Public comment: After the earthquake, we will rely on one another

Presenter: One Lane County resident tells commissioners: We need to stop hating one another over political issues, because we’re going to have an earthquake one day, and we’re going to have to work together. On March 18, Chris Calef:

Chris Calef: My name is Chris Calef… And the main thing I’d like to talk about for my moment or two is how concerned I am about the division and polarization that I see in our entire society right now.

[00:00:26] I see it in how we’re divided in our commission, you know, people fall right into their party lines, and I’ve been active in politics in Eugene for decades. I started out with tree-sits and anarchism back in the day. Pat, you might remember, I’m a friend of your son, Pat, and I’ve never seen a time where I feel like people actually hate each other like today.

[00:00:49] I see people saying ‘Demon-crats’ and they’re talking about Democrats and ‘Repugnicans’ and they’re talking about Republicans. It’s getting ugly. And I just want to say that as members of Lane County, as Oregonians, people who live here, you know, I’ve worked in the trades, I’ve been to part shops, and people who work in the part shops, they voted for Trump, but they just want to get me a part and help me solve my problem.

[00:01:12] You know, and people in the coffee shop with blue spiky hair, you know, they voted Democrat, but they want to make you coffee. You know, we’re not that different. And I feel like we’re going to need to look around Lane County and rely on each other. We’re going to have an earthquake here at some point that’s going to level our entire valley and we’re going to have no one here but us.

[00:01:30] And our federal government is being taken apart with a wrecking ball right now. We don’t know if we’re going to have firefighting services this summer. We don’t know what is going to happen in the next few years.

[00:01:39] So my main comment here is just that I want everyone in this room to know that we are the people who came down here because we care about what happens to our community and we need to stop hating each other. And just start to work together.

[00:01:52] Presenter: Commissioner Ryan Ceniga:

[00:01:54] Ryan Ceniga (Lane County, commissioner): I would just like to thank everybody for the public comment this morning. You know, I don’t know Chris, but he really hit on some, he really hit on some great points this morning.

[00:02:04] Presenter: Commissioner Heather Buch:

[00:02:06] Heather Buch (Lane County, commissioner): I, too, was really impressed with Chris. He had wonderful comments, right? And that, if you remember, was regarding division and polarization in our community.

[00:02:18] And when times are rough, you know, you really do have to rely on who’s around you and your neighbors. And that spoke to me a lot, especially in my lens of emergency management, because when things are really tough, you’re going to be looking to your friends, families, and neighbors.

[00:02:36] And the polarization is tough to cut through. I mean, we’re in politics here on the board. It’s tough to cut through.

[00:02:45] But I think it’s part of our job to really get down to the nuts and bolts of the work that needs to be done on the ground for people every single day. So I just wanted to really appreciate his comments.

[00:02:56] Presenter: Chris Calef encourages efforts to reduce political polarization, because after the earthquake, we’ll have to rely on one another. One way to get started is to join a preparedness group in your community and practice working together. For more, contact Eugene Springfield CERT, the county’s Public Health Reserve Corps, Search and Rescue, or your local neighborhood association.