By JONATHAN LEVINSON/Oregon Public Broadcasting
NEWPORT — Mayor Dean Sawyer resigned Monday, three days after OPB revealed he has been posting offensive content in a private Facebook group for current and former law enforcement officers.
Sawyer notified city manager Spencer Nebel and city council president Jan Kaplan of his resignation in an email just before 9 a.m.
“I am sorry — in its simplest and sincerest form,” the email opens.
Sawyer said leading the city has been “one of the better periods of my life” and that he wanted to make it a better place for everyone.
“I now realize that some of my actions and my words have hurt people I love and care about,” he wrote. “This is something that I take full responsibility for.
“I am sorry to everyone in this community and anyone hurt by my actions, directly or indirectly. The posts I made and the humor I engaged in do not reflect my values. It was wrong for me to belittle people with experiences different than m own. I understand that many of you are upset, angry and confused by my actions. You have every right to be.”
Since at least 2016, Sawyer has shared memes and posts denigrating women, immigrants, non-English speakers and the LGBTQ+ community in 39,000-member Facebook group.
Many of Sawyer’s most recent posts specifically targeted the transgender community.
Sawyer did not respond to emails or phone calls. His resignation was first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Last week, he told OPB the private messages did not reflect his personal values.
Over the weekend, Newport Oregon Pride organized a protest that brought more than 100 people to City Hall demanding Sawyer resign. Five of Sawyer’s six colleagues on the Newport City Council attended the demonstration and appeared poised to formally ask for his resignation at a special meeting scheduled Monday afternoon.
Kathy Redwine, who is on the board of Newport Oregon Pride, said she learned about Sawyer’s resignation from a text message.
“I feel really happy and just proud that we as a city in Newport all came together and spoke our minds, shared our feelings in a positive, amazing way,” she said. “It would have been bad if it kept going on with all that hurt and distrust.”
City Councilor CM Hall said resigning was the right decision and appreciated that Sawyer did it swiftly. She also expressed compassion.
“I can feel the pain in how he has come to realize what his actions have done, and I’m sympathetic to that,” said Hall, also an LGTBQ+ activist. “I recognize some people don’t realize the intent versus the impact and I think he’s now realized that.”
Hall said that although she thought Sawyer needed to resign, she is appreciative for everything Sawyer has done for the city as councilor and mayor. Sawyer was a Newport police officer for 30 years. He was elected mayor in 2018 and reelected twice, most recently in 2022.
Newport Police Chief Jason Malloy and Lincoln County Sheriff Curtis Landers have both condemned Sawyer’s posts.
Councilor Dietmar Goebel said he and Kaplan met with Sawyer on Sunday to urge him to resign.
“We made it very clear to Dean that he needed to resign and get the heck out of government,” Goebel said. “His posting was beyond the pale, and he couldn’t continue past that.”
Goebel said Sawyer defended his record and said he has close friends in the LGBTQ+ and Latino community, but by the end of the conversation, Goebel said Sawyer thanked them for their honesty.
“We shook hands and … said, ‘Dean, please do what’s right for the town and for the people of the city,’” Goebel said. “I think that helped him solidify his thoughts.”
Kaplan said Sawyer did the right thing and he appreciated the thoughtfulness of the mayor’s resignation letter. Now, Kaplan said, they need to focus on healing instead of being angry.
“We have more work to do but hopefully what has occurred will give us the opportunity to get more public involvement,” Kaplan said.
In his resignation letter, Sawyer repeated his original comment to OPB that his private posts do not reflect his true values.
“It is clear that my online persona has become too polarizing for me to continue,” he said. “As I step down I hope to hasten the process of healing for the uproar I have caused.”
Kaplan, the council president, will serve as acting mayor until the city council appoints a permanent replacement. Nebel said that will likely be discussed at the next council meeting July 17.
Previous stories below here
By JONATHAN LEVINSON/Oregon Public Broadcasting
NEWPORT — Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” the 1978 anthem about personal empowerment after a heartrending breakup, echoed from a loudspeaker Saturday as more than 100 protesters marched on Newport City Hall demanding Mayor Dean Sawyer resign.
The demonstration, organized by Newport Oregon Pride, was in response to revelations that, for years, Sawyer has made offensive posts in a private law enforcement Facebook group.
