Celebrating our nation's 250th Birthday - Remarks from the Lithia Park Bandshell

As is our tradition, the mayor offers remarks during the band shell program at Lithia Park. Here are my remarks from the 2026 celebration.

Let’s give it up again for our 2026 parade Grand Marshall, the fabulous Ashland City Band!

And let’s also give a round of applause to the Ashland Chamber of Commerce for once again bringing us together by organizing our annual Fourth of July parade and celebration in the park!

I will begin by offering our land acknowledgement.

We acknowledge and honor the aboriginal people on whose ancestral homelands we work—the Ikirakutsum Band of the Shasta Nation, as well as the diverse and vibrant Native communities who make their home here today. We honor the first stewards in the Rogue Valley and the lands we love and depend on.

Tribes with ancestral lands in and surrounding the geography of the Ashland Watershed include the original past, present and future indigenous inhabitants of the Shasta, Takelma, and Athabaskan people. We also recognize and acknowledge the Shasta village of K'wakhakha - "Where the Crow Lights" - that is now the Ashland City Plaza.

Happy Independence Day Ashland!

It’s not everyday that anything gets to celebrate its 250th birthday, and while many other nations with much longer histories still consider us a toddler, hitting the 250 year mark is quite something. It is especially noteworthy when we consider the fragile nature of democracies and how hard it is for new nations to hold together long enough to get to a semi-quincentennial celebration.

Big birthdays that end in zero naturally provide an opportunity to reflect on the past and imagine the future in ways that birthdays that end in other numbers do not. So, it is entirely fitting that we should not only have a larger celebration, but also commit to deeper reflection on this monumental occasion.  

For my part, I have spent a good deal of time pondering what I should say today. Because the fourth of July is a day for all Americans to celebrate. It is not a day for partisanship, but rather a day to come together around all that unites us. And, it is also true that forces are acting on us that must be spoken to and addressed by the American people as we reflect on what it means to be a democratic republic.

It is my hope that the words I have chosen today allow each of you to see yourself as an integral part of our shared future, no matter what political ideas or worldviews you bring to the conversation. It is also my hope that love of country and respect for its foundational ideals is the uniting force that binds us together today as we celebrate the birth of our nation.

I wish I could honestly say that we are looking good for our age. But unfortunately, our 250th birthday as a nation finds us in troubled waters. The United States, an imperfect beacon of democracy for over 200 years, has recently been described as being on life support as a democracy.

That change in fortunes is not by accident.

When I stood on this stage last year, we were just a few months in with a new administration, but we were already seeing actions that weakened our democratic safeguards.  Since then, we have seen many actions at the federal level that violate our constitution, separation of powers, and the rule of law.

·        A president overriding congressional legislation and spending decisions.

·        An administration invading other nations without congressional approval.

·        A president refusing to comply with court rulings.

·        An administration turning the machinery of government against everyday Americans and political opponents.

·        A president enriching himself and his friends at the expense of the American people.

And most importantly, a President who is doing everything in his power to prevent American citizens from exercising their sacred right to vote.

I could go on and on, but the fact that you are on this lawn today tells me you are well aware of what’s going on.

Later today, we will hear the Declaration of Independence read from this stage. When we hear those words, let’s keep this list in mind and remember the reasons why we had to declare our independence in the first place.

As we make our way through these troubled times, I find it helpful to think about what it actually took to birth and grow this nation of people – all of us – who have the audacity to believe we can and should govern ourselves.

Let’s imagine for a moment the courage it took to defend the revolutionary idea that led to the Declaration of Independence. The signers of that document knew that the act of signing put their own and their family’s lives and fortunes at risk. They signed anyway.

Let’s think about the commitment to this nation that it took for northerners to fight the south in order to prevent our nation from splintering. They knew they were heading into violent hand-to-hand combat. They went anyway.

