Portland Politicians Targeted In Racist Screeds

Metro Councilor Juan Carlos González and Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty both issued statements after receiving racist insults on their Facebook accounts and other social media platforms.

Juan Carlos González. (Sam Gehkre)
By Katie Shepherd

Last week, national media attention focused on President Donald Trump's use of a racist trope to tell four sitting congresswomen to "go back" to other countries. At the same time, two Portland politicians were dealing with similar attacks.

Metro Councilor Juan Carlos González and Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty both issued statements after receiving racist insults on their Facebook accounts and other social media platforms, as first reported by the Portland Tribune.

"When the office of the President makes racist and xenophobic statements, it emboldens our neighbors to attack those of us that are 'foreign,'" said González, who was born and raised in Oregon. He received five Facebook messages implying otherwise. "We are fighting for the soul of this country," he says.

Hardesty also received more than a dozen anonymous, racist comments after challenging the Oregon Department of Transportation's policy to use boulders to discourage homeless people from camping on ODOT property.

"If you disagree with me," she said, "let's talk like adults."

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