On January 11, 2021 a thunderclap of Woke resounded across the Portland metropolitan area that jolted correct thinking progressives as far as Salem. A Democrat Party Oregon House District leader uncovered “anti-immigrant, Islamophobic and transphobic” posts on Facebook just days before by newly elected Clackamas County Commissioner Mark Shull. These posts, allegedly racist, numbering approximately 20, were made as a private citizen before he was elected.
Shull, on the same day, immediately issued an apology, closing with “I am here as the County Commissioner to serve everyone regardless of race, creed or religion.” By the next day, Shull, a retired decorated Marine Lt. Colonel, refused to resign, despite his colleagues on Commission, Multnomah County Commissioners and Pamplin Media calling for his resignation.
The swearing in of the Commissioners was delayed. The reason given was that there were threats to the ceremony. Shull himself received serious threats. Law enforcement was notified.
By then, the purge fever to remove him from office accelerated. Clackamas Commissioners told the public the extent of the anxiety and pain his comments caused each of them personally. From crying when reading his comments, to the agony of racism at the shoreline of upscale Lake Oswego, all had their own sagas of the hurt Shull’s comments caused. Though emotionally wounded, they stepped up again to encourage Shull to resign. But, all they could do is censor him. The Commission doesn’t have the power to expel another Commissioner. Only the voters can do this via recall. And a Commissioner cannot be recalled before serving 6 months.
Just 4 days after the breaking of the story, the Commission swiftly passed a resolution that “1. Condemns and denounces the derogatory , offensive, insensitive, and racist statements posted on social media by Commissioner Shull for his conduct described herein: and 2. It is the consensus of the Board of County Commissioners that it is in the best interest of Clackamas County the Commissioner Mark Shull resign his Commission post effective immediately.”
Armed with that censure, fellow Commissioner Sonya Fischer verbally flogged Mr. Shull at every opportunity calling on him to resign. “Anti-immigrant, Islamophobic and transphobic” became she/her/hers refrain to describe Shull. She led an attempt to strip Shull of his salary as Commissioner at the next Budge Committee. Later Fischer retracted her vote to assign Shull Committee liaison positions as part of a commissioner’s obligation. All of her vicious efforts are all fur and no knickers. There is no proven evidence that Shull”s comments before he took office are racist; they are, at this point, mere conjectural as to his intolerance. When confronted on camera by Shull to produce empirical evidence of her charges, she couldn’t, and only referred to the statements he made before taking office.
Fearing not having a seat for the head count on the Outrage Light Rail, A-List seasoned warriors such Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, internationally recognized for his handling of that city’s ongoing riots and destruction, hopped aboard. Within days, State, County, City elected and appointed officials joined in. Unions, various non-profits and clergy called for resignation. The Oregonian echoed Pamplin’s call for resignation. Taxpayer- paid Clackamas County Department heads en masse gave their names to the media in support of resignation. The message was clear: If only he just went away we could focus on lesser issues such as the pandemic shutdown, unemployment, school startups, fire damage, storm damage, and those other things, you know, that we say we do.
Last November, underdog Shull unexpectedly won the seat that was held by Democrat Ken Humberston. In spite of heavy outspending by Humberston, and a long list of the usual liberal feeding chain endorsements, Humberston lost to unknown Shull. With the loss of sitting Chairman Jim Bernard earlier that year in a primary, that result swung the balance of power from Democratic control to a more conservative slant on Commission. The Commissioners run as non-partisan, as the position is defined. However, progressive ideology prevailed under Bernard. If Shull is recalled by the citizens, it would be expected a replacement would result with a person in alignment with a Portland approach to governing.
Right now going into its third month of the cleansing, with Shull performing Commissioner duties, the Clackamas Commissioners are still standing by the original censor. The County taxpayer- paid department heads and many County employees have turned their backs on Shull. They profess to be irretrievably damaged by his comments posted before he took office. But, there is a far more unnerving quote by Commissioner Shull hanging out there that they would recoil from: “Good government is mission focused and efficient government of limited scope, and expense that gets the will of the people done in a timely manner.”
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