In more than 40 posts spanning nearly seven years, Sawyer targeted a large segment of this 10,400-person coastal community, including women, immigrants, non-English speakers and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Kathy Redwine, who is on the board of Newport Oregon Pride and helped organize the protest, said Sawyer has surrounded himself with LGBTQ people and allies.
“It kind of gives the idea that he’s an ally,” Redwine said. “I felt like I got stabbed in the back. He was deceiving so many of us for so long. I don’t support anybody who has that kind of hate in the heart.”
Protest attendees rejected Sawyer’s claim that his private actions don’t represent his values. Sawyer apologized for the posts in an interview with OPB and called the messages juvenile.
Sawyer did not respond to requests for comment on the protest or calls for him to step down.
The Newport City Council, which includes six councilors and Sawyer as mayor, has limited options but is meeting at 4 p.m. Monday to discuss the issue.
Sawyer’s actions don’t rise to a level that would force him out of office under the city charter, such as moving out of the city or being incarcerated. Short of a public recall petition that would put his future on the ballot, all councilors can do is urge Sawyer to resign. Otherwise, LGBTQ+ activist and City Councilor CM Hall said, people will think Sawyer’s comments reflect the city.
“We have to stop it,” she said. “He needs to resign.”
Rhonda Jantzen, an 81-year-old transgender woman, carried a rainbow flag and wore a shirt saying “You are the weakest link. Goodbye,” Jantzen said she’s been protesting for LGBTQ rights since long before same-sex marriage was legalized in Oregon in 2014. She said Sawyer’s posts sickened her.
“I’m trying to get Dean Sawyer to resign, whatever it takes,” Jantzen said. “It impacts me, and it brings back memories of when I used to be out here.”
A protester screamed “Mayor Sawyer! Gonna need a lawyer!” in the background as Jantzen spoke.
Next to Jantzen, Debra Fant referenced one of Sawyer’s posts joking about putting women in car trunks and said she was offended as a woman. Fant said she was also there because she has a transgender child.
“They have as much right to be in this world and to be treated respectfully as anybody else,” Fant said. She added that she hopes Sawyer learns from this experience: “I would like for this to be a pivotal time for him as a human being. But I think it would be nice if he would move on.”
Five of Sawyer’s six colleagues on the Newport City Council attended the protest along with two former mayors. Councilor Ryan Parker couldn’t attend because he had work. Councilors Cynthia Jacobi and Beatriz Botello declined detailed interviews but said their presence at the demonstration was a statement.
Jacobi said she wants Sawyer to resign. Botello, a Mexican immigrant, said she’d be speaking at a special council session scheduled for Monday afternoon to discuss the city’s options.
Speaking over a stream of supportive car horns, Councilor Dietmar Goebel said Sawyer’s posts are egregious, and he thinks councilors are going to ask Sawyer to resign.
“We need to get past the anger and to get into the healing process. The only way to do that is if Dean steps down,” Goebel said. “Dean has got to try to figure out what’s best for the city rather than what’s best for him.”
Councilor Jan Kaplan said the city has been hurt.
“If you’re going to reveal who you are, then you have to be accountable for who you are,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan said making fun of and ridiculing marginalized groups encourages others to do the same and that pushing back against such behavior is key to making people feel safe again.
Sawyer was a Newport police officer for 30 years. In a statement Friday, Newport Police Chief Jason Malloy distanced his agency from Sawyer and said his actions don’t reflect the police department’s mission or its officers.
“The Newport Police Department condemns racism, discrimination and other types of bias,” Malloy wrote. “Racism and bigotry are never to be supported or tolerated, and instead are to be identified and condemned.”
Lincoln County Sheriff Curtis Landers said he was “deeply disturbed” by Sawyer’s “racially insensitive, bigoted, and culturally inappropriate comments and posts.”
“Such behavior is completely unacceptable and has no place in our society,” Landers wrote. “I want to assure our community that this kind of behavior is not tolerated in our Sheriff’s Office, and I do not condone it.”
In his statement, Landers acknowledged Sawyer’s law enforcement history, writing that his actions reflect poorly on the profession and undermine recent efforts among law enforcement agencies to improve how they police their communities.
