John Rudoff

BY GORDON R. FRIEDMAN

The Oregonian | OregonLive

In response to protests that devolved to bloody street brawls, Mayor Ted Wheeler announced Monday he plans to propose an ordinance allowing new restrictions on demonstrators.

Wheeler’s proposed rule would allow him as police commissioner to limit where and when designated groups can demonstrate in certain circumstances. Those include if they have a prior history of violent clashes with another group that plans to protest the same day; or one or more of their members indicate they plan violence; or police obtain credible evidence they are likely to get violent.

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Gordon R. Friedman

The ACLU of Oregon immediately criticized the proposal. The ordinance “raises many constitutional questions,” said Mat dos Santos, the group’s legal director. “To be clear, we already have laws against street fighting and violence,” he said.

Wheeler said he plans to bring the ordinance to the City Council soon. When exactly is unclear, however, and he’ll need at least three yes votes to pass it.

Here’s where the four other city commissioners stand, according to their statements, which are quoted below:

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Beth Nakamura

COMMISSIONER DAN SALTZMAN

“The current situation is untenable and strong action must be taken. With the street brawls and violent scrums we have seen occurring in downtown Portland over the past 2 years, action is needed as it is just a matter of time before lives are lost.

I fully support Mayor Wheeler’s effort to take this action and believe his proposed ordinance is an excellent proposal to best accommodate public expression and promote order.

The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that local governments may place reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and manner of individual expression and this must be done sooner rather than later.

Let us dispense with long protracted debates that will consume a lot of oxygen and lead us nowhere. Let’s take this reasonable action to protect all who live work and play in Portland.”

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Samantha Swindler

COMMISSIONER NICK FISH

“We all want to live in a community that is safe for peaceful demonstrations. And I agree that recent behavior on our streets has been unacceptable.

It’s possible that we need another tool in our toolkit to ensure safety in our public spaces. And time, place, manner regulations may be the right approach.

However, I have a number of legal and policy questions about the proposal, which I intend to raise with the mayor and the city attorney.

I look forward to a broader discussion with my colleagues and key stakeholders before we take any further action.”

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Gordon R. Friedman

COMMISSIONER AMANDA FRITZ

“Portland is a community that values civic engagement and is renowned for vigorous expression of opinions in public. The ongoing violence occurring between opposing groups on our streets is not acceptable. In addition to the impacts on downtown residents, visitors, and businesses, violent protests pull Portland police officers from vital work in neighborhoods throughout the city, endangering vulnerable populations.

I appreciate that Mayor Wheeler has invited the Council to set policy on how to address escalating conflict between demonstrators. Any solution must be developed with community input – this is a community issue, and Portlanders are vital stakeholders whose rights and opinions must be considered. The city is responsible for the safety of all Portlanders. We must end these confrontations without damaging free speech and assembly rights guaranteed in the state and federal constitutions.

I … met with the City Attorney’s Office … I will work collaboratively with the mayor and the rest of Council to ensure that we pursue a policy solution that is constitutional, enforceable, accountable, and addresses the needs of our community. While I hope we can find a solution that all of Council can support as early as next Wednesday, I believe the process of reaching that outcome will be crucial to the policy’s success.”

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Gordon R. Friedman

COMMISSIONER CHLOE EUDALY

“I share the mayor’s concern and the public’s frustration with these violent and disruptive demonstrations. However, as a strong advocate for freedom of speech, expression, and assembly, I am very reluctant to support a policy that could infringe in any way on these essential constitutional rights.

I do agree that we need to create a strategy to prevent groups intent on spreading fear in and provoking violence from harming our residents and disrupting and doing damage to our city. There is a legitimate balance to be struck between public safety and free speech. In my view, this begins with an acknowledgment that in our city, although our policies must be content-neutral, it is far-right extremists and hate groups who are necessitating these measures.

I look forward to a thoughtful discussion with advocates and community members as well as my colleagues to ensure we are taking all critical concerns into account and that we come up with the best policies to manage the unique challenges we are facing as a city.”

-- Gordon R. Friedman

Have a tip about Portland City Hall? Contact Gordon: GFriedman@Oregonian.com