PORTLAND, Ore. — Nearly a hundred Oregon leaders — including Gov. Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden — are urging for "peaceful civic engagement" during election season.
In an open letter released Tuesday evening, elected officials, as well as community, business and labor organizations, called on Oregonians to "uphold our tradition of respectful civic participation during this election season."
The letter highlighted downtown Portland's slow-emerging resurgence — both from the pandemic and various protests — and asked people to keep up that momentum.
"Portland’s ongoing recovery is a testament to what we can achieve when we work together constructively. But this progress is still fragile. The damage from past episodes of vandalism and violence didn’t just affect individual businesses — it impacted our entire city’s reputation and recovery," Portland Metro Chamber President Andrew Hoan said in a statement.
This comes as Portland is beginning to return to its pre-pandemic tourist levels, along with decreasing crime levels and attempts to revitalize and bring more people back downtown.
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The coalition includes U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici; Maxine Dexter, a candidate for the House of Representatives; State Treasurer Tobias Read; Oregon Senate President Rob Wagner; House Speaker Julie Fahey; Metro Council President Lynn Peterson; and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson.
Though Hoan noted that the letter includes an "unprecedented coalition of leaders," most of the letter-signers are Democrats and progressive organizations, with local Republican leaders and political nominees — such as House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich — absent.
The statement comes as multiple ballot boxes in Vancouver and Portland were set on fire this Monday, with election officials and police increasing security and patrols; the FBI is also investigating the cases.
Ballot drop boxes have been connected to right-wing conspiracy theories in the past, theories that falsely claim ballot drop boxes were responsible for mass voter fraud in 2020. Former President Donald Trump also continues to claim voter fraud if he loses this election.
Nationwide, many American voters are anticipating political violence, including attempts to overturn election results, according to an AP-NORC poll. Many voters also believe Trump will again refuse to concede if he loses.
The last presidential election season was relatively calm in Portland itself, though multiple Oregon and Washington residents were arrested and have been convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The Associated Press contributed to the reporting of this story.