In a unanimous decision, SpringfieldCity Councilors Monday selected Damien Pitts to represent Ward 1 on the council.
Pitts is an Academic Advisor and Diversity Initiatives Specialist at the University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business. He moved to Springfield in 2016. Pitts said he was encouraged by friends and community members to apply for the interim City Council position.“So many people were reaching out and saying ‘hey you should do this’ was one of the main reasons I even decided to do it because I realized I would already have a platform just based on community support,” Pitts said.
He said he hopes his council position will help form a bridge between the UO campus and Springfield communities. Pitts, who is Black, told KLCC he hopes to inspire others to pursue leadership roles.
“I mean I’m honored to be a city councilor,” Pitts said. “I hope that one day, somebody, whether they look like me or not, will look at me and say, you know, I see elements of me in him, so maybe I should look into being a city councilor or something else.”
Pitts, who is 40, is an Eagle Scout who has served overseas in the Army and speaks Korean. He’ll be sworn in on March 8th. The interim council position came open when Sean Van Gordon was appointed to serve as mayor of Springfield last month.
Copyright 2021 KLCC.
