City Council - Special Meeting

All right. I'd like to call to order this meeting of Salem City Council for Wednesday, January 7th, 2026. Will the recorder please call the role? Councelor Tyen, present. Councelor Nishioa, I'm here. Councelor Matthews, here. Councelor Gwen, here. Councelor Brown, present. Councelor Bang here. Councelor Nordike here. Councelor Vney here. Mayor Julie Hoy here.

All right. Please stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance. The flag is that way of the stands. One nation indivisible with justice for all. All right, councelor Nishioa. Um, uh, go ahead with the item one. Yes. I move to approve um the special meeting agenda. Second motion and a second by Gwyn. Councelor to your motion.

I think we all know we're here for a special meeting. Great. Will the recorder please call the role? Councelor Tyen. I. Councelor Nishioa. I. Councelor Matthews. I. Councelor Gwyn. I. Councelor Brown. I. Councelor Bang. I. Councelor Nordike. I. Councelor Vney. I. Mayor Julie Hoy. I. Councelor Nishio. Do we have any additions or deletions? We do not. Okay. Thank you. We'll move on then to public comment. Absolutely.

Okay. Before we call the public to the podium, I'm wondering if any of the counselors have any comments that they would like to make. Councelor Bank. Uh, thank you, Mayor. [clears throat] What started out as business as usual for our boards and commission's reappoint has become a front and center conversation in the last couple of weeks. I want to make it absolutely clear. My vote to reappoint Mr. Headquest is not meant to dismiss or disrespect the family of Nikki Thrasher. What happened to her was horrific and unforgivable. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain her loved ones are carrying every day or how this process has resurfaced that pain. [snorts] My vote to reappoint was based on my values of fair treatment, people's capacity to change and in restorative justice. I want to set the record straight with facts regarding this reappoint, these public safety boards and clear up any misinformation out there. One, I do not know Mr. Headquist. Two, I do believe people change, especially over multiple decades and years. Three, Mr. Hedquist served his sentence over 28 years. He has completed what the courts required of him. He spends his time working on opening warming shelters for our homeless. He also spends his time helping others who have served their time become productive members of our community. Four, he was already serving on this board for two years without incident. Five, the board and appointments committee recommended to not reappoint

Mr. Headquest based on his conviction. Six, the boards and committee, the boards and appointment committee did not provide any clear criteria of what Mr. headquist has done during his first term that would warrant or justify a change. Without transparent, objective standards, this decision was subjective and unfair. Seven, multiple community members serve on these boards to provide a diverse perspective from our community. Eight, the community police review board is advisory. This means board members review decisions and make recommendations. At no point does this board or a single board member have any authority over police personnel decisions. Police personnel decisions are decided by the city manager and the chief of police. Nine. As to the reappoint, there was no objective standard in place for the removal or any actions Mr. Headquist took during his first term that would disqualify him from reappoint. 10. Every counselor and mayor on this stage except for councelor Tyan has acted to appoint Mr. Headquist to keep him on the police review board. Let me say that again. Every counselor and mayor except for Tigan had acted to appoint Mr. Headquist or keep him on this board. 11. When first considered for reappointment in 2024, Mr. Headquist noted on his application that he had been president of Lifers Unlimited, a

group of incarcerated people serving life sentences. At no point did he try to hide that fact. 12. Despite that, back in 2024, councelor Gwen made the motion to appoint him and voted yes. Then councelor Julie Hoy voted to appoint him too. The counselor The council then unanimously appointed him. Unanimously 13 after his appointment in 2024, Mr. Headquist attended the remaining two meetings that year. There was no public outcry then. 15. When this details of Mr. Headquest's life sentence was brought before the boards and commission this past fall, no one no one advocated for his removal, including the mayor. Councelor Gwen said, quote, "It would be incredibly unjust to remove someone who's been an active board member." End quote. Councelor Matthews and Nordike agreed. 16. Before the December 8th city council meeting where I made the motion to reappoint, the police review board did not meet in 2025. It was only after his reappoint on December 9th did Mr. Headquist did Mr. Headquist attend and did that board convene. 17. Yet with all of this and on the table starting on December 22nd, I have been targeted with death threats. I have been called racial slurs. I have been called to be fired from my employment for reappointing him. 18. As a reminder, every single one of us counselors and mayor sitting on this stage, we are all volunteers. We are not paid. We do this work because we care deeply about our

community. So with these facts out in the open out to the public, I appreciate the special session so that we can have this discussion further. Thank you. Anyone else? Councelor Barney.

Thank you very much and thank you councelor Vang for bringing up all those important points especially especially this evening. Uh tonight I thought um that it was supposed to be a discussion and an adoption of policy and procedure. Um, I'm really actually concerned because I've learned more and more that there have been things meetings occurring, things outside of p outside of public purview, things change for this meeting without the input of those at impacts, things going on kind of behind the scenes all the way up until tonight. Little clues that I've been hearing or not hearing. You know, we're already under the scope of the microscope of the ethics commission due to serial meeting violations. I mean, thank goodness it's taken a whole year, but we've gotten most of those resolved. But that all started back last January, you know, and those involve discussions behind closed doors and decisions that were made um that didn't have the input they probably should have and didn't have the public purview. So tonight's special council meeting has become a much bigger than a discussion of who stays or doesn't stay on the uh CPRB and why. There have been a lot of actions that have taken place since the middle of December. And actually um as I said since tonight was supposed to be a discussion on an adoption of policy and procedure but to me it seems that number one too often we've been getting the cake after it's been baked and often the goalposts get moved to me in my opinion tonight's meeting has become a circus because of behind the scenes discussions and input from folks who want to make it a spectacle so they can get in the news under a false narrative.

the input of the folks that we would need into these decisions hasn't been done. I hear about these conversations going on or these little meetings or whatever and then we get the materials, we get things and I just feel like too often many of us are left out until it comes before us. Kind of like the paved path at Wallace Marine Park that I brought up a lot of concerns about. So for me because of this I am really uncomfortable with continuing. I don't want any more ethics violations and I am not going to participate. I'm going to leave. Just letting you all know. Anyone else?

Councelor Matthews.

Well, this is starting off different than I expected. Um, [clears throat] I don't even honestly know fully what to say. I think the biggest thing I feel like I need to respond to is my name was brought a lot in councelor Vang's comments and I think I just need to I guess set the record straight that as soon as the opportunity came to open reopen the position I think it was pretty clear what my position was on that and the fact that I made the motion uh councelor Ving and you know politics are always tough I mean [snorts] this is just whether this is supposed to be partisan this is not supposed to be partisan all those things with this role politics are really hard And sometimes when your ship ship is sinking, it's really um it's convenient and it's a natural reaction to try to reach out and try to sink other ships. And so I hope that naturally we can try to keep this particular body as wholesome as it can be to try to push those politics and those natural reactions out the window and try to do the things that are supposed to be good governance because that's what we're here for in the first place. So that's uh I guess those are my comments for tonight. Anyone else?

Councelor Brown.

All right. I will add while I'm grateful we're here tonight, I think it's unfortunate that this issue has taken up so much of our limited time. We have committees for a reason. The committee that reviews these appointments, of which I am a member, vetted this appointment and made a recommendation to the full council not to reappoint, but for councelor Nordike. The message many of the community heard in this ensuing vote to override that recommendation was that this was political on the part of those who voted yes. I might add that this was also the recommendation of staff to the committee that we not uh uphold the position. We do operate in a political environment and yet I firmly believe we do our best to work as a body when we set politics aside and vote for what is best for the community. I truly hope that's what we are here to do tonight. Anyone else? In that case, we're going to move on to public comment. I do have a little precursor for that. Um, we are here to treat each other with respect, compassion, and grace. It's important to give everyone an equal equal opportunity to speak. It's important we do not interrupt speakers by speaking over them or other outbursts. Please avoid excessive applause or cheering or expressions of dissatisfaction that only interrupts and distracts from other speakers and interferes with council's ability to listen well and conduct the meeting. All right, I will call two names at once. Please come forward to the podium. You'll have three minutes to speak. Press the button in front of you till the light turns on green. And uh please

uh say state your name, your address or your ward for the record. Fred Thompson and Tracy Putnham.

Fred, hit that button so the green light comes on, please. On that little black box right there. There you go.

That one. Okay. Uh, thank you for the opportunity. Fred Thompson. I live on South Salem, 454 4554 12th Avenue South. Uh, hearing about this individual being on the board, I'm I'm quite concerned about how he got there and I understand that there was not a background check done on this individual. I belong to a business group and we do a background check on anybody that comes into our group. And I in my office, we have five lawyers. So, why wouldn't the city council ever do a background check on an individual with a who was a found guilty of aggravated murder, robbery in the first degree, and three counts of kidnapping in the second degree. Now, I understand that the that the governor uh felt sorry for him because he was 17 years old when that happened. My father-in-law went into war went into World War II when he was 16 years old and fought World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. I was drafted in in at 18 years old and I went to Vietnam. Doesn't mean that somebody that's a teenager doesn't know the difference between right and wrong. This was a terrible, terrible killing of this young girl. This is terrible that he executed her and then threw her out on the side of the road like you would, you wouldn't even do that to a dog. and let alone you're bringing him into our society and having him doing this, he should be spending the rest of his life in prison. You don't change the spots on a leopard. And when you're in prison, and I've had opportunities to be with a number of people that have been incarcerated, what they learn in prison is how to fool a lot of people, how to convince you that they're not what they what you read about them.

