Portland's Bureaucrats & Politicians are Using Intimidation and Disruption as a Tactic to Silence Dissent

It's feeling like 2020 all over again...

Earlier this week, we received a call from a strategist regarding a press conference organized by residents of Portland’s District 1. The event aimed to protest the Portland City Council’s recent decision to reallocate $2 million from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) to the Portland Parks Department. Several news organizations were invited to cover the event, including—rather shortsightedly—the leftist propaganda publication Street Roots.

Prior to the council’s 7–5 vote to approve the funding shift, District 3’s Councilor Angelita Morillo framed the decision as a binary choice: fund parks or police, not both. She incorrectly cited a recent poll, claiming most Portlanders supported reducing police funding over parks. In reality, the poll showed that a majority opposed cuts to both parks (by 22 points) and police (by 18 points), with slightly more people opposed to defunding parks. The poll did not ask respondents to choose between the two, yet Morillo presented it as if it did.

In fact, a recent poll published by the Willamette Week, revealed that Portland residents would support nearly doubling the current police force—bringing its staff size in line with similarly sized cities across the country.

District 1 includes seven of Portland’s most crime-afflicted neighborhoods (Lents, Hazelwood, Powelhurst-Gilbert, Mill Park, Centennial, Glenfair, Wilkes), and half of all city homicides, but is also represented by two of the most vocally anti-police city councilors: Candace Avalos and Jamie Dunphy. Avalos is well known for her staunch anti-police stance, including her work with the Citizen Review Committee for Police Accountability and her public support for police abolition. During her campaign, she received the endorsement of the - Showing up for Racial Justice - Police Accountability and Abolition Action Group, which also rated Dunphy highly. The only councilors rated higher than Avalos are the four avowed socialists on the council: Morillo, Mitch Green, Sameer Kanal, and Tiffany Koyama-Lane.

Key:

Notably, months before the vote, Portland City Manager Michael Jordan stated that no cuts were necessary to public safety departments, including PPB and Portland Fire and Rescue. Despite this, Avalos, Kanal, and Morillo pushed aggressively for PPB cuts upon taking office. Meanwhile, District 1’s Dunphy and Avalos lobbied for $1.2 million in new office funding—despite having access to shared office space with Loretta Smith, the district’s third councilor and the only one to vote against the police cuts.

Multiple councilors objected to the cuts, including District 4’s Zimmerman and Clark, and District 2’s Dan Ryan, saying that cutting the PPB would be sending the wrong message to the residents of this city who have grown tired of high crime and low police response times. Even District 3’s Steve Novick, while ultimately voting for the cuts, expressed interest in exploring solutions to maintain funding for both the police and parks.

This leads us to the chaotic press conference held on May 28. According to organizers, Street Roots invited their allies at the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) not to listen to the concerns of District 1 residents, but to disrupt the event. Attendees reported being harassed by protesters who came to heckle those supporting the PPB and advocating for public safety. Here is a post from the DSA on social media encouraging their followers to protest the event:

What’s especially troubling is that many of the disruptors are employed by city, county, or state governments—or work for organizations receiving substantial public funding. In other words, public employees and political operatives showed up not to serve, but to intimidate the very citizens they are meant to represent.

One such individual was Sandy Chung, executive director of the ACLU of Oregon. Once known as a staunch defender of free speech across the political spectrum, the ACLU’s current leadership appears to have strayed far from that mission. Chung's participation in efforts to silence working-class community members raises serious concerns about the organization's evolving priorities.

Another notable presence was Andre Miller, Chief of Staff to Councilor Morillo. According to a firsthand account from an attendee, Miller used a protest sign not just for messaging but as a weapon:

Miller has previously been accused of intimidation and unprofessional conduct at public meetings, including having at least two official complaints by citizens regarding his aggression and intimidation tactics. It's troubling that a city employee would take time during the workday to engage in such behavior—especially in a district that his boss doesn’t even represent.

When asked online by Erica Gustavson — a SE Portland resident, business owner, and attendee at the press conference — whether Andre had taken the day off work, Councilor Angelita Morrillo responded that Andre “works over 40 hours a week,” assuring @ericagustavson that his presence at a 10 a.m. weekday press conference was not a concern.

Also present was David Linn, a lesser-known figure who currently works for the State of Oregon and previously ran (unsuccessfully) for a seat in District 1. He is a current member of the Centennial School District board and a former chair of the Montavilla Neighborhood Association (NA), during a period marred by financial mismanagement and ethics complaints. Curiously, his LinkedIn claims NA involvement from 2006–2008, though his actual term as chair was from 2017–2019. He did not live in Montavilla at the time but used his parents’ address to qualify. Ironically, in a KGW video from the press conference, he was heard taunting, “But you are a fake neighborhood association!” to a local resident.

The man in front of the press station is Todd Littlefield, a District 1 resident who lives just off the Springwater Corridor in Lents. He has become a familiar face at city and county meetings. His public testimony — recounting the daily reality of encampments, trafficking, threats, and fires just steps from his home — paints a harrowing picture. It’s the kind of lived experience that could give anyone PTSD.

Just behind Linn to the right in the video, stands off-duty police officer Eli Arnold in a blue button up collared shirt — waiting to speak at the press conference. Arnold serves on Portland’s Bike Squad and is widely respected by neighbors in Stadiumhood, near Providence Park, where residents have been living under near-constant pressure from theft, unsanctioned camping, and public safety breakdowns. Arnold ran for Portland City Council District 4 and was leading in early returns. But when ranked choice voting kicked in and redistributed votes in later rounds, the outcome shifted. Honestly, I still don’t understand how the math works. And I’m not sure anyone in Portland really does.

Here was Angela’s take of the press conference / counterprotest combo from earlier this week:

Why would an organization go out of their way to protest a press conference?

There is a real danger in allowing government employees and elected officials to use their positions to intimidate or disrupt citizen-led events. While spirited debate should always be encouraged, this isn’t democracy when political operatives are deployed into communities behaving like jack-booted thugs. It’s a misuse of public trust, a distortion of their role, and it threatens to chill the open dialogue our communities desperately need.

What’s even more incredible, is that they are being paid

by our government while they do it!

Even more alarming is that many of these individuals are being paid with public funds while engaging in this behavior. It’s one thing to protest. It’s another thing entirely for people connected to government offices or progressive leadership to crash and heckle a citizen-led press conference.

This behavior crosses the line into institutional abuse. Using political privilege to undermine community free speech and civic participation is flat out unethical and ultimately undermines democracy.