It has come to my attention that the Keep Portland Housed ordinance has been racially politicized and that my identity is being used to distort what actually happened.

So let me start there.

I am a Black and Guatemalan woman. Fully Black. Fully Latina. I do not divide myself, and I will not allow others to do it for me.

Recently, I have been described as “half Black” and accused of prioritizing one community over another. That is false. It is harmful. And it distracts from the truth.

Here is what actually happened.

The Keep Portland Housed ordinance was designed to fund community need, not pre-selected organizations. As Chair of the Housing and Permitting Committee, I supported a structure that allows qualified organizations to apply through a fair and transparent process.

That matters because historically, access to funding has not been equitable. An open process is how we begin to change that. Equity is not about hand-picking outcomes behind closed doors. It is about building systems that are fair, transparent, and accessible to everyone who deserves a chance.

During the vote, amendments were introduced to directly fund specific organizations, including white-led, Latino-led, and Black-led groups.

I voted against all of those amendments.

Not because of who those organizations serve, but because I do not believe it is equitable or responsible for elected officials to hand-pick recipients without a fair process that allows all qualified organizations to compete.

Some of those amendments still passed. That was not my decision.

Since then, a narrative has emerged claiming that I blocked funding for a Black-led organization while favoring a Latino-led one.

That is simply not true.

I voted consistently for a fair process. Others chose to fund organizations directly.

And yet, I alone am being blamed, and my identity is being used to justify it.

No one is asking why a white-led organization received funding. No one is questioning the votes that actually made those decisions.

Instead, the focus has been on dividing me and reducing me to only part of who I am.

I am not half of anything.

I am a whole person, and I will not allow my identity to be weaponized to divide the very communities I serve.

Black and brown communities rely on trust, relationships, and shared understanding. That trust is too important to be manipulated through misinformation and whispers.

So I am naming this clearly.

My commitment has always been to equity, transparency, and fairness, not just in words, but in how we govern.

My record reflects that.

I have built my work, my leadership, and my advocacy around fighting for Black and brown communities, especially those who have been historically excluded from systems of power. That is why I ran. That is how I lead. And that is what I have delivered.

My record is clear. It is consistent. And it is undeniable.

Anyone attempting to suggest otherwise is not engaging with the truth. They are attempting to distract from it.

I will continue to fight for policies that serve our communities with integrity.

And I will not be silent when my identity or my work is misrepresented.

But I also want to name something bigger than this moment.

What is happening right now is not new.

Biracial people have always been told we are not enough of anything. Not Black enough. Not Latino enough. Not fully belonging anywhere. Our identities get questioned, picked apart, and used when it is convenient, then dismissed when it is not.

That is what this is.

And it does real harm. Not just to me, but to every person who has ever been made to feel like they have to prove who they are in order to be accepted by their own community.

Let me be clear.

I do not tolerate that kind of erasure or gatekeeping from anyone, inside our communities or outside of them.

I reject the idea that anyone gets to define my identity for me. I reject the idea that our communities must be divided in order to be heard. And I reject the kind of rhetoric that turns identity into a weapon instead of a source of strength.

There is no version of justice that requires us to tear each other apart to get there.

I am proud to be Black. I am proud to be Guatemalan. I am proud to be both at the same time, fully and without apology.

And I will continue to show up that way, in my work and in my leadership.

Because our communities deserve leaders who refuse to be divided and who refuse to let others divide us.

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Watch here for my comments on the dais to better understand my position.