Public commenters criticize DEI proclamations and contrast party platforms

Two members of the public used the citizen-comment period to criticize council actions on diversity, equity and inclusion and to urge examination of party platforms before the upcoming election.

Scott Stewart of Redmond, identifying himself as chair of the local Republican party, read selections from party platform language and quoted Thomas Jefferson while encouraging councilors and residents to compare Democratic and Republican platforms. "I just wanted to just notate in the 2 platforms ... some differences," he said, and urged people to review the documents ahead of the election.

A second commenter identifying herself as Donna criticized the council’s support for DEI initiatives, called the council’s handling of proclamations and past public-comment incidents non-transparent, and alleged that council members coordinated heckling of a speaker at a prior meeting. Her remarks included strong language and accusations about council actions; she said the council “does everything behind closed doors, unlike our Deschutes County Commissioners,” and objected to how public comment was scheduled and handled.

What council did: the comments were delivered during the citizen-comment portion of the meeting; council did not take formal action in response during the meeting. The remarks included personal allegations about past council conduct; no staff or council response disputing those specific allegations was recorded in the transcript.

Context and caution: the statements are public comment and reflect the speakers’ views and allegations. Council and staff did not adopt or corroborate the claims on the record during the meeting; readers should note these are citizen statements and not verified findings.