So, I'm really shocked uh that this board would allow this individual to be on the police board. My god, the policeman or somebody that I have total respect for and we need to support them and have somebody with this background running around with the with the police department is totally wrong. So with that, I'm I'm really really disappointed that this city would adopt somebody like that and put him on boards. He should be doing whatever he needs to do for the rest of his life to be able to bring honor to that young lady that he killed because and he should be doing that privately. He should be putting something together to honor her best that he can. You know, I lost nine guys in Vietnam. five in one day. And I think about them every day of my life. And it took me 50 years to find the family here in Oregon that was one of the soldiers that I lost. And it took me it took me a couple years to be able to put all the information together to provide for his family. What what actually

I'm sorry, Fred. Your three minutes has expired. Thank you for your testimony. Tracy Putnham and Ricky Howell. Is it green? Oh, good. I'm sorry. I've never done this before. Um, thank you, Mayor and Council members. I'm uh Tracy Putman Putnham and I am in Ward 4. Um, I want to speak tonight from a place of faith and compassion. the same faith that guides how I see people and how I believe a community should operate. A tragedy happened many many years ago. A precious life was lost. Um that grief is real and it takes away it always um will be part of the story. Nothing said here takes away the hurt uh that that family has carried all these years. Um, my faith teaches that God does not leave us where he finds us. He restores us. He reshapes us. And he offers every one of us the chance to walk in a new identity. Mr. Headquist faced the consequences of his actions. He served the sentence required. And since then he has lived quietly, responsibly and with purpose. That is the fulfillment of what our justice system is meant to be and meant to achieve. So the question I wrestle with is um and I want all of us to consider is this is someone if someone has paid their debt to society and spent decades living

differently, when do we allow them back into full participation? If the answer is never, then we are closing a door that even God does not close. I believe there is room in our community and on our committees for people who have come through hard seasons and learned from them. Sometimes those are the voices that bring the most humility, care, and perspective. We can honor a life that was lost. We can protect and uplift our city. And we can also embrace the truth that people can change and that a changed life has value to offer back. Thank you for listening and may God's wisdom be with each one of you as you serve this city. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. [applause] Ricky Howell and Scott Knight. Okay. Um, what a lot of people don't realize in here is, um, I've heard that prison makes you a bad person, you know, and, um, I've known Kyle many, many years. I've I've been on the other side of those walls. and um he's helped more people come out of prison as a better person than I've known. He he was the president of of the clubs that I I relished to

join. You know, he gave me chances. He he showed me how it is to be a human in a nonhuman place. you know what I'm saying? Um, and to see him out here on the street without anybody knowing anything about him, he achieved everything that any any of you or anybody in this audience would have ever wanted any person to do. He did something wrong. There's not nobody out here can say they didn't do anything wrong. Some is worse than others. Yeah. But he's paid his time. You know, he helps the homeless. You know, I deal with the NA. I deal with the homeless. I deal with I'm I'm one of those that's not supposed to be out of prison. You know, I've never gone back, never had a violation, never had any of this stuff. And I owe it to people like Kyle to show me how it is to live out on these streets because it's hard out here when you do 12, 15, 20, 30 years in prison. You know what I'm saying? So without anybody looking at what his crime was, he actually achieved what any normal human being on this planet does. So, it's just just the fact of when he was 17, he did a crime. He did his time. When do we say enough is enough? I mean, should he always have to wake up every single day and think about this girl and and and hate himself and hate his life

and want to want to just quit or respect her, honor her, and show that he can be something with his life and keep going and going and going and show the police review board that um there's everybody needs to be on this board. You know, if it's always just a person that never speeds, why have speed limits? You know what I'm saying? With that, I'm done. Thank you for your testimony,

Scott Knight and Kyle Headquist. Thank you. Um, if I go over, I'm sorry. I'll ask for a couple seconds. If W 8 can leave, I can take her time. I'm here to address the dangerous absurdity of your decision to seat Kyle Headquist on the police oversight board. Mr. Headquist is a convicted murderer. While his life sentence was commuted, the life he stole was not. You cannot commute a victim back to existence. Yet, some of this council saw fit to grant a man barred from volunteering at a school or even sitting in a police cruiser unless it's in the back the authority to oversee law enforcement. If he's unfit for a retail job, why is he being handed the keys to civic power? Councelor Nordike, I want to speak to you directly. You've often spoken about how deeply your experience with child abuse cases shaped your worldview, saying those cases had a huge life-changing impact on how I saw the world. As executive director of CASA of Marian County, you emphasize that CASA helps kids find safety and stability, better grades, and brighter futures, highlighting that your commitment to protecting these valuable children. He also said, "When it came to my child abuse cases, it was my job to keep child molesters behind bars. But at CASA, I can break the chi cycle of abuse once and for all. You cannot claim to protect the foster children of Marian County while validating their destroyers. This isn't just a lapse in judgment. It's a betrayal of the values you campaign on. You should know that Kyle's victim, Miss Thrasher, was herself a foster child. Let that sit in for a second. You, the executive director of CASSA, took someone who dragged a foster child out into the woods and shot him in the back of the head to a police oversight board. Are you kidding me? Our city deserves leadership that strengthens safety and common sense. That would be Mayor Hoy. Councelor Nordike, you are not and will never be fit for mayor after demonstrating such a horrific lack of judgment. And councelor Vang, I'm not even sure why you brought this motion to

the council. It's not progressive. It's insane. Tonight's motion to remove him is the right choice, but let's be honest, it's not moral conviction. It's damage control. The facts haven't changed since your last vote, only the level of public backlash. You didn't find a conscience by bringing this mo motion. You found a political fire you couldn't put out. And the backpedal is transparent, a transparent attempt at your salvage, your credibility after making our city a national laughingstock. This community is not interested in your excuses or your resume. To mayors Hoy, councelor Tegan, Gwyn, and Matthews, thank you for standing up for common sense from the start. You're a credit to your constituents and give me hope that some brains are still left on this council. To Brown, Nordic, Vang, Nishioa, and Barney, if she were still here. You can backpedal all you want, but you've shown your hand. The community will remember that when decency was on the line, you chose convenience over safety. I've got 25 seconds left. You mentioned that everybody knew they didn't know he was a convicted murderer. As soon as they did, they changed their tune. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I hope you're in the next mayor. I don't think you're going to make it. Appreciate your time. [applause]

Thank you, Kyle Headquist and Kate Stafy.

Thank you, council members and mayor Julie Hoy. My name is Kyle Headquist and I'm in Ward One. In midJune, out of the blue, the call came from the city for a background check. routine email or so. I thought I gave the answers, shared my history again. I thought this was a process of a city moving forward. I didn't realize it was the blueprint for a step back. I stand here, a member in good standing, checked every box, met every requirement, fulfilled every voluntary duty. Yet mysteriously, I became the ghost in your machine. A smear campaign rose from the shadows. websites, texts, emails, phones buzzing with the static of hate. Some forces unknown, some known, touting endorsements, shaming me for the skin I've outgrown, threatening me with the very violence they claim to oppose. Now, after two years of dedicated service on multiple boards, the police union president, the mayor, the district attorney, voices that should uphold the law instead fan the flames of hate. A minority political force trying to undo a ratified signature, trying to erase a decision already made twice. For 11,364 days, I have carried the weight of the worst decision of my life. I carry that every day. There is not a day that has gone by in my life that I have not thought about the actions that brought me to prison. I replay the deal the details. I search for a way back to my own humanity through the wreckage of that singular moment. The death of Nikki Thrasher is the

gravity that pulls at everything I do. I ended her life and I am forced to live with the agonizing math of that reality. I can never give enough, serve enough, or do enough to equal the life that I took. That debt is unpayable. But it is that same debt that drives me back into the community, onto high school campuses, into college lecture halls. I speak because I am the living evidence of what happens when violence wins and I want to ensure it never wins again. There is a hollow version of this story circulating, one shaped by AI generated images and storylines, detached narratives that flatten the truth. They do not tell the story of Nikki. They do not tell the story of me. This is nothing more than rage bait. People think they know what happened, but the real story is so much more complex and painful. It involves an entire community. Four high school boys, two women, and a comp.

Thank you for your testimony. Mr. Headquist. Mr. Headquist, your time is expired. Mr. Headquist, your time has expired.

Thank you. Kate Strathy and Kyle Black. Hello. On Christmas Day, like some of you, I woke to death threats following a city-wide smear campaign created by those in our community sworn to protect us. And since then, our lives have changed. Eyes follow Kyle everywhere in public. Our jobs and future prospects have been impacted. We're concerned for our safety and Kyle's freedom every day. All of this for a volunteer position with little to no real influence. As you have said, Kyle was never asked by the city if he would like to step down from the board. He was asked for a background check, complied, told the truth. The matter escalated without a conversation or dignity from boards and commissions to council. And after council voted to keep Kyle on the CPRB, unions launched a campaign that included a website, mass messaging to a good portion of the city, and media pressure. This resulted in more than 20 news stories, more this week, whose comment sections called for Kyle's execution. He's not on trial. So, what happens if someone does harm him? How far are you going to let this go? Kyle doesn't have more power or access to information than any other resident and he the CPRB meetings are public and recorded. Anyone can attend or watch. He was released from prison in 2022 with almost nothing. He never expected to be released. Department of Correction supported his clemency. You talk about Kate Brown, you don't talk about this. They said he we have nothing more to

offer Mr. Headquist. And since his release, Kyle finished his bachelor's degree, leads support groups in the community, speaks at universities, and serves this community every day. We live quiet lives of service, and we will continue to do so regardless of the outcome today. But people often ask about the victim's family. It's illegal to contact the victims in Oregon. Yet the victim's family has again been placed in the center of a retraumatizing media storm, not by Kyle. The CPRB exists for police oversight, not police comfort. It was created because of past abuses of power. Who would come forward now with a police misconduct complaint after seeing what's happened to us and the city councilors? So, I leave you with a final consideration, and I'm talking about the CPB. If oversight cannot withstand pressure from those it oversees, it is not oversight. It is performance. History does not judge oversight of public bodies by their intentions, but by whether they hold when tested. This moment is a test for Salem. Thank you.

[applause] Thank you for your testimony, Kyle Black and Christy Margaravves.

