Thanks to the Press Herald for recent coverage of Portland’s efforts to promote justice, diversity, equity and inclusion (JDEI). I was interested to learn about the City Council’s first workshop to evaluate its JDEI efforts; I was shocked to learn about the abrupt firing of Umaru Balde, the first director of Portland’s JDEI office, and the subsequent cover-up of Mr. Balde’s termination by city leaders.

These events call for a three-part response:

1. The citizens of Portland deserve a complete explanation, from Mayor Dion and City Manager West, regarding why Mr. Balde was terminated and why his termination was kept secret. This incident raises serious questions about whether Mr. Balde was subject to racial discrimination while he was employed by the city. Those questions must be answered promptly.

2. City leaders must also answer City Councilor April Fournier’s question about what can be done to better support Portland’s JDEI efforts. It certainly appears that the support for this work has been anemic and inconsistent, at best. To hire professionals, like Mr. Balde, to oversee a new office without a budget and staff to support their work is simply unconscionable.

3. Portland must commit the fiscal and human resources to ensure that, in our increasingly diverse and multicultural city, justice, fairness and freedom from bias and discrimination are available to everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation or religion.

We can, and must, do better to guarantee justice and fairness for all.

Mark Tappan
Portland