Keizer schedules joint work session with Community Diversity Engagement Committee amid debate over DEI terminology and scope

Keizer City Councilors on Feb. 3 debated whether the Community Diversity Engagement Committee (CDEC) should pause its meetings or change its name and scope after recent federal executive orders raised questions about how DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) activities might be treated by federal agencies and grantees. After extended discussion, the council unanimously voted to schedule a joint work session with the CDEC “as soon as possible” and tabled a related resolution (8I) pending that joint review.

Councilor Kohler opened the item by saying the committee appears to have drifted toward DEI work and questioned whether that approach could jeopardize federal funding; Kohler called for a reevaluation of the committee’s goals and suggested postponing meetings until the council could review mission and language. Council members and staff cautioned that existing executive orders and their enforcement are unsettled; City Attorney Lindsey said two executive orders remained in effect — one applying to federal agencies and one to private institutions — and that federal agencies may research federal grantees’ DEI spending, but he cautioned that the situation is fluid and could change with court actions or further executive decisions.

Several councilors, including Parsons and Cross, urged the council not to pause the committee’s work and to involve the committee in a joint work session so the council and committee can align on mission and terminology. Councilor Cross noted CDEC’s prior work reviewing neighborhood association outreach and the neighborhood traffic-management program as examples of relevant outputs. Councilor Kohler and others suggested using different terminology (for example, “inclusivity” or “belonging”) to avoid perceived political connotations.

Councilor Parsons moved and Councilor Christopher seconded a motion to schedule a work session with the committee as soon as possible; the motion passed unanimously. Later in the meeting the council also voted unanimously to table agenda item 8I (a resolution amending CDEC membership/terms) pending the joint work session and committee review.

The council did not change CDEC membership or terms at the Feb. 3 meeting; members asked that staff coordinate scheduling with the committee and that the joint work session include committee members and councilors for a collaborative review.