CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. — Clackamas County’s Budget Committee tried to strip Commissioner Mark Shull of his salary this week. Shull has come under fire in recent weeks for racist and Islamophobic posts he made on his Facebook page.
Shull has apologized for those posts to his fellow commissioners, constituents and he met with local religious leaders to formally apologize.
"With humility and sincerity, I ask for the good people of the Muslim community to consider my request for forgiveness,” Shull said at the meeting on Jan. 18.
Shull piled on the apologies after a line of people called on him to resign including his fellow commissioners, the Clackamas County district attorney and local legislators. Shull has said he will not step down.
"I've heard and understand your concerns,” Shull said in a commissioner meeting on Jan. 14. “My intention at this time to carry out work of the people of Clackamas County, thank you.”
As a county commissioner, Shull makes about $8,700 a month which adds up to more than $100,000 per year. When the budget committee motioned to take his salary away, the county chairwoman, Tootie Smith, blocked it.
Despite all his apologizing over the last week, Shull continued to spout racist generalizations about the Muslim community at a board meeting on Jan. 21.
The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners censured Shull in mid-January. Any recall effort to remove Shull from office cannot happen for the first six months of his term.