Activists called for Mayor Ted Wheelers resignation this morning in front of City Hall.
Activists called for Mayor Ted Wheeler's resignation this morning in front of City Hall. Dirk VanderHart

As promised, a group of demonstrators upset over Mayor Ted Wheeler's early term shut down Portland City Council this morning, demanding Wheeler resign immediately.

The catch: The mayor wasn't on hand to listen.

Instead, Wheeler had reported for jury duty as activists pledging to "shut down the #shitshow" made their way to the front of council chambers just after 9:30 am, prompting council to recess almost as soon as their meeting had convened. Leading the way were Mimi German and Star Stauffer, two local activists who've repeatedly shut down council meetings in recent weeks, in protest of the city's handling of the homelessness crisis.


Earlier in the morning, Stauffer, German, and around a dozen others had gathered in front of City Hall to tear into Wheeler for violent police responses to recent protests and what they say has been his lax response to their calls for additional homeless shelter space.

"We are asking for your job today, Mayor Wheeler," German said. (Just to be clear here: That's not going to happen.)


The apparent goal of asking Wheeler to resign: Giving City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly mayoral status. As president of the city council—an mantle that passes to each commissioner on a set schedule—Chloe has power to preside over council meetings when Wheeler is gone. The City Attorney's Office in the past has said the council president gets all the mayor's limited power in the event of a resignation.

Eudaly, in her limited experience presiding over a council meeting, reacted to the disruption in the same way Wheeler has. After warning audience members at the outset of the meeting that disruption wouldn't be tolerated, she immediately recessed the meeting when demonstrators walked to the front of the room.

"We're really tired of you doing nothing," German said, speaking, to an absent mayor, into a microphone at the table used for public comment. "It's time to resign. We're gong to interrupt every single city council session from here on until you resign. If you make this not our building, we will come to your house."

That's not an idle threat. On Monday night, protesters—including some of the people in this room—showed up at Wheeler's Portland Heights home as he was preparing for bed.

As I write this, demonstrators are holed up in City Council Chambers. They've been chanting the name of Quanice Hayes, the 17-year-old killed by Portland police February 9. THey've also been chanting "Black Lives Matter," "Shut shit down!" and a number of other standards. Lights are on, and no one's been asked to leave, though there are rumors cops are on the way.

German says she won't let council resume. Chants of "all cops are bastards" are resonating through the halls.

Though this is the first time anyone's called on Wheeler to resign, similar protests have been a near constant feature of his new tenure. That tenure has been set amid record snows and cold weather that led to homeless people dying of exposure and shut down roads, frequent marches against the policies of Donald Trump (which Wheeler's police bureau has met with force), and, last week, the death of a Black teenager at the hands of police.

Wheeler has worked to increase shelter space during his time in office—a central promise of his campaign—but it hasn't been enough to stem outcry from this group arguing he should do more. Potentially more concerning in some demonstrators minds: The sometimes violent responses from police to otherwise peaceful protest. Actions on January 20 and February 20 have inspired particular ire.

Wheeler yesterday said he's told police "to help create a more positive space for expression and emphasize tactics that deescalate tensions," though it's not totally clear what that means.

Update, 10:40 am: Eudaly came in to chat with German and warn her that she might be arrested. When security officers came in to warn anyone who didn't leave that they might be arrested, the room cleared out. Council is up and running again.








Update, 12:14 pm: Demonstrators and police got into a standoff at City Hall's west entrance, when demonstrators were upset security had closed off the building. There was a lot of shouting, accusations that police were flouting city law, and even several conversations between a deputy city attorney and the people demanding to be let in.

Eventually, no agreement could be reached, and police dressed in riot gear emerged to arrest members of the small group.

Update, 4:15 pm:

Cops arrested three people this afternoon, according to a press release. They are: 21-year-old Christopher August McGregor, 24-year-old Zachary Pursley, and 29-year-old Jeffrey Richard Singer.

The men face potential charges of interfering with a peace officer and criminal trespass. McGregor faces an additional accusation of disorderly conduct. It's never a guarantee prosecutors will opt to file charges.









Things have calmed down considerably.