Politics

Clackamas County leader calls on colleague to resign for Islamophobic writings

By OPB staff (OPB)
Jan. 14, 2021 1:25 a.m.

The chair of the Clackamas County commission wants one of her colleagues to resign over social media posts equating Islam with radical terrorism.

Clackamas Chair Tootie Smith issued a statement Wednesday calling on her colleague, Commissioner Mark Shull, to resign immediately “in support of the greatest good of citizens of Clackamas County.”

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Shull was elected to the county board in November. He’s recently come under fire from civil rights groups and other elected officials around the Portland region, including the entire Portland City Council, for Islamophobic and anti-immigrant social media posts from 2019 and 2020.

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Pamplin Media first reported Shull’s writings.

Smith, like Shull a Republican, was also elected to the nonpartisan Clackamas board in November in victories that led to a far more conservative county government.

On Tuesday, she condemned Shull’s comments but stopped short of calling for his resignation. Her written statement calling for him to leave office did not specify why she’d decided to go further.

Smith has her own history of courting controversy. She’s recently been among the most prominent Oregon politicians to speak out against Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19 restrictions, including making national news when she promised to have a large extended family Thanksgiving gathering in violation of the governor’s orders.


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