Jo Ann Hardesty’s Toxic Language will Continue to be her Greatest Challenge at City Hall and With the Public!
- Opinion Piece TWO in a Series of SIX Political Commentaries by Gonzo Journalist Theresa Griffin Kennedy.
When I look at the obvious struggles of Jo Ann Hardesty — to be taken seriously as a Portland City Commissioner, to be respected as a communicator, or to demonstrate any semblance of human compassion for any person working in the law enforcement professions, it is Jo Ann’s toxic language that I consider to be her greatest challenge, difficulty and liability.
She does not communicate with the finesse of a true politician.
Jo Ann is a person who casually attacks those who oppose her, even in mundane ways. She has even attacked anyone who wishes, under the US constitution regarding free speech, to support law enforcement, “Hardesty slams PBOT contractor with ‘thin blue line’ flag.”
Hardesty seems to believe that if she dislikes all police officers everywhere, than so should everyone else. Because she does. And she seems to believe that if she makes a huge error in judgment, like calling 911 on a Taxi driver because he would not do exactly as she ordered him to, (when he was observing Covid-19 WHO guidelines) than she can then blame anyone for her own mistake, including “white supremacy.”
Jo Ann Hardesty cannot seem to communicate without attacking her colleagues or anyone else who may disagree with her or point out that she is perhaps not as informed on a particular topic as she would like to think. She has displayed little control over her impulse to engage in “a stunning war of words” when she shares what is on her mind.
Knowing Jo Ann and her tedious go-to responses to any form of criticism, I expect if a woman like me were to riff on her struggles with communication, she would label anything I have to share as “racist” rather than an honest examination of how she has failed to communicate well, or respectfully, using language. She may even say it is a cultural thing, but I know other Black leaders in Portland who are gracious, patient and kind in how they communicate with others.
Attacking others is often what Hardesty does in response to any form of criticism. Whoever calls her conduct into question or goes against her is a “racist” in her mind. The methods she uses in today’s Cancel Culture world are often a convenient way of silencing people who might challenge her or point out her numerous failures, and it is an extremely effective form of social manipulation via character assassination. Call someone a “racist” and often as not, you will silence them.
Well, not this old woman, here.
Hardesty has used this method repeatedly while running for office and while in City Hall, including accusing Portland Police officers of being part of a “rogue paramilitary operation” with absolutely no evidence to support that outrageous claim. She Tweeted in June of 2021: “I remain deeply concerned these RRT resignations are yet another example of a rogue paramilitary organization that is unaccountable to the elected officials and residents of Portland.”
I don’t really mind Jo Ann’s propensity for drama, or attacking others who hold her accountable. It’s a defense mechanism which low intelligence people often use, and frankly, I can handle it. I’ve been called worse than a racist in my life. But what I cannot tolerate is the way that Jo Ann tries to deceive well-intentioned Portlanders into believing that she actually cares about Portland. Because I don’t believe Jo Ann Hardesty does care.
I believe Jo Ann cares about Jo Ann.
She is more invested in her monthly salary than in the lists of fatal shootings that occur each month.
The group of men and women most often at the receiving end of Hardesty’s often absurd and vitriolic attacks are the men and women of the Portland Police Bureau. But Jo Ann also attacks the characters of her colleagues as well, calling them cowards who fill her with disgust at their collective lack of “courage” as compared to her, apparently.
The thoughtless and insulting language Hardesty uses has now become commonplace, accepted and “the new Normal” at Portland City Council. This reminds me of the way that Mr. Donald Trump used divisive language as a way to deflect his own reprehensible conduct while pretending to be a US President.
Like Trump, Hardesty weaponizes language and uses it to attempt to normalize uncivil and unprofessional communication with others. But the abusive and immature language Hardesty uses debases the position she holds — that of a Portland City Commissioner and it debases City Hall, and all the professional people employed within City Hall.
Jo Ann’s language is often common, often childish and ultimately it is unacceptable.
She has demonstrated this for many years. From using the common “school yard talk” of an angry child against Don’t Shoot Portland, activist Teressa Raiford, yelling at her in a City Council meeting in 2016: “The only way I’ll end up in jail is if I whip your ass! That might happen!”, to accusing Portland police officers of not doing their jobs. “I’m not over the $152,000 that was spent for police officers to sit around all day and eat while East Portland was being terrorized.”
“… to sit around all day and eat…”
And this from the woman who has told people in Portland repeatedly not to call 911 if they find they are in a situation where they need to be rescued by police, because they might wind up dead — despite the fact that statistics obtained by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report prove there are generally 2.5 million police contacts per day, with over 900 million police contacts per year, between police and American civilians and these contacts between the police and the public are positive with only a tiny fraction of these contacts ever becoming violent for any reason.
One article states: “The vast majority of police-citizen contacts are handled without incident and when force must be used to gain compliance, it involves minimal to no injury in most cases.” But Jo Ann Hardesty, due to her lack of an education, would have you believe if you call 911 in an emergency, the police called to that scene will likely as not kill you — especially if you’re an African American, when statistics prove that is simply not the case.
