The City of Keizer is calling for any citizens interested in serving on the new Community Diversity Engagement Committee to submit letters of interest to the city recorder no later than Nov. 30.
The newly-named committee was at the center of focus during a Nov. 1 Keizer City Council meeting that led to the resignation of Councilor Ross Day. Day objected to the council adding the word “diversity” to the name, saying that he believed the committee would be used by its members as a platform to attack others. Day resigned two days after the Nov. 1 meeting.
The friendly amendment eventually passed and the committee was officially called the Community Diversity Engagement Committee.
The committee will act in an advisory capacity to the Keizer City Council and hopes to help the council increase engagement in the civic process. Appointees to the committee will be asked to “think broadly in terms of how issues of racism, sexism, ableism, and other discriminatory and prejudicial biases impact all residents in Keizer.”
The nine-person committee will consist of six citizen-at-large members, two Keizer city councilors and one youth member. Each councilor will have sole discretion to appoint one citizen-at-large member.
“I would like this person to be a direct extension of me to talk about what I want to talk about through this committee,” Councilor Kyle Juran said at the Nov. 1 council meeting. Juran’s proposed amendment to have each councilor appoint a committee member was later approved in a vote by the council.
Under this appointment system, two Keizer City Councilors will have the ability to both appoint members and sit on the committee. The mayor will appoint the youth member, who must be under 19-years-old.
Each non-councilor member will be appointed for a three-year term, with initial terms being staggered so that not more than three expire in the same year.
Anyone interested in serving on the committee is encouraged to submit a letter of interest to Keizer City Recorder Tracy Davis by email ([email protected]) or mail (930 Chemawa Rd N, Keizer, OR 97303). The deadline for submitting letters is 4 p.m. on Nov. 30. Submitting a letter of interest does not require someone to serve on the committee or guarantee appointment.