I believe the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) policy meeting on June 1st was the most mean spirited Commission meeting I have witnessed since January when it censored Commissioner Mark Shull. The Commissioners collectively cast aside the serious subject, namely vaccine passports, that he brought brought forth, and used his resolution document to yet again verbally flog him, and to punish him by taking away his committee assignments. The Commissioners got hung up on his using the example of Jim Crow laws in his presentation. Commissioner after Commissioner agonized and showboated their own virtue . Commissioner Sonya Fischer,the defacto Recall Shull Chair on Commission, didn’t miss the opportunity to descend into smearing his character. She actually wanted to double dip the first censor by wait for it…. censor him again! I ask, is there no end to this buffoonery?
A few days later the Commission tried to back fill this public relations nightmare by blaming Mr. Shull for not following protocol. Another excuse was the ball fumbling by staff in the process. But close examination refutes that. Mr. Shull’s resolution document was placed on the county site several days before and shot to the top of the agenda by that Tuesday. He was presenting a rough draft resolution to be discussed rather than to be voted upon. This looks like a callous setup by staff and/or commissioners to show again their contempt for Mr. Shull.
Vaccine passports would have a negative impact on individual rights and businesses. Shull’s timing is cogent, as Senate Bill 872, a vaccine passport ban, has been introduced in the Oregon Senate. I believe in the next policy session, if not sooner by special meeting, draft a letter endorsing the principal of this bill. This would be followed by the appearance of the Commission Chair before the Senate committee to verbally affirm our County’s objection to vaccine passports. This can be done. The BCC did it before on another issue.
The last Commission wrote a letter in support of disincorporation of Damascus, and the former chair appeared before committee. I know. I was there. It is time for this Commission to stand up from its tiresome defensive crouch and start pushing back against the draconian lock down rules that have violated civil rights these many months.
Below are links to source documents:
Press Release on Senate Bill 872
Click to access Vaccine%20Passport%20Ban%20Introduced%20in%20the%20Oregon%20Senate.pdf
Senate Bill 872
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB0872/Introduced
Link to BCC Meeting from County website:
https://dochub.clackamas.us/media/video/e312bd41-2e8f-4dd7-835f-aef4949354fa
Bill Wehr is a resident of Damascus. Part of this article was given at the BCC as public comment on June, 10, 2021.
No Comments
Leave a comment Cancel