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Murmurs: Mayor Will Have Security Protection in Public Settings In other news: Kotek aims to decriminalize homelessness.
DESPERATE MEASURES: House Speaker Tina Kotek presided over two previous special sessions of the Oregon Legislature.
Updated February 3
MAYOR WILL HAVE SECURITY PROTECTION IN PUBLIC SETTINGS: Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler will now have a security detail with him nearly every time he goes out in public following the Jan. 24 pepper-spraying by the mayor of a lawyer who followed him to his car outside a McMenamins pub. "The mayor has enhanced security measures, and we believe they will be effective in protecting the mayor's safety," said Jim Middaugh, a spokesman for Wheeler. "Given recent events, the mayor will be using that service more frequently and virtually any time he is in a public setting." Middaugh said the city contracts with the private firm G4S Secure Solutions to provide enhanced security, which will also be offered to other Portland elected officials. Wheeler was confronted twice last month by citizens at restaurants. The first incident, at Portland's Cafe Nell, prompted the mayor to carry pepper spray provided to him by a staff member, Middaugh said.