Let’s think about the grit and determination it took to help stop the Nazis from ruling Europe and potentially, the globe. My mother used to tell me the story of waving to her father at the train station as he left for Europe to fight in World War II. He stood on the back of the train and waved to her until she couldn’t see him anymore. I can’t imagine what that was like for my grandmother, who had a hand on each of her 5 and 3 year old daughters and was expecting her third child, to wave her husband away and promise to hold their world together knowing he might not return. She did it anyway.

And let’s look at the progress we have made within the bounds of our democracy over the past 250 years toward fulfilling our promise as a nation where all people are free and given equal protection under the law.  

• All adult citizens, including women, Black Americans, and Native Americans, can now vote.

• We put extra protections in place for those who are targeted with hate crimes.

• We now protect the elderly, disabled, workers, and children in ways never thought of 250 years ago.

• We have also made progress against the isms and phobias that have too often been used to drive wedges between Americans.

There is still much more work to do, but we have made good progress on many issues over time, and while it’s true that that progress is threatened, we will make more progress in the future. We will not let each other down.

At the same time, the world is changing at lightning speed and our governmental systems have not always kept up with that change.

Reasonable Americans across the political spectrum can disagree about how we should reimagine our agencies and programs, but if we are to have a vibrant future as a free people, we must not disagree about how our democracy works. And we must all be prepared to defend it.

A year and five months in, Democracy loving Americans of all political persuasions are stepping forward in a variety of ways, from peaceful demonstrations to supporting lawsuits to uphold our Constitution and the rule of law.

Last week, 52 local elected leaders in Oregon released a letter calling on congressional and state leaders to keep their oaths of office to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.

While we are here today, hundreds of veterans who took a similar oath are rallying in Philadelphia.

Everyday Americans are organizing voter registration drives, running for office, and turning out younger voters who have the greatest stake in the outcome of our current struggles.

Fortunately for us, the sacrifice we are being called to make is not the same as the sacrifice required of those who have come before. We are not being called to take up arms, go to war, or send our loved ones into battle.  

In this moment in time, we are being called to link arms with democracy loving patriots across the political spectrum and do the work that is uniquely ours to do.

We are being called to reflect on the past 250 years and commit our full faith and hearts to doing even more to realize the promise of our nation over the next 250 years.

We are being called to defend the right to vote for all American citizens. To stand against tyranny. To speak up for the values the authors of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution sewed into our founding documents. To steadfastly protect our beloved country in this, its 251st year of existence.

We are also being called to find the bright spots – the things that are working well. And build on them.

To balance the need to defend our nation’s democratic systems with the need to imagine what a government of the people by the people and for the people needs to be and do in these modern times.

Much democracy defending, future reimagining, and system reinventing is underway. And that makes these both fraught and, in an odd way, energizing times.

I keep this quote by Gil Duran close to my heart for when my spirit is flagging: "We owe our fallen soldiers more than flowers. We owe them vigilance. We owe them the courage to call lies what they are and to defend democracy not just from foreign enemies, but from the rot that grows when we look away. They kept the faith. Now we have to keep the country. Democracy isn’t inherited. It’s earned—every generation, every time."

So, as we enjoy this beautiful day here in Ashland, take in all that is being offered on this stage, and celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, let’s ask ourselves this question inspired by a favorite Mary Oliver poem: What is it each of us will do today, next week, and next month for our one wild and precious country?   

This year marks the 57th year of Ashland and Guanajuato, Mexico being siblings, one of the longest running sister city relationships in the nation. At its heart, it is a people-to-people relationship that the City of Ashland, SOU, the Amigo Club, the Rotary, Ashland School District, Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, and many other community organizations have nurtured over these past five decades.

It is also the work of global peacemaking, of standing in the way of those who would have us identify people of different cultures, languages, and traditions as “other.”

I am honored to have a part to play in ensuring that we continue to strengthen our relationship, share our cultures, and care for one another. I now invite Senora Chela to the stage to introduce the Guanajuato delegation.