Mayor finds dead raccoon, racist note naming Black councilman outside office

Ore. mayor finds dead raccoon and racist letter naming Black councilman - The Washington Post

Ed Fitch, the mayor of Redmond, Ore., stopped in shock when he arrived at his law office on Monday morning. Someone had taped a sign with a handwritten message on the door. Alongside it, propped against the doorway, was a dead raccoon.

Fitch was more alarmed by the content of the message above the raccoon corpse. Fitch and the Redmond Police Department said they were withholding the specific text, but that it contained “intimidating” language. It named Fitch and Clifford Evelyn, Redmond’s first and only Black city councilman.

Redmond police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, the department said in a news release. Evelyn, who reviewed the sign, told The Post the message was clear. The dead raccoon evoked a slur for Black people, and he saw the message as a racist threat.

“It’s not unexpected for me,” Evelyn said.

Evelyn, 72, grew up in Harlem in New York, and moved to Redmond in 2017 after serving in the Navy and then an officer in a Washington sheriff’s department.

The scenic town of around 36,000 in central Oregon, popular with tourists and hikers, was an ideal place to retire. Evelyn said he hadn’t planned on getting involved in local politics, but ran for a spot on the city council at the encouragement of other residents.

Evelyn became the first Black city councilperson in Redmond’s history after he won his race in 2020. The town is around 90 percent White, according to census data.

The history Evelyn made wasn’t lost on him, and he said his goals in office have been to welcome diversity in Redmond and call out intolerance. The display at Fitch’s door reignited frustrations from “rabble rousers” that have dogged Evelyn throughout his time in office, the councilman said, referencing a previous controversy in 2021 when a Confederate flag was flown at the city’s Independence Day parade.

Evelyn said he did not know who left the message at Fitch’s office this week, but that some “feel threatened because I’m speaking up.”

“That’s not going to deter me,” he added.

Fitch said the act did not reflect the views of the majority of Redmond’s residents, who sent emails, letters and flowers after news broke about the hateful message. At Tuesday’s scheduled city council meeting, dozens of residents showed up to express support for Evelyn in person, he said.

“I really feel bad for Clifford that he has endured this kind of treatment,” Fitch said. “ … he has a lot of support. But there are some people there who just can’t deal with it. It’s on them, it’s not on Clifford.”

Evelyn said Redmond is growing in population and diversity as it attracts international tourists and new residents from other states. He said Monday’s message was a “growing pain” from a vocal minority contending with that change, and that he wants to continue to fight it.

“My goal is to welcome anyone that wants to come to Redmond,” Evelyn said.