“Law enforcement agencies across the country have been making significant strides in improving community relations, fostering trust, and promoting inclusivity,” Landers wrote. “Instances like these serve as a stark reminder that there is still work to be done to address biases and prejudices within the law enforcement community and society as a whole.”
Sunday morning, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners — which includes Claire Hall, a transgender woman — followed Landers with their own statement.
“The exposure of Mayor Sawyer’s bigoted online commentary makes it harder for those vulnerable people to feel safe or to seek assistance and protection from their local government,” the commissioners wrote. “This is unacceptable.”
Speaking directly to impacted members of the community, the commissioners wrote, “You are a valued, irreplaceable part of this community. You have a place here. Hatred does not.”
To see screen shots of some of Sawyer’s posts, go to the OPB website here
By JONATHAN LEVINSON/Oregon Public Broadcasting
The Newport City Council declared June to be LGBTQ+ Pride Month in the city on June 5. After city councilor CM Hall read the declaration, Mayor Dean Sawyer thanked her for taking the lead on the declaration. He also thanked the members of the public who sent emails appreciating the council for supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
Six days later, Sawyer posted a meme mocking a trans dancer in a private Facebook group exclusively for current and retired law enforcement officers. That post followed several others he made in April and May. The anti-trans posts are among at least seven anti-LGBTQ, misogynist, vulgar and violent memes he posted to the group in June.
The group, called “LEO Only,” has 39,180 members. To join, a person must send moderators a photograph of their law enforcement identification next to an item showing that day’s date, such as a newspaper.
OPB was able to independently review posts inside the group, including those made by Sawyer’s account.
Since 2016, Sawyer has posted racist memes mocking Mexicans and endorsing former President Donald Trump’s hardline policies on immigration. One post in April made fun of trans swimmer Lia Thomas. Several mocked Bud Light, which has drawn the ire of Republicans for the company’s business relationship with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Both Thomas and Mulvaney have been targets of right wing smear campaigns and online harassment.
Sawyer was first elected mayor in 2018 after serving 30 years as a Newport police officer. He was re-elected in 2020. Reached by phone for comment, he said LEO Only is a private group and posts are not meant for the public.
Sawyer told OPB one of the reasons he loves Newport is the community’s diversity and that his public actions and comments represent his true values, not what he says in private.
“These comments were totally separate,” Sawyer said. “They don’t reflect who I am and what I do on a daily basis. They were stupid. They were juvenile.”
Sawyer said he has developed a sense of humor “that some cops have” and that he got caught up in a website where crass comments are common.
“I apologize to the public for this,” he said.
He’s not the only Oregon mayor who has drawn scrutiny in recent weeks for hateful online posts. Last month, community members demanded Baker City Mayor Matt Diaz resign after he posted a meme on Facebook comparing LGBTQ rights activists to Nazis.
In addition to making fun of trans athletes, Sawyer has targeted trans sex workers, Spanish speakers and victims of sexual assault. He’s also joked about committing violence against women.
Several posts in the law enforcement group encourage people to take the law into their own hands and not call the police. Two photos shared by Sawyer appear to endorse extra-judicial murder. One reads, “If you have a clear shot and a good shovel, ain’t no need to call the police.” Another says, “It’s a proven fact that criminals commit less crime after they’ve been shot.”
Hall, Newport’s first openly queer council member and an LGBTQ+ activist, called on Sawyer to resign, saying his posts have damaged the city’s efforts to be more welcoming and inclusive.
“If he does not make a decision to resign, it will only further harm people’s impression of Newport,” Hall told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “He needs to step away for us to move forward.”
The City Council is holding a public meeting at 4 p.m. Monday to discuss the posts and the council’s options, Hall said. Sawyer informed fellow council members that he would not attend the meeting because he is out of town, Hall told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Newport City Manager Spencer Nebel said council members have “very limited ability” to remove an elected colleague. Sawyer’s social media posts likely wouldn’t meet the city charter’s necessary criteria to vacate the seat, which includes physical or mental inability to perform duties of the office, felony convictions and moving out of town, Nebel told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Since the City Council’s first Pride month declaration in 2019, Hall said Sawyer’s support has been tepid. Speaking at the Nov. 21 City Council meeting the day after 5 people were killed and 25 injured in a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub, Hall said it was particularly important in their small community to speak out against homophobia.
