During a Portland City Council meeting on Wednesday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler slammed a far-left activist for speaking off-topic in regard to Portland Commissioner of Public Safety Rene Gonzalez’s ban on tents in the city.
A woman who identified herself as Keeley Higgins told Wheeler and the council, “Ted, I believe the last time I saw you in this kind of setting was when I gave testimony demanding that you end the use of poisonous gas on humans in this city. I recognize there must have been some sort of miscommunication about when we were talking about the tent ban. I’m gonna go for it.”
“To give some context as to why I’m here to address Rene Gonzalez’s ban on the distribution of tents and sleeping bags via street response and the fire department. I operate within a framework of mutual aid. For folks who don’t know what that is, mutual aid is a voluntary reciprocal exchange,” she added, before her mic was cut.
“This is extremely disrespectful to the Police Accountability Commission that have this floor right now to discuss their item,” Wheeler responded.
Wheeler told Higgins that she had to “get on topic or we’re gonna ask you to leave.”
“Their impression is inaccurate,” Wheeler said in response to something unheard. “I don’t know where you got that information. We post the agenda. The agenda is very clear in terms of what we’re discussing. It’s a public document.”
