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Keizer council schedules joint work session with Community Diversity Engagement Committee after weeks of public comment
Summary
After more than an hour of public comment and council debate about the Community Diversity Engagement Committee’s role and appointment process, Keizer City Council voted unanimously to schedule a joint work session with the committee to review mission, membership and naming.
Keizer City Council scheduled a joint work session with the Community Diversity Engagement Committee to review the committee’s mission, membership and next steps after extended public comment and council debate on Feb. 3.
Councilors and dozens of residents raised concerns about recent changes to council rules, the committee’s structure and whether changes might affect federal grant eligibility. The council voted unanimously to request a joint session “as soon as possible” so council and committee members can work together on definitions, scope and any renaming or process changes.
The work session was prompted by a series of public comments from committee members and residents who said they felt excluded from recent decisions and worried the committee might be paused or dissolved. Carrie Brown, a long-time CDEC member, told the council the committee has a working mission and definitions in place and opposed a pause. Former CDEC chair Taiz Rodick asked the council to discuss proposed changes with current members before moving forward. Several residents, including Jane Titchenell, Jacqueline Green, Rena Gonzalez and Benita Picasso, urged that the committee continue and that any review include community input.
Council members expressed differing views on how quickly to act. Councilor Kohler said he had attended many CDEC meetings and questioned whether the group’s work had clear, measurable accomplishments. Councilor Parsons and others said the proper next step was a joint work session with the committee rather than unilaterally suspending meetings. City attorney Lyndon Lindsey and other staff noted uncertainty over how recent state and federal actions about DEI language might be interpreted, and recommended clarifying committee language and scope rather than immediate suspension.
After discussion, Councilor Parsons moved to schedule the joint work session; Councilor Christopher seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The council asked staff to coordinate dates with committee members and the city recorder and to include the committee review in the council’s upcoming schedule of work sessions.
The council also chose to postpone making any immediate changes to the committee’s appointment process or terms until that joint session. Several related items on the agenda that would have amended committee rules were tabled to allow the joint meeting and a wider committee review process to proceed first.
The work session will allow council and committee members to jointly revisit the CDEC’s mission, membership terms and naming (including whether to retain the DEI acronym) and to consider whether any changes are required to safeguard federal grant eligibility while continuing community engagement.