Thank you. Uh, good afternoon, mayor and council members and attendees. My name is Kyle Colleen Black. I'm from Ward number one. As someone who has experienced incarceration, I want to share my strong support for the inclusion of formerly incarcerated individuals on community boards and commissions in Oregon. It is essential that we stand together to prevent the exclusion of people from serving our communities. The messages shared by Councelor Vang resonate deeply with me, displaying an unwavering unwavering belief in fair treatment, people's capacity to change, and the process of restorative justice. The recent campaign of intimidation and threats displayed by county agencies is not an attack on Kyle. It is an attack on anyone who has had a felony conviction. The h the hostility and hatred that has been generated, supported, and allowed to escalate is unacceptable. The actions being committed today by upright community members is as deplorable as Kyle's actions were 30 years ago. The process surrounding Kyle's appointment has been deeply concerning. Despite his willingness to comply with the city's requirements and his genuine commitment to serve, he has been met with hostility instead of support. It is disheartening that the city did not reach out for discussion or to provide an opportunity to address any concerns directly. Instead, they escalated the situation without any consideration. This this exclusionary approach is not transparent and rises to the level of dishonesty. It sends a clear message to others in our community that we are not welcome to participate in meaningful ways. Despite the number of references Marian County makes about its investment in second chances, 4,000 people release on a yearly basis. 400 and some of them released to Marian County. This conversation transcends this incident. It clearly reflects how individuals who have been incarcerated are treated when a desire is expressed to contribute positively to our society. It raises

important questions about our community's commitment to the values of inclusion, rehabilitation, and restorative justice. Can we truly advocate for second chances while simultaneously working to keep those very individuals excluded from participation? Community programs that prompt the idea of redemption and second chances are hypocritical. When our institutions fail to practice what they preach, we need to challenge this narrative and ensure that our community lives up to its own standstated values. Each one of us, regardless of our past, deserves a chance to serve and contribute to the gator greater good. This is not just about Kyle. It is about ensuring that all of those who have faced incarceration can participate in shaping our community's future. Let us stand together to advocate for a county and hopefully a state where all are given an opportunity to contribute regardless of their past. Together we can help change the narrative and create a more equitable community for everyone. Thank you. [applause]

Christy Margraves and Brian Shaw. Be sure to announce your name and your address or award for the record. Thank you. You got it.

Good evening. My name is Christy Margaravves. I'm representing Ward 6 and I stand here tonight for truth, consistency, and the heart of who we claims our city to be. For the last month, we have seen something ugly in Salem. A controversy broke and a surge of slander and exaggeration came about. Our own district attorney began this rhetoric when she went on camera and compared the role that Kyle had on the board as having a child molester run a daycare. As we found out what this board was, it is a far reach. It is seven people that make up this board and it is to do one thing to help the police department handle a complaint after a citizen feels that they were not handled well. That is it. Review, not authority. Recommendation, not operation. In the two years that he had already served, the board successfully reviewed one single community complaint. One. Very few complaints ever make it to the board at all. And that is evidence for something working well. For the past five years, Salem has had a police chief of outstanding character [snorts] who has trained, educated, and elevated the police department with a standard that makes citizens trust the process before it ever needs to be escalated. I'm proud of the Salem Police Department and the leadership that has been called higher. Now, about Kyle, we've already heard what he has done. He was sentenced to life, never expected to be released, though other men would go home. When he saw that there was little to be offered to them, he fought for more. More programs, more education, more training, more rehabilitation. And for 30 years, he chose action over outrage. He stepped into the gaps. He challenged what was broken. He worked to make things better, not louder. And Salem, we need more community members who run towards solutions, not headlines. People who see problems and

choose to be part of the answer. We cannot shout when we want standards, integrity, and community voices. While we excuse slander and exaggeration from those demanding them, we cannot ask for solution-minded people and then reject one who has already proven that he is who he is. Supporting Kyle's continued service is not saying the past wasn't painful. Salem must judge a man by his present character and demonstrated fruit. I say it plainly, Salem, do better than the noise, do better than the fear, do better than the drama, and lead by truth. Thank you for your time. Thank you, [applause] Brian Shaw and Ronnie Daniels.

Please remember to state your address, uh, your name, your address, or ward for the record.

My name is Brian Shaw. I live in W 8. Go Ducks. My opinions are uh mine and not necessarily those of my employer. As we all now know, unbelievably, in a 5 to4 vote, the city council voted to put an aggravated murder onto the Citizens Police Review Board. This really isn't about Kyle. This is about your bad judgment. This should have been the simplest 9 to zero no vote you've ever made. A simple internet search provided all the details of his crimes. If any of the five city councilors are saying that they did not know the details of his crimes, they are not being truthful. To Mayor Hoy, counselors Tegan, Matthews, and Gwyn, thank you for your common sense in making this decision. To councilors Nishio, Brown, Bang, Nordike, and Barney, if she were here, your poor judgment and lack of common sense should concern all the citizens of Salem. If you made this decision, what other decisions have you or will you make? the cascade of news that has been local, national, and worldwide along with statements from our district attorney and the Douglas district uh county district attorney should at least cause you to question your decision. We all know the story now. In 1994, Kyle Hedquist killed Nikki Thrasher. He took her down a remote road, made her get out, made her walk. She became so terrified that she began to hyperventilate and then he shot her in the back of the head. To top this murder off, he also committed an armed robbery at a Pizza Hut where he tied up the employees, put a gun to their head, and told them he was going to shoot them in the head if they didn't open the safe. This is the person that you voted to a community police review board. It's hard to believe.

Shockingly, in 2022, Governor Brown commuted his sentence against the advice of many people, again, including our district attorney, Paige Clarkson, and he was released to Salem. Even one of the most liberal US senators, Senator Ron Whiten, criticized Governor Brown's decision, saying, "Plain and simple, I oppose this grossly irresponsible use of the clemency powers. This is who you voted for. Since your decision has is has exploded in both the media and social uh social media and the media, several CL counselors have made uh statements. Counselor Nordike, while it appears you are changing your decision, you have made numerous statements about Kyle Headquist. I don't remember you saying the word Nikki Thrasher one time in any of those. Could be wrong. Or talked about the severity of his crime. You mentioned you're running for mayor. This decision should wholly disqualify you for that position. The first

Thank you for your testimony. I'm sorry your time is expired. [applause]

Uh Ronnie Daniels and Bill Small. and my voice be loud enough. My name is Ronnie Daniels. I'm out of Pulk County. I do about 68% of my economic business in your city. I, you know, look, just hearing what I'm hearing right now. Yes, I'm a foster child. The crime was heinous. Everything else, I'm not condoning it, but those and I don't know blaming the mayor and you should never be threatened or he should never be threatened. That's wrong. people of freedom of speech should be available to everybody and if we make mistakes we humble ourselves. He without sin cast the first stone but at the same time if this was Thailand where I watched somebody get hung for those type of heinous crimes. We have a tendency in this city. I'll go right up the street to the CQ ball. Six two years of Jim Lebo to own that business. And at the same time, I'm watching this city police department turning into Stockton, California. Enabling this city received over 535 million to 620 million for drug rehabilitation and homeless. What we got going on? We enabling it. Your cities are turning into a cesspool of trash that the taxpayers through their property taxes paid time and time and time against these increases. The question should be is who did the vetting process before the gentleman got there? And you know the mayor and the city council don't know if it ain't prevetted out. We need to get a program to vet out. Now I'm not blaming this man or this that or another. Whatever decision been made, God should hold them accountable accordingly. But at the same time,

we need to be back to law and order. Your shut out jail rate, 35% incarceration rate in the city. My people have friends that owns tow truck companies been broken into several times and the kids be released. You need to get on the county the county district attorney's cornhole and get her head out of it and make accountability law for law. The main pointman I'm trying to make, don't laugh please. I'm just getting to the point. The point is this. When you enable I, if he's in other committees, in my opinion, you should stick to one committee so that way you don't have no conflict of interest in other committees. If I volunteer for one committee under city government, that's what I do. But if there's more than one, that's my concern about the situation. But the main point again when I call the police department or go on the police station, oh you need to just leave a leave a report, leave a message instead of enforcing law. But you I'm watching the police department as of three days ago act like emotional support dogs right there at market at with sex police cars when those resources could been used other places. And the last thing I will say is if you don't enforce the law equally and you can only person deserve one break but when you give them 10,000 breaks you don't have a community.

Thank you for your testimony. Your time is expired. Bill Smallon [applause] Bill Smallon and Tom Johnson.

Uh good evening mayor and counselors. Um I want to just comment tonight um uh by commending uh councelor Vang uh first of all for uh initiating Mr. the headquart um he had been recommended to be removed and also um for sticking to her guns this evening um following the um the reasons that she outlined I thought so eroditely earlier tonight. Um, it's a moment when I really felt proud of our city council when the choice had to be made between reappointing Mr. Headquist um in line with the idea that this council believes in restorative justice, believes in rehabilitation, believes in second chances. Um, and so I felt really good that that we had decided to do that rather than go down the road of endless punishment where no one uh can ever recover one's oneself. Um, now it appears that we might be reversing that. Um, I think it's really hard. I know it's really hard. I have also sat in this body and I know that many difficult decisions decisions have to be made. I also know that when I sat in the council the discourse in our society was not as raw. It was not as brutal. What you have been exposed to um during the debate on this issue um is really quite the sign of the times. the brutality, right, that we now accept as normal.

I'm hoping that that discourse allows you to stick with the decision that the ethical decision that you made when you voted to reappoint Mr. Headquist. No matter what decision you make though, I would also like to hear the mayor say something decisive um about the need essentially to protect the um the person of our counselors. the the need to combat the spectacle that's been created by certain political forces in our community that have that have acted in a sense to to expose all of you by distributing your names and addresses, your phone numbers, um to expose you to to violence. And I'm hoping that the mayor will speak against that publicly in the newspapers. I have not seen it thus far. So, thank you for your time this evening. I know it's a very hard decision. I hope you will um stick to your guns and uh reaffirm.