And this from a woman who has consistently tried to take away all the useful and effective tools of police work, and has tried to prevent the Portland police from doing even rudimentary police work. And this from a woman who didn’t seem to mind one bit when white Antifa militant radicals were tearing Portland apart for over 100 days and nights.
This kind of divisive and ignorant language from a Portland City Commissioner is unacceptable.
This kind of language, suggesting that PPB officers are lounging around and eating all day demonstrates Hardesty has no comprehension of the very real pattern (for more than 60 years) of police officers routinely going without regular meal breaks while on the job, as they go from call to call. I can only imagine how bad this pattern has become recently, what with PPB officers being forced to work overtime hours, against their wishes because there are not enough officers. Lack of regular meal breaks for offices leads to adrenal exhaustion, poor heart health, officer injuries, injuries to those in the public and to increased instances of poor decision making and even police brutality. This pattern has been studied and is well-known among people who actually understand aspects of police work and the demands of the job, but that would not be… Jo Ann Hardesty.
If Hardesty had even a minimally average education or mundane understanding of things like Criminology, Police Science and the important aspects of what Public Safety is, she would understand how ignorant and uninformed and unseemly that statement of hers was — suggesting that PPB officers lounge around all day and eat. This is what I’m talking about when I say that it is her language, much like with Trump, that will lead to her downfall with politics. It’s only a matter of time.
Hardesty demonstrates a lack of professionalism, intelligence, finesse, and a lack of social grace in how she speaks to others and in the thoughtless and impulsive statements and threats she makes to others.
People may wonder why I’m taking Hardesty on. Why I’m writing commentaries regarding her deplorable statements and unprofessional conduct and why I'm posting these commentaries on my social media platforms. The reasons are simple. I am extremely worried about the city I live in. I am worried about the people in my city. The Black, White, Hispanic, Native American, Russian, Romanian, Gypsy and Asian populations living in my city — the city I’ve lived in my entire life — Portland, Oregon.
I love my city. I love its hard-won past, its troubled and evolving history, its complexity and the wonderful people who make up my city. But I have never, in my entire life, (which represents over 55 years of living in Portland) seen this city struggle as much as I have in the last couple of years. Not only because of the Pandemic but particularly since the failed social experiment called Defunding The Police catapulted the city of Portland into chaos, violence and over 70 murders in only one year.
Jo Ann Hardesty was one of the loudest voices behind that Defunding Debacle- Fiasco, even demanding that Mayor Ted Wheeler allow her to become Police Commissioner, a woman with not one whit of understanding of police issues. Thankfully, Wheeler has never once considered that disastrous possibility.
Hardesty has been the most divisive voice in her own personal and bizarre War Against Police Officers. That war has gone on long past when it should have ended.
I realize as a Black woman, hailing from Baltimore where she was born and raised, Hardesty is rightfully concerned about institutionalized racism but her belief that all PPB officers, even the Black officers are white supremacists is paranoid and absurd. Her distrust of police appears to be pathological and deep-rooted.
And as she and Wheeler have limited what police can do in Portland, Hardesty and Wheeler have watched Portland devolve into a war zone. They have watched impassively as over 70 people have wound up murdered, with never so much as a kind or sympathetic word offered to those traumatized and grieving families.
Those families have experienced the most horrible form of loss, losing a child or sibling to MURDER brought on by gun violence, and Hardesty has not shown one bit of concern or caring for them. Nor has Hardesty acknowledged the fact that the vast majority of them are young Black men, killed by other young Black men.
I will do what I can to protect my city, and to make sure that the leaders who govern my city are sane, educated and not examples of mediocrity, or callous indifference. If I can get people to think about the things I bring up by writing a simple commentary or two, then I will do that! As a person who engages in writing as a social act, I have a responsibility to do what I can to impact positive change.
- Next week, look for my third commentary on Jo Ann Hardesty and how her language and conduct continue to put our city at risk. Also, owner of Vanport Escrow & Title Company, Inc., and real estate broke, Fred Steward will have several quotes featured as well, along with quotes from Don DuPay, a former Street cop and Homicide detective with PPB. I will further share with Portland readers what Fred and Don think about Portland’s most pressing issues and what they think about Jo Ann Hardesty.
Again, I encourage all people in Portland to find out who Vadim Mozyrsky is! Find out what his values, goals and principles are, colored as they are by his many decades in Portland. I encourage you all to support his campaign with generous contributions and with your volunteer hours. Vadim is the kind of leader Portland desperately needs.
“I believe the people of Portland are resilient. I’ve seen this resilience in the front-line workers, the grocery store clerks, the school-age children, and the small business owners. Too many have seen their family members and neighbors die because of senseless gun violence. Their resilience in the face of insurmountable loss is heartbreaking and we need to act. I believe we have elected leaders who have let dysfunction, distraction, and divisive narratives permeate the institutions meant to help the people and this is not serving the people. I am ready to stop the flurry of bad policy decisions that are impacting our most underserved communities and work across the halls of City Hall and Portland to ensure all see a safer and healthier Portland future.” ~Vadim Mozyrsky
