Five Hillsboro City Council members condemned "political violence" in a joint statement Monday, Aug. 10, responding to the arrest of a man who confronted state Sen. Janeen Sollman at a Forest Grove forum two days earlier. Two councilors refused to sign, calling the statement premature.
Mayor Beach Pace, Council President Rob Harris, and Councilors Elizabeth Case, Saba Anvery and Cristian Salgado posted the statement on social media. It declared that political violence is wrong in a democracy and called on people to use their words to shed light rather than as tinder for incitement to violence, according to the Hillsboro Herald.
The statement addressed the Aug. 8 arrest of Pedro Garcia-Balderrama, 28, at Sollman's community forum at Fernhill Wetlands in Forest Grove. Garcia-Balderrama disrupted the event for about 10 minutes, got in Sollman's face, cursed at her and grabbed her glasses before throwing them into nearby bushes, according to the Hillsboro News-Times. His comments focused on data centers and immigration, and about a dozen people were in attendance.
Forest Grove police arrested Garcia-Balderrama on suspicion of harassment and second-degree disorderly conduct, both Class B misdemeanors carrying up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine each. He spent three hours in jail before being released with a no-contact order.
No formal charges had been filed in Washington County Circuit Court as of Monday afternoon.
Two councilors push back
Councilors Dr. Olivia Alcaire and Kipperlyn Sinclair sent a letter to Mayor Pace on Monday declining to co-sign. They called the statement highly premature, arguing it was released against an underserved resident before due process had played out. When elected officials use their platform to publicly condemn a person before court proceedings conclude, the councilors wrote, it appears politically charged rather than rooted in a pursuit of safety.
Their letter described Garcia-Balderrama as a young Latino man with disabilities who serves as a primary caregiver for his immigrant parents.
Broader context
The council split arrives as Hillsboro navigates a heated debate over data center growth. The council passed a 120-day moratorium on new data centers on July 27, and Sollman lost her May 2026 Democratic primary to progressive challenger Myrna Muñoz, who campaigned against data center subsidies. Garcia-Balderrama had been a regular attendee at council meetings, where he directed pointed comments at members of the council majority, the Herald reported.
Oregon's top legislative leaders, including Senate President Rob Wagner and House Speaker Julie Fahey, issued their own joint statement on Sunday, Aug. 9, saying there is no place in Oregon's civic life for intimidation, threats or physical aggression, as KGW reported.
As we reported Sunday, Sollman described the incident as an act of political violence. "It just elevated it to a different step that was concerning," she told The Oregonian on Aug. 8.
Garcia-Balderrama is scheduled to appear in Washington County Circuit Court on Thursday, Aug. 13. None of the five signing council members responded to questions from the Hillsboro Herald about their reasoning.