Thank you for your testimony, Tom Johnson and Alan Rocher. Good evening, Mayor Hoy and members of the city council. My name is Tom Johnson and I believe I'm a member of Ward 3, Councelor Gwen's ward four. As a uh board member of the Salem Police Employees Union, I am here to share how disappointed I was to hear that five members of this city council voted in favor of keeping a convicted murderer on the CPRB. I understand that there was little or no vetting process that occurred when he was first appointed. However, when his criminal history became known to the members of this council, I would have expected the majority, if not all of the council, to recognize [clears throat] that his crimes, although many years in the past, would automatically preclude him from sitting on an oversight committee such as the CPB. There are some crimes that are so heinous that once committed, there will be repercussions that will follow the offender forever.

[clears throat]

The family of Nikki Thrasher, who was killed, will forever live with the void left in their lives as a result of her brutal murder. Just as we would not allow a convicted child molester to run a daycare or work as a grade school teacher, a man convicted in the execution death of a teenage girl should never have any involvement in the over oversight of a law enforcement agency. I know that in the last few weeks some members of his council have expressed that they did not know all the details of the murder committed by Mr. Headquist when they voted to reappoint him to the CPB. This is almost more concerning than the decision to reappoint him in my opinion. Upon learning he was convicted of aggravated murder, I do not understand why the members of this council would not put a pause on any discussion about his reappoint until all the facts were known before making such an important decision. I would close I would like to close by thanking Mayor Hoy, counselors Gwen, Tegan, and Matthews for using common sense in voting not to appoint reappoint Mr. headquest after learning of his significant criminal history. And I hope that the voters of the city of Salem remember how the respective counselors and mayor voted when it comes time for reelection. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony, Alan Rocher and Betsy Vega. [applause] Good evening. My name is Alan Rashe. I'm in Ward 4. Just a couple points that I'd like to make. Uh first and foremost, uh Kyle, um from the sounds of it, sounds like you've been redeemed. I just hope you have made your exc. Could you please address the council? I'm sorry. Thank you.

Yep. Okay, I'll say it this way. Um Kyle, I I sure hope that you have made your peace with God and has and you've received forgiveness from him. But we do serve a just God and justice part of that is just is justice and there is accountability for our actions. Period. Everybody, nobody gets away with it. We all are accountable for our own actions. And part of the consequences of the crime that you committed according to Genesis is death. Genesis 9 verse 6 says that a man that takes a life, his life shall be taken. For every man is made in the image of God and that's sacred. However, you can be restored and be redeemed, but your capacities are not limited. Those are called con uh consequences. my Vang and a few other ones out here, you've been saying he served his time. No, he did not. His time was life without parole. Our governor at that time, the same governor that legalize hard drugs in our city and we saw the damage it did there is the one that released him. Understand that completely. Okay? Although you've been redeemed, Kyle, and I appreciate that, and all you do for our city, there are certain roles that you have to understand you can never hold again. You forfeited that with your actions at that time. So, with that being said, I want to point out a couple other things. Vanessa, it's clear you're a politician. You flip-flop even during city council meetings. You did it last time. You ridiculed the process making jokes about the guidelines. You have to have an art degree or landscaper to be on this committee. You downplayed it, made fun of it, and 15 minutes later, you turned around and said, "We need to have stricter criteria for these for these appointments so we put the right people in the right positions." And you just did it again. And part of that's what made news is you going public. I didn't have all the information, which I find is ironic. Being the executive director for CASA and being a previous prosecutor, you came in to make a vote uninformed. I I had that find that hard

to believe. You were voting on what you thought the public was going to accept. And when you found out that wasn't true, you changed your mind. We don't need politics here. We need government and city council, not politicians. People that are here representing us, the people that voted you. Now, councelor Vang, I do commend you. Your integrity is intact. You stood by your thing. You stood by what you said and you're standing by it to this point regardless of the people that attack that are attacking you and that's shameful and I'm sorry that's happening to you. But your integrity speaks more and I appreciate that. Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your testimony. [applause] Betsy Vega and Jackie Rocher.

Good afternoon and madame mayor and city council. My name is Betsy Vegan. I'm a resident of W 6. I am here to testify against the following appointment to Mr. Kyle Hudquist for the city of Salem Community Police Review Board. I am a former state employee with the Department of Human Services Child Welfare Department as a child protective service worker, ongoing case manager and behavior analyst. You have worked with children in the foster care system as you did or you do, Miss Nordike. I am currently an advisory board member for Marian County Sheriff Nick Hunter and board member for the city of Salem Cultural Promotional and Tourism. I am a community chaplain and go into the Marian and Pulk County jails and talk to inmates on the weekends. Prior to my approval on these awards, I had to go through an application interview background process and wait periods. It's assumed that during this time a thorough background check is required. I sign documents that ask permission to have my background checked. So my question is after that background was failed for Mr. Headquest. Why are you appointing a former murderer to the police review board? He was to serve a sentence without parrolled, however, was granted clemency in 2022. I agree. He was a young adult who committed a hideous crime. However, he has served most of his life in in an institution. He has only demonstrated less than two years being out of prison, which is time to be off of parole. He was very clever to lie on an application to be overseen by those in charge. It was negligent to approve without a thorough background check. However, extremely disturbing how now knowing this background and still advocate for an appointment to such a delicate commission, a commission that has protected our citizens and give the privilege to a murderer. I disagree. He can serve on any other board, but why zero in in the community police review board? Because here he can discover internal knowledge to equip other inmates and behave accordingly. Very

clever. I am asking that you revoke Mr. Headquick's appointment to the police review board and instill thorough background checks on every individual to serve on boards and commissions from this day and forward. I had to do it. I am asking that you draft new bylaws and how individuals are appointed to boards and commissions, especially those to serve, including law enforcement and fire review boards for the safety of our community. Now, I thoroughly believe in redemption and being forgiven, and people do change. He can continue to help the commun community in other areas, which he has. He can serve on other boards, just not the community police review board. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. [applause] Jackie Rocher and Elizabeth Parks. Hello, Jackie Rocher. Ward 4. Thank you so much for being here on the special meeting. I just have one uh thought that I wanted to bring up with this whole situation. I think it's greater than just the police review board. I think that when you guys are talking about guidelines and coming up with protocols and what is expected for the different boards and serving, I would love to also see that um as far as like the budget. I I know there's like financial related things. So it would be good to be like, "All right, so can somebody with a embezzlement charge at some point serve?" It goes on and it's kind of a just a trickle down, right? So because this probably isn't the last time we'll deal with somebody who has a record trying to serve and I think people should serve, but it's just a matter of figuring out what is reasonable with the different boards. So I would just ask that you extend that past just the police review board, which might take a little more time. But that is all I wanted to say. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony. Uh, Elizabeth Parks and Norman Parks does it. I'm Elizabeth Parks and I'm from Ward Six and I very short Kyle Headkit would not be allowed to volunteer at a Marian County jail passing a criminal history background check is required. I believe you will be able to find a a suitable person to fill the position on the review board. And being here tonight, I didn't add that. I really do appreciate this man's attempt at doing good. And I believe he will be rewarded for doing good. And there are places that he can do that. And I'm very thankful that that is his heart's desire. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Norman Parks and Kathleen Trepa, Mayor Hoy, and members of the council, thank you for letting me address you. Um, Mayor Hoy, thank you for your capable leadership. It is encouraging and extremely appropriate that the Salem City Council is revisiting its appointment of Kyle Headquist to the Community Police Review Board and the Civil Service Commission. Reportedly, he has been appointed to the Citizens Advisory Traffic Commission as well.

These appointments are more than inappropriate. They are alarming and frightening and a huge betrayal of public trust. The crime committed by Mr. Headquist is without a doubt heinous and hideous, horrific. Though his sentence was commuted, though he was educated, he he has educated himself and obeyed the law following his release from prison. His appointment makes no sense. It's ludicrous and insane. Though Mr. Headquist served 28 years for his hideous crime, Nikki Thrasher is still paying for his crime along with her family and loved ones and will pay for eternity. For the sake of our police and fire departments, civil servants, and the populace of Salem, I would beg the Salem City Council to cancel those appointments. Let's restore our public trust. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony, Kathleen Trepa and Gerald Lindsay.

Thank you very much, Kathleen Trepa, Ward Seven. And boy, this is a sad, sorry mess. Um, I would like to commend both counselors Nordai and Vang for their thoughtful public statements regarding this incredibly ugly and divisive discussion related to the reappoint of Kyle Headquist to the police review board. For some counselors and members of the public, Mr. Headquest's reappoint may have been a cut and dry decision, you know, one way or the other. Um but for others it required careful thought regarding the rehabilitation of convicted felons, redemption, second chances and restorative justice. Philosophically, how do we best reintegrate people who have served their time into society as productive members? And I understanded that his sentence was commuted. But isn't it a community benefit to ensure that people released from prison are reintegrated in a constructive way so they don't reaffend? And that is not to condone the atrocities that were committed in the past. There is no doubt that Mr. Headquest's murder of Nikki Thrasher when he was a 17 or 18year-old was a heinous and vicious crime. So I understand why public safety staff uh would be opposed to Mr. Headquest's reappoint once his murder conviction con uh conviction became known. They are the ones responding to such violent crimes and they work hard to provide justice for the victims and their families. it makes sense to have more objective standards for who can sit on various boards and commissions to help guide recommendations and decisionmaking. I suspect that his reappointment will be overturned tonight as a result and I respect how each counselor will choose to decide to vote this evening. I am however completely disgusted by some of the community dialogue that has surrounded this issue and the threats and name calling that that those who voted in the affirmative on December 8th have been subjected to. It is absolutely uncalled for and there is no place in our public discourse for those threats and vile comments.

