The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners formally censured newly elected Commissioner Mark Shull on Thursday, including calling for his resignation.

Clackamas County Chair Tootie Smith called for Shull’s resignation Wednesday.

“In support of the greatest good of citizens of Clackamas County, I have asked that Mark Shull resign from the Board of County Commissioners immediately,” Smith said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

The move follows publication of a letter carrying the signatures of nearly every department head, deputy director and senior manager employed by Clackamas County which called for the Board of County Commissioners to condemn statements made on social media by Shull and suggested he resign as commissioner following publication of heinous statements on his personal Facebook page representing racist, transphobic, Islamophobic and anti-immigrant views.

“In all the power dynamics of the employees here in the county, those of us at the top of that structure have the most responsibility to raise our voice,” the Jan. 13 letter read. “We respectfully call on you to condemn the comments of any commissioner who works against equity and inclusion of all of our residents, and to prioritize education and re-commitment of the current Board of Commissioners to the County’s policies on anti-racism without delay.”

Calls for Shull’s resignation continue to mount — now including almost every elected official in the county outside of the board itself — following Monday’s publication of a blog outing odious comments the recently elected county commissioner has made over the past two years. The comments were catalogued in a blog by Jennings Lodge resident Cris Waller.

The letter was issued to both the board and County Administrator Gary Schmidt as a message that county employees vehemently oppose the views expressed by Shull.

“We believe Mr. Shull should immediately resign his position,” the letter said.

Clackamas County’s Democratic legislative caucus has issued their own letter calling on Commissioner Shull to resign.

“In a moment when too many give in to their hatred and deny facts, we’ve seen firsthand in Salem and in Washington, D.C. in recent weeks just how destructive this kind of language can be. Hatred like this has no place in our society,” the lawmakers’ statement said. “Rather, we must do all we can to collectively confront our past and to address the continued impact that systemic racism and bigotry have on immigrants and communities of color.

“Furthermore, Commissioner Shull’s statement in response to these social media posts becoming public is not remotely acceptable. It is a non-apology and does not show the necessary regret he should have for so consistently using dehumanizing language to describe other people. He has not offered a true, sincere apology and shown he is willing to take real, concrete steps to start a healing process for those who he’s repeatedly hurt with his hateful rhetoric. He should resign immediately.”

“Commissioner Shull’s comments were not taken out of context, they were not a slip of the tongue or an unguarded moment. They were ugly, divisive and hurtful beliefs that are offensive to my core values and those of this community. We need public servants who will honor differences and respect all people — whether that is in their private lives or their public capacity. We need leaders who will bring us together, not drive us apart,” Drazan said.

The county postponed the swearing-in ceremony for commissioners that had been scheduled for Wednesday.