Silence is Complicity - Racism has no place on Portland City Council

The racist, sexist, and homophobic text messages revealed today by the Portland Mercury are not just offensive—they expose the very power dynamics that Portland's progressive councilors of color have been warning us about.

When influential power brokers like Brian Owendoff and his associates used racist slurs against Councilors Angelita Morillo, mocked Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane's appearance and heritage, made racist comments about Councilor Candace Avalos, and used homophobic language against Councilor Sameer Kanal—they showed us exactly what they think of Portland's most diverse city council in history.

This is the city council that APANO AF and our community fought for. Through years of charter reform work and campaigns that helped elect 6 of the current 12 councilors, our community walked the streets, door knocked, and phone banked until we built a government that finally looks like Portland. And now we see why certain power brokers are so threatened. 

These messages didn’t happen in a vacuum. These same individuals who’ve exchanged racist texts while sitting in council chambers have direct access to Portland’s moderate councilors. They text during meetings. They advise on policy. They shape decisions on the future of our city.

That’s why we’re calling on Councilors Dan Ryan, Olivia Clark, Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Eric Zimmerman, Loretta Smith, and Steve Novick to: 

1. Publicly denounce these racist messages and the individuals who sent them.
2. Disclose and sever any advisory relationships with Brian Owendoff, Partnership for Progress, Future Portland and others involved in these communications.
3. Join their colleagues of color in addressing the systemic racism that these messages represent.

During last week’s Council President election, Councilor Zimmerman’s comments on “temperament” and “juvenile, disruptive” behavior weren’t just about leadership style – his language draws on racial stereotypes that have historically been used to harm and exclude men of color, especially when they challenge power. We are immensely proud of the Portland City Councilors who refuse to let patterns of racial bias and gender inequity in our government go unexamined. Their fierce leadership and courage to have these honest conversations make room for all us to speak up and be heard.

“For too long, Portland's City Hall was run by the same handful of people, and it shows. Our communities fought for years to change that. We organized for charter reform. We knocked on doors. We built a movement. And in 2024, we helped elect six councilors to Portland's most diverse city council in history, including Tiffany Koyama Lane, Portland's first Japanese American city councilor. Payne’s texts about Councilor Koyama Lane reinforce a harmful narrative that erases the diversity within Asian communities. Her words support a false model minority myth and racial hierarchies, and functions to divide communities of color in ways that uphold white supremacy.

These texts expose the racism that's always been there, lurking behind closed doors while these power brokers advise moderate councilors and shape policy. When you've had City Hall to yourselves for generations, sharing power with people who actually look like Portland feels like losing everything.

But here's the thing: Portland voted for this change. Our communities built this council. And we're not letting backroom racism tear down what we fought so hard to create,” said Political, Policy, Advocacy and Civic Engagement Director Kaliko Castille.

Our community didn’t fight for charter reform and work to elect diverse leadership just to watch it be undermined by the same old power structure.

Silence is complicity. Portland’s moderate councilors must choose: Stand with your colleagues of color against racism or be complicit in upholding a status quo that enables racism and tells people of color that our experiences and voices do not matter.

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