I also think it is very important that the public safety unions who have a long history of powerful persuasion when it comes to local politics that they use their influence responsibly. Employees have the right to free speech outside of work, but anyone intentionally spreading misinformation undermines the credibility of their department. They undermine the credibility of this agency and it erodess public trust. I hope the police department vigorously investigates the more egregious harassment of council members and that the perpetrators are prosecuted to the full extent possible as appropriate. We should be able to discuss community issues without threats of violence and vicious name calling. We should be able to discuss facts and interpretation of facts. It's okay to disagree, but it's not okay to intimidate, bully, and threaten others in the process. I'm very sorry some of you have had to um deal with the threats and have been subjected to such treatment. And I hope as a community we do better in the future. Thank you. [applause]

Gerald Lindsay and Marsha Kelly. Hi, my name is Gerald Lindseay and I am from Ward One and uh I just want to make a brief statement that I worked for the state hospital for over 20 years working with violent and sexual offenders. Um I just find that this is kind of a little bit uh like after working with all those years with all these uh violent offenders, I find this almost like putting the fox in the hen house is what we're doing here. Why are we taking this gamble? Um, in the past, uh, we'd call these founders, they we'd call them chameleas because they appear to make themselves appear to be normal people when they'd often times have a nefarious alternative motives. Um, uh, Mr. Hodz can, uh, can, uh, volunteer for any other board, but uh, why are we taking this big chance with him? Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. [applause] Marcia Kelly and Elizabeth Infonte. Marcia Kelly Ward 2. I was the recipient of two text messages regarding this issue and it led me to do reading about what also was going on. I would reiterate to those people who are so against Mr. headquist being on boards or commissions uh to remember that you may have sinned too. So you are not the person who should be able to cast the first stone. Mr. Hedwick um was 1718 when the murder occurred. newest

medical investigations on brain disorder just I think announced last week or the week before talk about the maturation of the brain between the age of 10 and 32 not 10 and 18 uh I'm really concerned about what this has done to the community the echlininess that has come out. I think that councelor Vang should be commended for her position and taking all of the flack. No one should be told that they should be fired because they made a vote as a private citizen not being paid on a city council board. That is just incredible. All of the threats should be investigated, but they should not be investigated by the Salem police. I think you should check with the state police because those the Salem Police Employees Union are the people who are sending out these notices. That is not a good idea. I don't care if it costs money. I don't think the citizens of Salem would believe any sort of an investigation if it's done by the same entity that is spewing hate in this city. I love the city. I spent 30 years on the transit board. I know what it's like to make difficult decisions. I was the board president when we c had to cancel Saturday service because we did not get funding. I had a counselor or a com board member resign because he didn't believe that we'd actually cancel the service although he'd signed the voters's pamphlet. Decisions are hard,

but people can change. And I think that if you took a look at the 12 letters that were in the commutation that were in the Salem Reporter article in 2022, you would be amazed at the things that you have learned about the person that you're talking about taking off boards and commissions. [applause] Elizabeth Infante and Tim Cowan. So, I had I was rethinking a lot of stuff I wanted to say into the counselors. It really sucks. Excuse me. Elizabeth, would you please announce your name?

My name's Elizabeth Infante Salem. I know my ward what it's ward six, ward four, w three. Okay. Sorry. I didn't amongst all things I should know that, right? But to the five counselors, I think you know you guys are going to overcome this. It'll pass. Um, really the one that really angers me through this whole process, I'm not going to call him Mr. Headquest. I'm going to call him AIC Headquest because that's what he should be. He did not serve out his sentence. His judgment said life. The one that really makes me mad again is AIC Headquest. I met Mr. Headquist while serving as chair of the community review board last year. The first thing he said to me was he was once a resident of DOC. to me. He wanted to highlight what he had done. If I was ashamed and I didn't really like and I felt horrible for what I did, I'd keep that quiet. I wouldn't put it out there for somebody to ask. That shows that AIC headquest still has that behavior that he had impulsive narcissistic when he was young age. If I was him, I'd be grateful that I was given a second chance. I would have came out to the community, gone into the woods and lived my life out. Not come and ask for people to forgive you publicly to constantly ask for that gratification from the public if he needs so badly a sorry, he needs to find that with himself. But him being and forcefully pushing himself on these boards and showing everybody saying, "I did good. I did good. I'm sorry for what I did." If you were sorry, stop putting yourself out and victimizing the family over and over by having to see your name in the news. Having to see that you're still doing what Nikki will never do. My friend Priscilla Alana was shot in the head in December of last year. Her murderer,

you going to do 30 years? No, he should do life because she will never be brought back. Same as Nikki. So, AIC Headquist should not be here crying and he should not be here screaming, showing us exactly how he's still impulsive. He still has that fire underneath him that he says he doesn't have. He may have had done all the great things in prison and helped everybody out. Good. Congratulations. When I wrote to you guys and I said what his behavior was, I was concerned about the impulsiveness, what he's going to bring to the board. and he's someone who was incarcerated for how long? 30 years. How much has changed in that time? He should not be allowed to be on. And I feel sorry for him that he's going to continue to be in the public and victimize the public by getting a slap on the back. Poor AIC. Thank you for your testimony, [applause] Tim. Tim Cowan, please state your name and your award or your address for the record. Thank you. I always do this wrong. Mayor, city council, for the record, my name is Tim Cowan and I'm the chair of the legislative commission for the American Legion and on the National Legislative Commission. I just want to say that uh because um it's on the record, you know, with the legislature and so on. I'm communicating as a um veteran. I've sat on the first court marshal held in the state of Oregon. Now, what's interesting about a court marshal is we don't follow civil law. We

follow military law. So what happens in the civil environment it doesn't uh impact what our decision is in this particular case uh that was that we uh ruled on in the court marshall kind of fits this. The person would had committed a crime and had fulfilled all of his requirements that the uh court had placed on him. We rule that the image that would impact the military, the National Guard, the command within that military. And just like right now as I sat here and listened to the testimony, there are a lot of different opinions and a lot of impact this decision has on the image. It could be the image of the police department, uh, the committee, the mayor, and you have to make your decision based on what does it do to the image. In our particular case, we felt that what had occurred would not represent the command and the the soldiers that were under that command. that that would create a a problem for them. So, it's all about what image does it present to you and the people that will be in uh affected by it. Mayor, that's the end of my uh statement.

Thank you for your testimony. That's everyone. [applause] That's everyone who had signed up in time, but someone Yeah, you had come in later. Of course. Please come forward. State your name, your ward, or your address for the record. And you'll have three minutes to speak.

I'm Mike Fenning. I'm on from uh W 6. I'm very disappointed in our counselor, but I will You say AIC. I say inmate. Inmate Hegz, that's what he is. I'll give him credit. He admitted that he did the crime at 18 years old, got life without parole, and our so-called governor let him out with a lot of other juveniles that should still be locked up. It doesn't matter what you, let me say, I worked in the prison system, OCI, transport unit. I dealt with a lot of inmates that were doing life without parole or 25 years to life. Most of them, especially 25 years to life, they had to prove themselves, take classes, and they might get out 30, 40 years. But when you're dealing with a life without parole, it doesn't matter what you do in prison, the president of the Lipers Club, president of this, president of this, whatever. You do life without parole. I volunteer at OSP twice a week now. Never thought I'd do anything like that. I met a guy that's been there for 50 years for a murder. 50 years. Okay. He gets out after 30 years because Governor Brown felt sorry for him. He was 18. He killed a lady. Shot her behind in the back of the head. Bring up another one. Sterling Cooney. He's he's been here before, too, and spoke. He did the same thing to a couple. Kidnapped him out of Salem, took him to Benton County. Governor Brown let him out then, too, because he was a juvenile. And talking about doing this thing, you know what your brain's doing from the time you're 10 to 32, that's BS. I don't care what there is. Most of us in here have never

committed a crime. We knew what we were doing at 16, 17 years old, 18 years old, even younger, working And regarding this background check, my question is, do you guys all get a background check to be be able to sit where you're sitting? I guess yes. Well, they should be, but I have to take one. Even though I worked in the Department of Corrections, I had to take another background check. I had another background check to volunteer for P County Sheriff's Office. Background check. Background check. Check. No matter. This man should never be on a police review board riding a police car because part of the thing on the background check it says your criminal history. He should not be in a car with a gun or an officer with a gun or even a knife. So I I hope you guys vote to not even reappoint him again. You shouldn't be reported the first time. Thank you. [applause]

Thank you for your testimony. That concludes public comment. We are moving on to special orders of business. Item 3.8. Thank you. Um, I move that the city council adopt the criminal history background check guidelines as set forth in the October 6, 2025 staff report to the city council boards and commissions appointment committee for the applicants to the community police review board and civil service commission. Second. We have a motion and a second by Gwyn councelor to your motion.

