Canby Mayor Statement on Inclusivity

 

Canby Mayor Statement on Inclusivity

By Brian Hodson, Mayor of Canby

As mayor, I am deeply committed to fostering an inclusive community, where all voices are heard, and all citizens feel valued. One of the council's core values is building an Inclusive Community, which means I am dedicated to open communication and outreach, ensuring that no one is left out.

While I did not approve a proclamation for Transgender Day of Visibility, it’s important to understand that my approach is not about excluding any group, but rather, ensuring that all segments of our community are recognized and heard. If I proclaim one commemorative holiday, I leave others out—whether it's Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, or Older Persons Day, as a few examples.

Instead of focusing on proclamations, I believe in taking actionable steps. I have had open discussions with members of the transgender community at a public forum at the Canby Public Library, and I’ve actively investigated challenges faced by LGBTQ students by meeting with the district's police liaison and high school staff.

Canby has a 25% Hispanic population. Many of them are my friends. I have had meaningful conversations with many members of this community by attending Bridging Culture events and connecting with Iglesia Del Dios Vivo La Luz Del Mundo, among others.

My commitment is to engage with and support all groups, not through symbolic gestures, but through tangible actions that drive meaningful change for all citizens of Canby. All members of the Canby community should feel welcome at our city council meetings; if there are ever any issues, citizens can email me directly with their concerns or come speak before the council.

You can read all of the City of Canby City Council's Core Values and goals here.

Mayor Hodson Issues Declaration of Emergency in Canby, Oregon

I have enforced a declaration of emergency for the city of Canby, Oregon, effective today.

After a series of serious meetings with Chief Davis of the Canby Fire Department, Interim City Manager Amanda Zeiber, Lieutenant Tro of Canby Police, and Council President Tim Dale the decision was made last night to sign and place into effect an emergency declaration.  The declaration is for precautionary measures only.  By declaring the emergency, this allows myself and city staff greater flexibility to quickly address hazards posed by COVID-19, as well as access resources.  Additionally, this allows the city and first responders to request assistance and/or reimbursement for expenditures around COVID-19.  As of the morning of March 18, there are no suspected cases and/or confirmed cases in Canby.

I want to stress that this is an additional precautionary measure.  I want to be in a position of being proactive, not reactionary.  IF this virus spreads and IF we need access to additional support, we are closer to the front of the line to receive these.  Our Emergency Operations Response Team of Canby Fire, City Hall, and Canby Police are monitoring the situation very closely.  I am strongly encouraging everyone to stay in place as much as possible.  Take care of yourselves and the people around you.  I am confident that by all of us taking these measures and others, we will come through this much better than if we do not take these precautionary measures.

As always, you can always email me or message me on my Facebook page. As updates become available, I will post them to Facebook as well. 

Thank you and God bless.

COVID-19 Update by Canby Mayor

I shared this as a post update on Facebook on March 11 and am now including it in it's entirety with an additional update on the outbreak in Lebanon, Oregon.

I want to take a moment and give an update on COVID-19 and our city. I have spoken with Chief Davis and Canby Fire District is closely monitoring the situation locally, regionally, and nationally. They are communicating with Canby Police Department and with our interim City Manager almost daily.

Chief Davis and CFD have had conversation and reviewed protocols with Hope Village Senior Living Community, Rackleff Place Assisted Living Community, and Countryside Living. Canby Adult Center has protocols in place for our seniors in our community.

A question came up today about emergency communications and do we have them. Here is what Chief Davis shared about this:

“Yes, for emergencies there are communications via emergency alert through your TV, cellphones, and phone. The Clackamas County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is open daily and on weekends monitoring everything that is going on. Canby Fire has been helping in planning at the EOC every day by having a firefighter there to monitor and assist. If Canby has any issues, we will activate the City EOC and plan and call in the Mayor and interim City Manager”.

If you want the most recent updates, please look to the Canby Fire District website and the City of Canby website.

To reiterate - wash your hands often, if you don’t feel well then stay home (self quarantine), if you have Neighbors with poor health check in on them. When there is challenge or when people are in need Canby steps up. Let’s step up and do what we can, when we can.

For up-to-the-minute notifications regarding the coronavirus and COVID-19, please visit the CDC website.

As of this morning, March 12, there have been two reported cases in Lebanon, Oregon involving two 80-year old men at a Veteran's home.The latest information on this can be found here.

That brings the statewide total to 21. You can read more about that here.

As of publishing, there are no reported cases in Clackamas County.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me on Facebook or email with your questions or concerns.