Keizer city councilors and the Community Diversity Engagement Committee reached common ground at a recent meeting, agreeing to meet together often – and change the name of the committee.
The face-to-face meeting on Monday, Feb. 10, allowed councilors and committee members to share concerns about the future of the all-volunteer committee.
The joint session was sparked by a move by three councilors earlier to pause the work of the committee. Citizens and committee members urged councilors at that Feb. 3 meeting to support the committee’s goals.
The move to hold off committee work was rooted in fears there would be repercussions of diversity, equity and inclusion – DEI – initiatives from the federal level.
Councilors and committee members had a like-minded interest going into the meeting – to clarify the CDEC’s role in community engagement.
“I just want to know if this is a community engagement committee or a DEI committee,” said Councilor Lore Christopher, launching into the conversation.
The concern expressed by Christopher and other councilors was exclusion. They argued that DEI language might ostracize Keizer’s elements of the community’s population, and that the CDEC’s initiatives should include all Keizer citizens.
“I never said I wanted to get rid of this committee,” Councilor Dan Kohler said, responding to the “heat” he received from suggesting a pause at the last meeting.
He said that the committee was created to engage the Keizer community as a whole, regardless of demographic. By introducing DEI language, Kohler thought the committee had lost some of its vision.
Committee member Carrie Brown reminded the committee that “DEI wasn’t an acronym when the CDEC was created.” She argued that since the CDEC’s establishment in 2021, assisting underserved groups has always been a priority for them.
“Take Dan Kohler for an example,” she said, pointing at Kohler. “The Latter-day Saints were pushed to the side of this community until I started inviting Dan to council dinners. And now look at him!”
The group chuckled.
Brown said the CDEC provides a perspective of equity and inclusion – a role crucial for community engagement – but its work goes unnoticed.
Councilor Shaney Starr agreed. The CDEC, she said, has tackled “herculean tasks” over the years but its work is hard to track day to day.
Committee member Benita Picazo said that meetings between the CDEC and the city council should move beyond tedious definitions. Instead, they should discuss tangibles.
Christopher agreed.
“I just wanted to know what I was appointing a person to before I hired a new committee member,” she said.
Kohler also agreed, saying that he only wanted the committee “to have some direction” when he suggested a pause.
Going forward, the councilors and CDEC members agreed to frequent, detail-oriented meetings throughout the year.
They also agreed to develop a different name, using language more reflective of community engagement and less of DEI initiatives.
“This was a very fruitful conversation,” Mayor Cathy Clark said, concluding the discussion.
On the day after the meeting, Councilor Soraida Cross, joined by Christopher and Kohler, asked that the council agenda for the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18, include an item to “rename” the committee.
Contact reporter Riley Ellis: [email protected].
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