Thank you. So on the December 8th meeting, um I made some comments about my concern with having had requested um of our uh staff that we review the boards and commissions, all of them, and the guidelines, the requirements um because things had not been updated for some time. And I also talked about the application process was a bit challenging in the sense that questions would be asked if someone was applying for um a committee but the question may be about being on the library committee and that wasn't the committee that they were on. So, we recognized that there was some and things that needed to be reviewed and this was um something that I was concerned about especially for this choice that we had in front of us with Mr. Headquest. So I after our December 8th meeting, I met with our city attorney and I said we need to have a motion regarding getting guidelines specifically for the um civil the community police review board. And so that's how this began. Um and so my motion is to bring this forward. And I just want to make a few discussion points on this. Criminal history is one of the factors the council was to consider and is still needs to consider when appointing members to the community police review board. Recently, council was asked to consider the reappoint of Kyle Headquest to the board. However, the council was not specifically informed of Mr. Headquest's criminal history, nor what guidelines or standards should be applied to that decision. To properly consider an applicant's

criminal history as it is related to the CPB, council should be informed of the role of criminal history in the appointment criteria. What types of convictions, if any, may disqualify or require additional vetting, how much time has passed following a conviction, and other information relevant to the consideration. We did have guidelines set forth at the October 6 um sta the staff report is attached that were developed by the police um city manager and legal department staff and are cons consistent with the guidelines applied to applicants for police volunteers. It is appropriate that the same guidelines that are applied to the police volunteers also be applied to the CPB applicants where criminal history is mandatory uh consideration for appointment and to the civil service commission which concerns fire service and public safety considerations. Also attached in the documents are the CPB procedures for criminal history checks that were recently implemented by the staff. The documents establish the procedure for conducting criminal history checks for the CPB applicants and questions that have been added to the CPRB application. The intent of this motion is to ensure clear, consistent, and transparent standards for future appointments reflecting the sensitive nature of the CPR work and the civil service commission and to the community's expectations. To add to this, I will add some personal comments. I I also want to thank everyone for their testimony. Um, and as all of you have recognized the hundreds of written

testimony that we got, and I also want to commend everybody on this council for their past decisions and also for what lay ahead of us. These are not easy decisions and we are often confronted with things that we wonder, did I have all of that information? Did I make a good choice? And what we do have is the opportunity for reconsideration, but we need to make that choice quickly. So, I'm bringing this motion forward um because I feel that we need these clearer guidelines. How can we move forward and make good judgment calls when we don't have clear guidelines? The Salem Council is not a parole board. And when Mr. Headquest was originally appointed to the CPRB and later reappointed. The discuss the discussion concerns civic engagement. Not the commutation of a sentence and at that time there were no clear guidelines regarding criminal history and no objections were raised by the public or by the police or fire unions. and [cough and clears throat] and based on this information and standards, I agreed with my fellow counselors to reappoint. My perspective is informed by lived experience. My father was a deputy marshal in the LA county in the 60s and then he became a parole and prohibation officer first for adults and then for juveniles and served in that role for 25 years. We were in a household that recognized criminal justice system needs a lot of work and it still does. And we also understood that people that had been incarcerated should have the opportunities to reintegrate into society.

That was my lived experience. Over the past month, the public conversation has shifted its focus on the commutation of Mr. Headquest sentences. and I understand why this has been so painful. My heart does go out to Nikki Thrasher's family and I appreciate hearing from the community members who shared the complexity of their emotions about this issue. Since the reappoint, we have also heard from the police and fire union leadership. While I am very disappointed in how parts of that were handled and politicized, I did listen and I have taken their concerns seriously. This is how the process works. I believe in rehabilitation and the diverse perspectives that are valuable in any committee. At the same time, I must weigh the concerns raised by my constituents and by our public safety leaders. The purpose of my motion is to move us forward by establishing clear and consistent guidelines with the support of our city attorney, deputy police chief, and community services director so our future council and committees are not part put in this position again. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Nishioa. Um, I would uh like to amend your motion. I move to amend councelor Nishioa's motion to also require that the city conduct background checks on all boards and commission applications in the same manner as other city volunteers and employees. Second. Second.

Motion uh Hoy and a second by Matthews. And to my motion, the city currently conducts background checks on all city volunteers except boards and commission members. Extending this requirement to boards and commission applicants would better ensure the safety of the general public who interact with our boards and commissions and the staff that support them. The cost to expend back expand background checks to applicants for boards and commissions is less than $5,000 per year as estimated by staff. While boards and commission members do not work direct directly with residents as other city volunteers often do, they represent the city and perform important roles. Therefore, it is appropriate to expand the background check requirement to all city volunteers, including applicants for boards and commissions. Any other comment?

Any questions? Call question. Yeah, Councelor Brown. Thanks, Madam Mayor. So, in regards to the motion that's on the floor and changing um the guidelines for potential applicants, once the vote is cast, is there a need to actually discuss his appointment?

Dan Aches, city attorney. So, just procedurally, just to make sure we're all on the same page, there's been a a main motion, which is to adopt guidelines uh for the Civil Service Commission and CPRB that that staff have adopted. Council would be using those guidelines as well. Um then now there's an amendment that would just it's slightly different, but it just requires uh the volunteer background check to apply to all board and commission members. Um, so your question is if you end up adopting the amendment and the main motion, do you have to then consider uh Mr. Headquist's uh appointment? And yes, you do because that appointment's already been made. So this would change procedures perspectively going forward.

Got it. And and one other question. Um with those guidelines that the team will work on because I think it's it's you uh madam city manager I think also the the police chief with those guidelines will one of them be um that a felon will not be able to serve on a board or commission.

So let me let me be try to be as clear as possible. So for the uh currently what staff is applying as far as criteria for criminal history checks for the CPRB um we have four different criteria basically a violent felony conviction at any time in the person's history being under investigation for a crime or a or has a criminal case pending um any misdemeanor conviction within the last 3 years and any other criminal history that gives reasonable concerns about the safety of others. So that's the criteria that staff is applying now for to for applicants to the CPRB. Um if if council adopts the motion, that's the criteria that that council would also apply. Uh for the mayor's motion, the criteria is slightly different for employees. I don't have that in front of me. Um I I and I don't want to speculate as whether it's more strict or less strict. Um there are certain laws that apply when people when you know that the check the box laws and things like that. Um and so we go through a process when when folks apply to review criminal history and make an assessment. And those those same standards that app apply to employees would then apply they apply now to volunteers and they would then under the mayor's motion apply to all board and commission applicants as well.

Councelor Nordic. Thank you. I support your amendment and I support the original motion. If these vetting processes that are being proposed tonight were in place years ago, we would never be in this position tonight. Thank you. Anyone else? Councelor Matthews.

So, I'm just trying to get clarity. Sorry. So, this motion doesn't actually prohibit someone that has a violent felony from being on the CPRB or the uh civil service commission. It only basically puts it where the staff would then give a recommendation to not appoint, which is the same thing we had before. Is that right? Uh Danes and city attorney. Yes, that's correct. They're guidelines. They're not mandatory requirements. If council wants to make them mandatory requirements, you're welcome to. Okay, councelor Matthews. So, I'll I don't know. Can I amend an amended motion here, Dan? I don't know what my choices here are.

Council, if I'm reading the tea leaves, I think you'd like to amend the motion to make it the guidelines mandatory requirements. I'd like to make it that yeah, if there's a violent felony that it's a mandatory requirement and um that at least one position on the CPRB be reserved for a victim of violent crime. Okay. So, I would ask you to hold off on that motion until we act on the amendment and then you can raise that motion. Okay. Anyone else? So, we're ready for a vote on Bane. Councelor Bane.

Uh thank you. Um, so in regards to the mayor's amendment, her amendment is extending the background check that city volunteers undergo and all of the requirements that are that they have to meet extending it to the boards and commission volunteers. Is my understanding correct in the ballpark? I think you are correct. Okay. Thank you. Councelor Brown. I was just going to say and it also is for other volunteers. Okay. So Brown.

So thank you Madam Mayor. So my question is if this motion is approved for all the current volunteers who are on any boards or commission would they now be subjugated to have to go through the background check. Also,

uh we haven't uh considered that in the case of the the CPB because staff had admittedly not been performing that background check once we realized it was a requirement. That's why we went and then notified members of the CPRB and conducted the checks. So most likely we would be uh conducting background checks on city sitting board and commission members and then if there's any problematic history we would bring that uh to council's attention through the boards and commissions appointments committee.

Thank you Mr. city attorney. So I just want to repeat that make sure I heard that correctly. So, if the motion is approved tonight for any individual that is currently volunteering on the city's board or commission that they would have to go through a background check. The answer to what I heard tonight would be yes. Thank you, Mr. City Attorney. Councelor Nishioa.

Thank you. I think one question I would like to ask um our city attorney is because we're going to be reviewing and establishing rules and regulations for all boards and commissions here in the next uh month or two from what I understand. Um, I'm wondering if this motion might uh the amended motion might wait until we also have other opportunities to see what uh recommendations or changes that we might be wanting to make to these other boards and commissions.

I think the mayor is the maker of the motion can speak to whether she wants to withdraw it, but um from my perspective, it's a fairly finite uh change that we could incorporate fairly smoothly. So, no. Thank you for that information. Anything else? So, we're ready to vote on the amended motion. Is that right? Or the motion?

Council will first vote on the amendment to the main motion, which is Coun or Mayor Hoy's motion uh to expand background checks to board and commission um applicants. And then if that's approved, you would go back to the main motion as amended. All right, then. Will the recorder please call the role? Question on the floor again. Can we have that motion reread? Madame Mayor, please.

Absolutely. I move to amend Councelor Nishio's motion to also require that the city conduct background checks on all board and commission applications in the same manner as other city volunteers and employees. Councelor Quinn,

I am so sorry. So, I just want to again clarify that the the a background check would be done, but boards and commissions appointment committee would still I mean the staff wouldn't eliminate someone's application for parks because they have a felony conviction necessarily, right? boards and commissions would see the application and be told this is what was on the background check. Do we want to move forward with this appointment? Is that correct? Yes, as happened. I just wanted to make sure. As happened with our committee meeting.

Just wanted to make sure. Thank you. Anything else? Thank you. Will the recorder please call the role? Councelor Nishioa. I. Councelor Matthews. I councelor Gwen I councelor Brown I councelor Bang I counselor Nordike councelor Vney is absent councelor Tyen I mayor Julie Hoy I motion passes and now to the original motion yes councelor Matthews

so I'd like to propose an amendment as well and so I move to amend the motion to disqualify any person convicted of a violent felony from being qualified to serve on the CPRB or Civil Service Commission and at least one spot to be reserved on the CPRB for a person with lived experience as a victim of violent crime. Second.

