Message from Tualatin Mayor Frank Bubenik

Mayor Frank Bubenik Headshot

"We are all impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in one way or the other. Some are caring for sick family members; others are ensuring critical services like garbage pick-up continue; others still will see a loss of income as a result of reduced business. We each have a responsibility to take care of each other and our community.

For the City, we have had to make some tough choices including canceling and postponing events and closing our facilities to public access. In making these choices, we are relying on the expertise and guidance of local, state, and federal health authorities and are prioritizing the health and wellbeing of our community. 

As I think about what we can each do, a few thoughts occur:

  1. Support our local businesses. Social media is full of tips on how to do this - tip more than usual; order takeout; purchase gift cards - check out the City's Twitter feed for more tips. Livelihoods are at stake, and the decision to close bars and restaurants except for takeout and delivery will shake the foundations of our restaurants and bars. But lives are at stake. Keeping people well and slowing the spread of the virus are the priorities and this decision was made to slow the virus.  
  2. Practice good hygiene and follow the Governor's recommendations for social distancing. The City has canceled all programs and events and has closed all City buildings to public access. If you do need to leave home, please remember to wash your hands and cover your coughs! We have to slow the transmission of COVID-19 to preserve hospital capacity. That's why social distancing is so important. Isolation from our friends and neighbors is the only way to slow the rate of transmission and get Tualatin through to the other side of this. 
  3. Check-in with your neighbors and those that are especially vulnerable. In order to protect the health and safety of Tualatin families, we must work together and support each other. 
  4. Be kind. In times of increased uncertainty, fear can sometimes overtake facts. Hate speech and discrimination have no place in Tualatin. Please join us in continuing to uphold our commitment to treating every individual in our community with respect, kindness, and humanity. 
  5. Assist health care professionals and first responders. They need to be healthy so they can do their jobs - which are challenging and now promise to be even more so in the future. Please do anything you can assist a friend or neighbor who is a health professional or first responder: bring them a meal; watch their child; walk their dog. 
  6. Mayor's Coffee. My coffee meeting scheduled for March 28 is postponed.
  7. Keep informed. You'll find continuously updated information on the virus on the CDC and Washington County COVID-19 website. If you do not have access to the internet, you can call 211 for information.