43-2023

Whereas, Ernie Jones spent the last 30 years of his career as a public servant, the last eight of which were with the City of Portland, for the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management; and

Whereas, Ernie Jones built our community’s Basic Earthquake Emergency Communications Nodes (BEECN) program. Following a disaster like an earthquake, community members will be able to call for emergency assistance from a BEECN; and

Whereas, Ernie trained hundreds of volunteers across the Portland-metro area on amateur radio use for emergency communication; and

Whereas, Ernie was a steadfast City of Portland employee, staffing the City’s Emergency Coordination Center through some of the most difficult and challenging times in recent memory, including the unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic; and

Whereas, Prior to his time at PBEM, Ernie worked 55 Presidentially declared emergencies in more than half of all states in the U.S. and one territory for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); and

Whereas, Ernie has also served Multnomah County and the global community through his work in election monitoring, delivering ballots to people with physical disabilities and helping to evaluate contested ballots for approximately a dozen elections at the Multnomah County Elections Office; and

Whereas, Ernie served as a U.S. State Department election monitor since 2005. This work has taken him to the far reaches of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova and beyond; and

Whereas, Ernie has demonstrated an exemplary commitment to the City of Portland and to Portlanders, and has modeled true public service throughout his career by making his community a more prepared and resilient place; and

Whereas, Ernie is retiring today from PBEM, where he has served under six bureau directors and four elected officials.

Now, therefore, I, Ted Wheeler, Mayor of the City of Portland, Oregon, the “City of Roses,” do hereby proclaim January 17, 2024 to be

Ernie Jones Day of Appreciation

In Portland and encourage all Portlanders to observe this day.