Estacada residents hold rally to support mayor after controversial social media post
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ESTACADA, OR (KPTV) — A month after the mayor of Estacada came under fire for a social media post regarding the Black Lives Matter movement, residents gathered on Tuesday to support him.
Last month, Mayor Sean Drinkwine posted on Facebook about Black Lives Matter protests.
“They were having a Black Lives Matter vigil in town and people were afraid it was going to get violent, so I commented on that and I said I was working to shut the vigil down with the city and my fellow counselors, which was not exactly the way it was,” Drinkwine said of his post.
He claimed, “I was trying to ease some of the concern, but I spoke out of turn.”
After the post, Drinkwine was accused of being racist.
“They blew my phone up, my computer, they called my family, they called jobs I had done in the past… it really was hurtful,” Drinkwine said. “It was thousands of calls. I couldn’t even get on my phone or use my computer. It was totally something I never want to experience again.”
On June 24, Drinkwine apologized for his statement, saying that he chose his words poorly and made a mistake.
The NAACP has called for the mayor to resign, but he says he’s not going to.
On Tuesday, a group held a rally to show their support for the mayor.
“It’s important for me that our community comes together to support our community leaders… We don’t get the opportunity to support them in many ways, this is one way we can show our support,” said an organizer.
Drinkwine says he’s not racist — and says he will never be.
He says he is thankful for those who stand by him.
“It’s opened my eyes. I mean I never would have expected in my lifetime to be facing something like this, but the people have come forward, and they’ve supported me, they’re there for me. It makes my job so much better.”
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