A skeptic could see PPB and PPA’s press release as a scare tactic to convince the community that further cuts would cause harm. I’m choosing to take it at face value. Full statement thread below (you can read the full statement here as well: https://www.flashalert.net/id/JAH )

I’m glad to see that PPB is having internal conversations to rethink community safety and assess what is or is not needed to serve all Portlanders today. What I’m hearing is that the bureau has found ways they can meet the cut and this is their counter proposal to Portlanders. 1/

I’m grateful to Chief Lovell for this proposal and for going above and beyond – by our office’s estimates the cuts the PPB has listed out are almost double my initial proposal amount. 2/

While the programs and services listed by PPB were not items I recommended the bureau cut, they’ve shown us they can in fact meet the cut amount proposed. 3/

I will also add this: my recommended cuts reflect my priorities and values, and the PPB’s proposals reflect their leadership’s values. 4/

I have questions around some of their proposed cuts, but they are the subject matter experts, and if they feel they can work without these programs I am open to talking with them about how transitions can be made... 5/

as I know the community is obviously anxious to explore more ways to keep Portlanders safe. 6/

My question for those who say the proposal was rushed is, rushed for whom? Calls for reform aren’t new; calls for reinvesting in our communities are not new. What’s new is there is now the momentum and political will to carry through because justice delayed is justice denied. 7/

I, too, support data-driven and well-researched policies to improve safety, it’s precisely why I’ve pushed for policies that address violence as a public health issue. 8/

This amendment was not just crafted through the tens of thousands of emails and phone calls, feedback from community advocates, and the nightly demands on the street. 9/

It was crafted through the audits and reports produced documenting the bureau’s systemic issues dating back decades, corroborating what many in the community have been saying all along. 10/

We held our rigorous process to get to this amendment, and I would want to hear more about PPB’s process that led them to their proposals. 11/

I would like to point out my disagreement with the bureau’s proposal to cut the Behavioral Health Unit as I’ve appreciated the work they’ve done since their inception. 12/

The PPB’s proposal also cuts the Neighborhood Response Team. This is odd as I’ve heard media reports that this Team has already been cut by PPB leadership as a response to Council’s June budget vote even though Council never directed the bureau cut this program. 13/

In fact, the $15mil cut from PPB in June were carried out by cutting three specific programs: Gun Violence Reduction Team, school resource officers, and transit officers. The officers in those disbanded teams were to be placed on patrol to increase staffing for 9-1-1 calls. 14/

I am very curious to get more facts straight from the bureau regarding this proposed cut. 15/

Quite frankly, I’m surprised PPB would make a proposal resulting in 100 layoffs when It is my strong understanding that by adopting my recommendations, layoffs would not happen. 16/

But ultimately this is not a conversation about layoffs, it’s about our values, what policing looks like in our communities, and what investing in our communities looks like. 17/

Ultimately a debate around proposed layoffs or cuts to well-loved teams without community process is another opportunity for PPB and the Mayor to move the goal post on the conversation yet again. I refuse to be distracted. End/