Port Townsend Food Co-op Board Chairman Resigns, Calls for Leadership Accountability Over Community Equity Concerns
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The Black Lives Matter of Jefferson County boycott of the Port Townsend Food Co-op is now entering its sixth month. Photo by Nhatt Nichols [/caption]
News By Nhatt Nichols
Port Townsend Food Co-op board chairman Owen Rowe resigned from his position on December 31, citing the repeated failure of Co-op management to address community equity concerns and a hostile work environment.
“I felt like I was being put up as a shield, rather than trusted to actually talk to the community, actually listen to them,” Rowe said of his resignation.
Black Lives Matter of Jefferson County (BLMJC) called for a boycott of the co-op in August when the board fired member Cameron Jones following a heated discussion with the Co-op’s General Manager, Kenna Eaton, in April.
The discussion was over the handling of a request from Scout Anderson, a trans employee who felt unsafe after their manager, James Robinson, had published an article containing troubling anti-trans dog whistles, as detailed in previous reporting. Anderson requested that HR facilitate a conversation with Robinson, a conversation which Anderson ultimately found unsatisfactory and resulted in them leaving the Co-op.
After Jones spoke up about employee equity concerns, Rowe called a special board meeting, at which Jones was immediately voted out. The handling of the issue led fellow board member Juri Jennings to resign in protest.
When asked in October about Jones’ firing and BLMJC’s call for his resignation as board chair, Rowe made it clear that he was unwilling to give in to their demands, saying, “That’s just not going to happen.”
Several months later, it’s clear that he has had a major change of heart. Rowe’s resignation letter states: “I have learned that my choices have harmed our community. That was uncomfortable to hear, but rather than dismiss it I can choose to address it directly. I can choose to stop harming, apologize sincerely for the harm I have done, and step out of the role which gave me the power to harm. And I can choose to recommit to repair and rebuilding the relationships I have damaged.”
It then includes an apology to former board members Jennings and Jones, and members of the current board for putting them in a difficult position.
Rowe claims he realized that the Co-op’s management was not invested in listening to the community's concerns; they simply wanted the issue to disappear.
“After not very good meetings in September and October that were conducted virtually, I fired the outside facilitator who ran those meetings; someone from Bellingham who has been working with Kenna [Eaton] for many years and was continuing to primarily support Kenna, not the board,” Rowe said.
The November and December meetings were held in person. The December meeting was the first time that community comment was prioritized. Rowe held the comment period open for members of the Co-op to speak for a full hour and a half.
“After that meeting, we were milling around and sharing food, and I got hugs from the people in the audience. Then later, staff and board members tell me how uncomfortable it was, and don't you dare do that again,” Rowe said
“I think people have signed up for membership and love to go there because they think it’s a really great place. Supporting local growers and producers is something that people are aligned with. I do believe that in their hearts, people also care very much about challenging systems of inequality, and so they feel good about being members of the food Co-op; this is an opportunity for them to really show up in support of their values around equity and inclusion and supporting the workers.”
— Tonia Burkett, Usawa Consulting
Rowe ended his letter by calling for the resignations of general manager Eaton, board secretary emeritus Lisa Barclay, and vice chair Diana Grunow.
Co-op Campaign Organizers remain hopeful for change
After Jones was fired from the board, a group of concerned people from BLMJC and their supporters called for change via their social media page, It’s My Co-op Too.
Tonia Burkett of Usawa Consulting has been instrumental in facilitating community conversations and holding the Co-op accountable. She seems hopeful that Rowe’s resignation is a step in the right direction.
“Some of us like to hold the hope that everybody has the ability to change,” Burkett said. “I know that [Rowe] had a reputation for being a really caring, warm hearted person, and that he had been taking workshops around equity. I think there's potential for him to change.”
Jones also remains hopeful, acknowledging that Rowe was the reason he ran to be on the Co-op board to begin with.
“Honestly, this is why it hurt so much, especially [Rowe]'s role in this whole situation,” Jones said, explaining that he met Rowe when he ran for city council in 2021. After Jones lost the city council election, Rowe encouraged him to join the board of the Co-op. “He framed it in a way that was, like, the Co-op is a place where you can do more radical things, rather than on the city council; you have space to push for equity a little bit more,” Jones said.
With Burkett and Jones acknowledging that Rowe has the capacity to change and grow, they also expressed their disappointment over his decision to step aside and not continue to fight for equity issues with Co-op management.
In response to Rowe’s resignation letter, the Co-op boycott campaign organizers have requested that he publicly apologize to Jones, Jennings, BLMJC, Usawa Consulting, and the broader community, essentially making the letter public. They also ask that he call for leadership accountability, advocate for an independent investigation, and create a plan to continue working on this project and reduce harm.
For his part, Rowe is ready to take a moment to reflect on the last six months.
“I love the Co-op. I am not attached to being right, meaning, I am attached to having the fight stop, and also recognizing that for myself I need to be out of the center of the fight,” Rowe said.
No member of the Co-op’s management responded to a request for an interview prior to publication, and the January board meeting has been canceled.
There is still a need for a reckoning
Though Rowe’s resignation may signal the beginning of a leadership change at the Co-op and an interest in real accountability, it may also signal the end of the Co-op’s listening process. Both Jones and Burkett expressed a concern that Rowe’s departure may widen the gap between employees and management.
“We're continuing [our work] because harm is still happening there. We get little pieces of stories all the time about employees that are at risk of losing their employment or that are experiencing hardship and harm,” Burkett said.
Jones wants it to be clear that there is still a need for community pressure on the Port Townsend Food Co-op, saying, “I would just say that, yeah, for member-owners to follow the It's My Co-op Too campaign on social media and to go to the board meetings. The goal of this campaign is not to tear down the Co-op. It's to have member-owners take control back the control, to participate in the Co-op.”
“I think people have signed up for membership and love to go there because they think it's a really great place,” Burkett agreed. “Supporting local growers and producers is something that people are aligned with. I do believe that in their hearts, people also care very much about challenging systems of inequality, and so they feel good about being members of the food Co-op; this is an opportunity for them to really show up in support of their values around equity and inclusion and supporting the workers.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article said that the Co-op’s HR refused to facilitate a meeting between James Robinson and Scout Anderson. According to the Co-op, that is incorrect and a meeting did take place.