We have a motion and a second by Gwyn counselor to your motion. Uh I I think while I agree having some solidified uh background checks and kind of a process for staff to review is is important, it's ultimately the same position we were just in. And we as a council uh the council opted to kind of forego that recommendation and still move forward with um appointing a violent felon. Um and so to me, this is about something further than that. This is about just doing the right thing now so that we don't end up in this position in the future. so that this is sort of out of council's hands to some degree and that the staff are able to disqualify um a person in these two committees uh just immediately. Um and I think that's appropriate. I think this this experience, this particular incident, I think has really exposed that to me. Uh secondarily, I think so much we've talked about different perspectives that are important, but ultimately one perspective we can never really get is Nikki Thrasher's perspective in this particular scenario. And so I think having a victim of violent crime, someone that's seen, been here, done this, uh, that's an important voice that we don't have right now on the CPRB. And frankly, I think we should have.

Councelor Brown. Thanks, Madam Mayor. Uh, just so I hear heard that clearly. So, Councelor Matthews, your amended motion is that we have at least one position that someone can feel that has lived experience. Is that correct? Lived experience as a crime victim of violent crime.

Got it. And and I do want to just say uh just for the record that it is vital it is vital to have someone with a lived experience speak on any particular matter that either one they have experienced or even the community has experienced. So having someone's voice in that I I do think that matters and so I will support that motion. Councelor Matthews. Sorry, Councelor Nordic. Go ahead.

It's all right. Uh, Councelor Matthews, thank you. I think those are excellent amendments, but I'm wondering if you would consider loosening in the term instead of victim of violent crime. I would just say victim of crime, period. uh because there are for example uh victims of sexual assault too. I wouldn't want them necessarily excluded. I think a victim of crime is more generalized and I think goes more to the spirit of what you're saying. I hope you'll consider a friendly amendment. Uh and I wouldn't want to feel that we're closing a door to other victims from applying because we are segmenting a specific type of crime. Unfortunately, there's lots of offenses don't necessarily qualify as violent. So, I'm just wondering if you would consider softening your motion to just say add a design dedicated position for a victim of crime and prohibit felons from serving on the CSC and the CPRB in the future. I'm supportive of that.

Councelor Matthews, I think I'd be opening to amending it down to still a felony crime. I think we're all at some point in time in our lives a victim of some version of crime. You have your car broken into, you get your mail stolen, I'm in this position because my mail was stolen. Uh I I think it becomes so broad that suddenly everyone qualifies and then it's it's not it's there's no point in it in the first place. Uh so I think I could see amending it down and I'd be willing to do that down to a a felony crime still. Um something that that speaks to that higher level uh than myself. victim of felony crime. Is did I hear you correctly? Yes, that makes sense to me. That sounds like a good compromise. Thank you. Thank you. Yes.

In the interest of not uh taxing our brains too heavily on parliamentary procedure. I I would ask if council is okay with that amendment to change it to a felony crime, we can just agree by consensus. If anyone objects, they can raise an objection and we can take a vote on it. Question. Councelor Brown. Um, thank you, Madam Mayor. So, Mr. City Attorney, are you are you suggesting that we do that now before we vote? Do we just be in agreement?

Sorry, I don't mean to make it more confusing. So, Councelor Matthews amendment uh would be modified to include a member in the CPRB of a victim of felony crime. If if council's okay, by consensus, we'll we'll we'll change his motion to say that and then we'll vote on that motion. And and ju just so I'm clear. Never mind.

Just so we're all clear, and I don't have um I don't have a felon on my record. And so when I think of someone that has a felon on their record and they want to give back to society and they've had that lived experience, by default, they would not be allowed to serve. Is that correct? I I see you you're saying yes, but he's saying no. on this board on this particular board just this board these two and civil civil service

and and I and again just for clarity because I I want to say out loud what some folks may be thinking in this space or even at home. We want to discredit someone from serving or volunteering because they are a felon. One felon. Just you only need one. Is that what we're saying? Only one. I just find it funny, Madame Mayor, that we want to not have someone with a felon serve when we have a commander-in-chief that's 34. So again, I I I just want to say it out loud, Madame Mayor, with with all due respect.

Thank you, Councelor Brown. Anyone else? Okay, city attorney. I I Let's go ahead and vote on Matthew's motion just to make sure we're all on the same page here. Could you restate your motion, please? I move to amend the motion to disqualify any person convicted of a violent felony from being qualified to serve on the CPRB or civil service commission and at least one spot be reserved on the CPRB for a person with lived experience as a victim of felony crime. And councelor Nordike, if you'd like to make a motion to amend Matthew's motion, why don't you go ahead and bring that? No.

Okay. That seems No, I think you've taken the concerns in. And um I I would also add that while this amendment, which I expect will pass, would prohibit violent felons from serving on the Civil Service Commission or the CPRB. Those meetings are open to the public. So there is nothing to preclude any member of the public from attending those meetings, providing testimony, and participating, just not as a voting member. Councelor Bang.

Uh thank you. Um, I appreciate uh, Councelor Matthew bringing this amendment to the floor and for council to consider and I appreciate expanding um, the victim seat uh, to felony crime. I I really do. I think that portion of the amendment makes a lot of sense to me. What I have difficulties with the first part of this amendment is that it doesn't leave any space for uh criminal justice reform. It doesn't allow our incarcerated community who have served their time and wants to reintegrate back into our community and want to serve on these boards. uh it prevents them from serving on these particular boards. And I heard a public comment tonight about how the police review board and the civil service commission, they are oversight committees, advisory committees to uh these agencies. and an oversight committee is tested on whether they are able to actually oversee the body that they're supposed to uh oversee. And by not allowing somebody who has a lived experience and who wants to be a positive contributing member on these boards, I just I just find it very difficult to vote uh yes on this amendment the way it is, but I appreciate the second portion of the amendment a lot because I think it again reserves another perspective on these important boards. So, um, thank you for listening to my comment and letting me

uh talk out loud. Anyone else? Okay, Mr. City Attorney, we are voting on Councelor Matthews amendment. Correct. Thank you. Will the city recorder please call the role? Councelor Matthews, I. Councelor Gwen, I. Councelor Brown, I. Councelor Bang. Nay. Councelor Nordike. Hi. Councelor Barney is absent. Excuse me. Uh councelor Tyen I. Councelor Nishioa I. Mayor Julie Hoy

I. Motion passes. All right. Now we are to the original motion. The original motion as amended twice. Councelor Nishio, would you like to read the motion again?

I move that the city council adopt the criminal history background check guidelines as set forth in the October 6th, 2025 staff report to the city council boards and commissions appointment committee for applicants to the community police review board and civil service commission. And to clarify, that also includes the the mayor's motion, which was adopted by council, to expand background checks to all board and commission members and councelor Matthews motion to uh disqualify violent felons from the CPRB and CSC reserve and reserve one spot uh for a victim of violent crime, felony felony crimes, excuse me.

Okay. Will the city recorder please call the role? Councelor Gwyn I. Councelor Brown. I. Councelor Bang. Nay. Councelor Nordike. I. Councelor Barney. Absent. Councelor Tyen. I. Councelor Nishioa. I. Councelor Matthews. I. And Mayor Julie Hoy.

I. Motion passes. All right. We are moving on to item 3.B. U. Councelor Nordike to your motion. Thank you. I move for council to reconsider the reappointment of Kyle Headquist to the Community Police Review Board and appointment to the Civil Service Commission. Second. Second by Gwyn. Councelor to your motion.

Thank you, Madame Mayor. This is the first procedural step for our city attorney in order to consider withdrawing Mr. headquist from these two boards. So this is a procedural motion intended to basically open the door to removing him from these two boards. So I have no further comment. Anyone else comment question? Councelor Matthews.

So it's uh it's rare that I I have a degree in criminal justice. It's super rare I ever get to use that because my normal work doesn't actually have anything to do with it. ood. Um, so premeditated violent crimes, it's it's particularly against vulnerable women, it's fairly well understood to be about oftentimes about power and dominance. And um, there's been a lot of personal claims tonight um, and just generally by Mr. Headquest about his change and his rehabilitation. Um, but upon civil review, it seems to me that there a direct link still exists between his request to be on the CPRB and the Civil Service Commission in the first place and his desire to have power and dominance. Um, at this moment, Mr. Headquest has been out for about 3 years, a little over. But within one year of being released, his focus wasn't volunteer in a subservient role to the police, but instead it was a role of dominance and to evaluate officers actions. Furthermore, just even here tonight, he's alluded to a larger conspiracy theory that seems to entail a corrupt detective, four more boys that were involved in his case. And at one point, he speaks about a whole city's participation. This is clearly not a person, in my opinion, that's able to be pragmatic, non-bias, fair, or above reproach. So, when we're looking at whether or not he should be on this board and reconsidering it, um those are the pieces that I'll be I'll be looking at tonight.

Anyone else? [clears throat] Councelor Nordic.

Thank you so much. So, I I think it's also worth pointing out that I am extremely appreciative of everyone who has submitted testimony. I appreciate it because we have heard a great deal on variety of perspectives and that is greatly valued. I think it's worth pointing out the Statesman Journal reported on headquist serving on the CPB with this conviction on or about November 24th of this year. And I wish that I would have heard the testimony tonight and the emails that I've received before our vote in early December because public input matters to me and always has. And it is rare indeed that we have such a lag between meetings. Our last meeting was what December 8th and here we are January 7. And that's given all of us plenty of time to reflect on a decision. Normally we have a meeting right after that. We could have met and I think we ultimately didn't have any meetings until now. So anyway, I just find it incredibly helpful to everyone for your testimony and for sharing your perspectives whether it was an email or whether it was this evening. The only testimony for which I do not express gratitude is of course threats of violence towards my peers. Completely unacceptable. There are ways for you to tell us that we're doing a poor job without threatening harm. So hindsight is 2020 and I know a lot of people who don't like to admit when they're wrong, but I do. I admit when I'm wrong and I was wrong on this vote in on December 8th and I feel that

leaders have a heightened responsibility to admit when they're wrong and leaders have a heightened desire and need to fix it and that's why I brought this motion to fix it. So and that is also why I brought the motion to reverse or withdraw these appointments. And to those out there who have testified in regards to restorative justice, I do want to reiterate that this council has unanimously appointed him to the traffic advisory commission. And again, all of these meetings are open to the public. Anyone, regardless of criminal background, is free to attend any of our meetings, provide any testimony they wish, provide questions and comments, talk to the members of the boards themselves. Nothing in the decisions that we just made will preclude a person of Mr. headquist background from attending a future CPRB meeting and it fully participating in that capacity as a public member of society. Thank you,

Councelor Brown.

