the council, and has in the first six months of its first term appeared averse to conflict and in lockstep with Pirtle-Guiney on how to run council meetings.
But that has changed in recent weeks. Most notably, Koyama Lane stood up to Pirtle-Guiney during a budget work session earlier this month, demanding that one of her amendments be heard despite Pirtle-Guiney’s request that she table it alongside dozens of other councilors’.
Koyama Lane, backed by her more left-leaning colleagues, got her way.
It wasn’t the first time that the progressive caucus took issue with Pirtle-Guiney’s handling of meetings, but it was the first time that Koyama Lane publicly challenged the president’s authority.
Koyama Lane wrote in her Friday email: “While I appreciate the attention to how we use time on the dais, I want to clarify that the proposed limits were not something I was previously aware of or consulted on. I was surprised to receive the recent communication and to see this made public before a council-wide conversation had taken place.”
Koyama Lane did not name Pirtle-Guiney, but the implication was clear: This idea didn’t come from me, nor do I agree with how the president approached it.
Pirtle-Guiney, in a phone call with WW, said that Koyama Lane encouraged her to track speaking time from the start.
“The vice president encouraged me to do more tracking and think about some new ways to do things, and I appreciate her leadership on this and her encouragement to make some changes,” Pirtle-Guiney said. “Leadership is hard, and partnering on leadership is always going to bump into challenge. I remain committed to working with her as we lead this council.”
