(AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer, File)PORTLAND, Ore. – The mayor of Portland, Oregon, announced Thursday he would seek $2 million in one-time funding for police, other agencies and outreach programs to try to stem rampant gun violence in the city.
The move by Mayor Ted Wheeler represents an about-face after city leaders in June voted to cut nearly $16 million from the police budget, reductions that included the elimination of a gun violence reduction unit.
During an hour-long news conference Thursday, Wheeler, activists, faith leaders and community members reiterated that in order to solve the problem of gun violence, the community must work together.
Wheeler said the tactic is not the same as the now-eliminated Gun Violence Reduction Team and would be more transparent.
Wheeler said he supports the ideas, beginning with asking City Council to appropriate $2 million in one-time fiuds from the city’s reserve stability contingency account created last fall, to address gun violence.