Thanks, Madam Mayor. Um, Council Nord, I appreciate um the motion. Um, although I will not support it, I do appreciate it. Um because I'm going to say what I haven't said yet because there is a lot of comments that have already been said in regards to folks uh receiving threats on their life. I join counselor Bang in those threats. She's not the only one that received dozens of emails in regards to threats on their life, death threats. And when I think about how we came to be in the situation for those leaders who thought it was a good idea to put a website together to draw us into this place, I find that highly disrespectful and I am disappointed. And everybody in the space and those who are watching me at home, they know for a fact that this man, this black man has always supported public safety from day one, even before I was elected into this seat. I have always, without a blink of an eye, supported public safety. and for leaders to join together and think that a website is the best alternative to get elected officials to bow the knee to force them to change their vote to have folks email us all the way from the East Coast to want to do all types of things to us to believe that these elected officials are the ones that created the public crisis. That's erroneous. We didn't create the public crisis.

And I'm disappointed because I expected more. We live in a society that we have folks divided on everything. You look around you in this space, you got people don't even like each other because one's on the left and one's on the right. I really thought that we were better, Madam President. I really thought we were. But when someone is receiving death threats, [snorts] who do I call? Who do we call as elected officials or people of color? Who do we call when we need help? You see how that sounds? of public safety should not be about someone's race, creed, gender, belief. It should be about protecting you regardless of your belief. And what I just said already has people angry. What I just said already has people not liking Dr. Brown. Oh, there he goes again. I'm disappointed that here we are again. Excuse me.

So, Madame Mayor, you know, I appreciate you and I always have. I just find that we're in a place. How do we recover from this? I don't know. And with the folks who put this together that brought us here tonight, you have to ask yourself, uh, what did you gain? That man back there may not get the seat. He may be booted off, but what did you gain? If you want to have a conversation about how to reform criminal justice, let's do it. But it it's it's sad. I yield the floor. Anyone else?

Councelor Nishoka. I want to thank both my fellow counselors Vang and Brown for making these honest statements. Thank you. [cough and laughter] Anyone else? Councelor Bang. Thank you, Mayor. Councelor Brown, I appreciate [clears throat] your words and I wholeheartedly agree. Any other comments?

Did you want to say something, Mr. City Attorney? Your mic's on. All right. Will the city recorder please call the role? Councelor Brown. Nay. Councelor Bang. Nay. Councelor Nordike. I. Councelor Vney is absent. Councelor Tyen. I. Councelor Nishioa. I. Councelor Matthews. Hi. Councelor Gwen. Hi. Mayor Julie Hoy I. Motion passes.

Councelor Nordike to item 3. C. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I move for council to withdraw the appointment of Kyle Headquist to the Community Police Review Board and appointment to the Civil Service Commission. Second.

Motion and a second by Gwyn. Councelor to your motion. Nothing further. Anyone else? Any comment? Councelor Gwyn, it's tough uh to sit up here and some days are harder than others. I there's a couple things that I wanted to say. It has been said that I brought forth a motion back on May 13th of 2024 to appoint Kyle Headquist to the CPB. The fact of the matter is the motion that I brought forward was to approve a consent agenda item. What this has taught me is well and then I should go back because the initial application for Mr. Headquist to be appointed to the CPB happened at a at a boards and commissions meeting on April in April of 2024. There is no record of that meeting. I tried back in 2024 to get the recording and I tried again recently to listen to the recording because I wanted to know if his application was if people went through the application and looked at what it said. And I I apologize to all of you for not I I mean I I have to be honest. He his application did say that he was the president of the Lifers Club. I'm sorry. I didn't know what the Lifers Club was. That That's just the truth. I didn't I didn't know. Had I known, I pulled that from the I pulled that agenda item that night because I had a

question about planning commission. It had nothing to do with the CPRB. So for for folks to say online and for my fellow counselors to say that I'm the one that brought that that motion forward, it it's disingenuous because that that's not how it happened. And I can assure you that had I known in April or May of 2024 Mr. Headquist's record, I would I would not have voted in favor of it. I just wouldn't have when I was and I've only shared this a couple of times in my entire life. One of them being uh a couple of nights ago when I was 10 about 10 years old my uncle was killed at the hands of another man [snorts] and I remember and we lived on High Street in Salem at that time. I remember walking into our house and you hear you you read it in books about the pain that someone feels and that that cry of pain. And I that this happened in the 19 early 1970s. I was 10 years old and to this day I still hear the pain of my father's cry. [snorts] be because someone took the life of his only brother. So we do, councelor Nishio, we do all make decisions on this dis based on some personal um experience and I I I I wouldn't have voted that way. So, anyone who thinks and says that I'm the one that brought

the motion, it wasn't knowingly, and what I can assure all of you is I will be paying attention. [laughter] I will be paying attention to the the um applications, the applicants and so for that negligence on in April of 2024, I apologize. Um we did get a letter from um this is Nikki Nikki Thrasher. This is her high school photo. Her best friend from high school sent this to us with a note that and I'm going to I'm not going to read all of it because I'm not going to take that much time, but what she said was, "Nikki was my childhood best friend. We were the kind of best friends young tween girls are before the world teaches caution. We had matching jackets. We wore a heart necklace broken in half that said best friends. She wore one half and I wore the other. It was a promise made in innocence that we grow up together. Nikki was beautiful, not just in appearance, but in the way she moved through the world. She was intelligent, responsible, and always thriving to do the right thing. She was extremely proud of her South Korean heritage and humorously introduced me to kimchi. If you haven't tried kimchi, it's amazing. Um, she was faithful, compassionate, and deeply kind. She was the kind of student who loved te who teachers loved, always doing her best. She was the person people trusted, the person who believed in others and gave them grace. Nikki would have made the the a real difference in this world.

She was not Nikki did not get to fall in love, marry, have children, to see her professional goals trump come true. Her life ended in violent tra tragedy at the hands of Kyle Headquist. If you're not and and then she goes on to say what happened and we all know what happened. Um she said, "These facts matter. While I recognize the criminal justice system allows for release, clemency, and rehabilitation, release from prison is not the same as restoration of moral authority. Clemency does not undo the act, nor does it return what was taken. I am 50 years old now. Nikki should have been able to celebrate her 50th birthday on March 17th, 2025, surrounded by her loved ones, maybe even grandb babies. Instead, she remains forever frozen in time, forever young, forever absent, forever without a voice. I'm not going to read the rest, but I think you get the point. And that's all I have to say. Thank you,

Councelor Bang. Thank you, Mayor. Councelor Gwen, thank you for reading that letter, that email. I also received it and it thank you for bringing attention to that. Councelor Gwen, thank you for providing me with that additional information about how the initial motion for the appointment was made. Um, that was very helpful and it provides additional clarity to the facts of how all of this came about and I apologize for making you feel like you had to go on the defensive. I that was not my intention. That was not my intention uh to you or to counselor Matthews or to any of the counselors on this stage. I believed I was just setting the stage for the facts for the public to know on how we came about this conversation. So, I apologize to the both of you if you felt you had to be on the defensive from what I believed to be the facts. So, thank you,

Councelor Gwyn.

Um, Councelor Vang. Well, and I want everyone to know I have the utmost respect for everyone on this council. We have come so far um as a group and you don't need to apologize to me. I wanted the public to know. Um I mean we're we're all human. We all make mistakes and I feel like I failed by not um I don't know. I mean I I took the recommendation of the boards and commissions committee and I will be more um aware going forward. So that's

councelor Nordike. Uh, I just want to say thank you, Councelor Gwyn, for your incredibly thoughtful uh, description of Nikki Thrasher and that email and sharing your photo. Thank you. I think that so often in these conversations, our victims get forgotten. So, thank you. And I also want to commend my colleagues for the civility. There are we get we've had some pretty intense public testimony over the last year. But no matter how much anger has been directed towards us, I don't see anger directed among us for which I am internally grateful. And I also want to thank the staff because the the staff are also affected by the testimony that we receive. the anger and the betrayal spills over and impacts the civil servants who do not make the votes. The civil servants who want nothing to do with the challenges of being a public official, they too are affected and they too get the angry phone calls and emails and so on. So, I want to say thank you to our city manager and our city attorney. Um, I really appreciate your support and your guidance throughout this. This has been one very difficult chapter and it's not even the only one we've had. So, I want to say thank you to our staff and thank you to my colleagues as because we have a meeting next week. The work continues. Welcome to 2026. Anyone else? Councelor Gwyn, I just want to thank you for sharing your personal story. I know

that's incredibly painful for you and it makes uh um it enlightens me certainly. I won't speak for others. Um, and unfortunately we live in a state where the victims take a backseat to the criminals and for you to bring her name in this uh in this environment and her photo is deeply meaningful and I thank you very much for that. Any other comment? Will the city recorder please call the role? Councelor Bang.

Nay. Councelor Nordike. I. Councelor Barney absent. Councelor Tyen. I. Councelor Nishioa. I. Councelor Matthews. I. Councelor Gwyn. I. Councelor Brown. Nay. Mayor Julie Hoy. I. Motion passes. We're moving on to information reports. Item 4 A, background information on the community police review board and civil service commission appointment process. There's no presentation. We have uh nothing further. So we are adjourned.