Keizer residents urge council not to pause Community Diversity Engagement Committee as council debates rule changes

Keizer — Dozens of residents and current members of the Community Diversity Engagement Committee told the Keizer City Council on Monday they oppose a proposed pause and changes to the committee’s appointment process, saying the committee has produced visible community engagement and should not be sidelined.

Councilor Duran raised procedural concerns about moving forward with appointments until the council resolves how the committee’s membership should align with recently adopted council rules of procedure. Duran and other speakers expressed concern that a DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) label could affect access to federal transportation funding if not handled carefully.

Why it matters: The dispute centers on whether council rules adopted Jan. 21 — which change how some committee appointments are made — supersede existing committee resolutions and on how long citizen appointments should last. Residents said the change was rushed and that the council did not solicit input from CDEC members before placing the item on the agenda.

Council discussion and agenda change City staff and councilors described a procedural mismatch: staff said the existing CDEC resolution still specifies three-year citizen terms, while the new council rules direct that council-member appointments to some committees be two-year terms. City attorney and staff descriptions in the meeting indicated the rules were discussed in a January 18 work session and adopted Jan. 21, which prompted some councilors and members of the public to ask for more time and discussion before implementing changes to the CDEC.

Council president Starr proposed and the council agreed by consensus to move the agenda item on CDEC appointments to later in the meeting so related items could be considered together, rather than taking final action immediately.

Public testimony Several long-time Keizer residents and current or former CDEC members told the council they felt excluded from the process and asked for the committee to be allowed to continue meeting while the council clarifies direction. Carrie Brown, a current CDEC member and mayoral appointee, read the committee’s mission statement and said the committee has existing definitions, goals and a working document and “there is no need to pause our meetings.”

Former CDEC chair Taiz Rodick and newly appointed community members including Jane Titchenell urged the council to involve current committee members in any changes and to avoid what they said felt like a deliberate attempt to weaken or remove the committee. Ramiro Navarro Jr. and others linked the discussion to recent council conduct around appointments and asked the council to consider representation of people of color in appointments.

Councilor Duran said she does not want Keizer’s ability to obtain federal transportation or other federal funding threatened by an ill-timed DEI designation or by procedural missteps; other councilors said they interpreted the rules and charter differently and emphasized the council’s authority to define procedures.

No final decision recorded At the close of the public comment segment shown in the transcript, councilors agreed to relocate the CDEC appointment item and to consider related resolutions together later in the meeting. The transcript does not show a final council vote altering the CDEC membership, suspending meetings, or changing the committee’s term lengths during the portion provided.

What comes next: Councilors and staff indicated they will discuss the CDEC items together later in the meeting packet. Members of the public urged the council to include current CDEC members in that conversation and to provide additional public notice before adopting changes.