PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Lake Oswego Mayor Kent Studebaker joined AM Extra Monday to address the response to COVID-19, but also spoke of a recent controversy involving a Black Lives Matter sign in his community.
Earlier in the month, a family in Lake Oswego received an anonymous letter asking them to remove a BLM sign from their home. The anonymous letter signed “Your Neighbors” claimed the sign hanging in the family’s window was driving down property values and was not something people want to see when they’re returning home from work. The letter added that homes are not billboards for opinions.
Mayor Studebaker said Monday the incident was a “one-off” occurrence. When asked to address the overall criticism of Lake Oswego having a racial bias, Studebaker said systematic racism is a legitimate concern but BLM’s fight against it has been blown out of proportion.
“I am sorry to see people using that issue as a way to loot and destroy property,” he said. “It’s not just Black lives that matter, I think all lives matter–whether it’s Black, Asian, white, whatever.”
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