Since the City Council’s first Pride month declaration in 2019, Hall said Sawyer’s support has been tepid. Speaking at the Nov. 21 City Council meeting the day after 5 people were killed and 25 injured in a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub, Hall said it was particularly important in their small community to speak out against homophobia.
“What homophobia does is it pushes people back into the closet. Particularly in coastal communities where the allyship doesn’t yet feel vocal,” Hall said.
In response, Sawyer said “we abhor violence at any level against any person” and that he hoped “this scourge will stop in our country.”
Two months later, he posted a meme making light of sexual assault and another mocking Mexicans.
In a statement posted on Facebook Friday after this story first published, Newport Oregon Pride said it is “appalled and disgusted by the hateful words and actions of our mayor.”
“This disturbing behavior normalizes hatred and incites violence against the most marginalized and vulnerable members of our society and should not be tolerated,” the group wrote.
Later Friday, Newport police Chief Jason Malloy and Lincoln County Sheriff Curtis Landers both issued statements decrying Sawyer’s statements, saying his social media posts do not represent the views of their departments, their mission or employees. “Racism and bigotry are never to be supported or tolerated, and instead are to be identified and condemned,” Malloy said.
Soon after speaking to OPB, Sawyer left the LEO Only Facebook group. He later posted on his personal Facebook page that he was leaving the social media site altogether.
Sawyer has had a tumultuous tenure as mayor. A potential recall campaign in 2021 which claimed he “lacked the moral compass” to continue leading the city failed after its backer did not gather enough signatures to put it on the ballot. That effort was launched after the Federal Aviation Administration found Sawyer had violated seven federal regulations after he crash landed a plane on a beach in 2019. The investigation found Sawyer’s plane had not had an annual inspection in four years and that Sawyer’s medical certificate had expired. It said Sawyer operated his aircraft “in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.”
To see screen shots of some of Sawyer’s posts, go to the OPB website here
Get rid of him now.
Sawyer needs to step down now. His continued presence as mayor could endanger the city’s need for millions and millions of dollars to replace the Big Creek dams that are now at risk of failure in even a mild local earthquake. What is more important Dean’s ego or the city’s water supply?
This is my second attempt to make a reply. Hopefully, this will pass muster this time. People need to develop their sense of humor especially during these divisive times in which we live. It probably isn’t smart to post jokes on social media because someone will always claim they are being harmed by the joke. However, the mayor was posting on a personal website not open to the public. My question is how did the Oregon Public Broadcasting group obtain these posts? Is that legal? The world is imperfect and always will be. Human behavior will always be imperfect.
Your excuses for the mayor’s reprehensible behavior are pathetic. There’s no excuse for hateful, racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist and violent so-called humor by an elected official who supposed to represent everyone in his city.
Do you as a woman somehow think it’s funny that the mayor posted a meme saying women love being swept off their feet until you try putting them in the trunk?
And it’s not a very private Facebook page if thousands and thousands of police and former officers are posting on it. How the news got out is pretty obvious. There are many cops who are not disgusting reprehensible haters. Obviously one of them who has a conscience and a soul alerted OPB to the mayor’s idiotic posts.
Stop making excuses for hateful behavior. It makes you sound just as bad as the mayor.
Sorry, Lee. I believe people of all identifying groups need to lighten up and enjoy life a bit more. A joke is just that. It is a method used to release stress and I sincerely doubt it was meant to harm anyone. I “as a woman” only saw the humor in the post which you refer. If that’s pathetic, so be it. I am not a hater. Goodness, a world without laughter is a tough sell. Too many are taking themselves and others far too seriously. The mayor made his apologies and resigned. There’s no need to for more animosity. But maybe some humor?
You are defending reprehensible bigotry. Are you completely clueless that hurtful, hateful so-called jokes are not funny? If you think they are, you need to take a good look at yourself.
The internet is not private. This excuse for a leader is yet another moron whose power trip after 30 years of “law enforcement” has exceeded his human empathy. It would be interesting to review his policing behavior through a lens fully aware of his true character.
I hope some national media dig into this LEO Facebook site and find out who else in what other departments around the country are posting garbage there. Could make a lot of uncomfortable stories for a lot of cops.