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By Milva McDonald
A woman elected official who files a police report because she feels threatened is creating a "state of terror" and acting like Stalin. That's pretty much what we heard from Councilor Justin Tseng on October 13, 2026, after Medford resident Micah Kesselman read an approximately 8-minute statement that included objections to a police report filed by Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn. He was granted the privilege to speak for this unusual length of time by a public participation petition he submitted to the council.
I, like most residents of the city, was not present for the incident which led the mayor to file the police report, but I did hear about it at the time from someone who was there. Mr. Kesselman's statement gave a rough outline of what occurred from his point of view. At a community group meeting, in the context of a discussion about how to interact with the mayor regarding a policy initiative, Mr. Kesselman talked about pushing her toward the edge of a cliff. Even he does not dispute that he used that metaphor.
I don't believe that the "cliff" metaphor is generally used this way. Most of the time when I hear it, it's not used about a person. For example, "this policy could send the city's finances to the edge of a cliff." I have heard it used about a person or people in the third person, for example, "bungee jumpers enjoy living on the edge." In the less common cases where it's used to talk about "pushing" someone to the edge, the general meaning is not to approach them in a reasonable way. Rather, its meaning aligns more with trying to rattle a person or harass them to a breaking point. It's a meaning that embodies issues of power and control, close cousins of violence.
Considering that Mr. Kesselman has a history of criticizing and insulting the mayor in meetings and on social media, it does not seem strange to me that his comment might concern her. It's also significant that the police report stated that another individual at the meeting talked about pushing the mayor off a cliff. I can understand how the scary, disturbing image of her being pushed off or to the edge of a cliff could be interpreted as an escalation of rhetoric.
Women are routinely gaslit when they express concerns about threats of violence against them, and that is always upsetting to see. It's particularly upsetting to see our elected officials denigrating and shaming a woman for taking action in response to feeling threatened.
I don't believe any woman should be vilified or shamed for filing a police report if she feels threatened, but on October 13, I heard Mr. Kesselman, Councilor Bears, and Councilor Tseng vehemently denounce the mayor for doing so. Rather than simply thanking Mr. Kesselman for his statement, Councilor Tseng and Councilor Bears felt compelled to comment on it. Councilor Tseng absurdly likened the mayor's actions to Soviet Russia. Councilor Bears, in violation of council rules requiring him to relinquish the chair in order to express an opinion, expressed a strong critical view of the mayor's decision to contact the police and declared, "Have you no decency, Breanna."
The mayor felt threatened and had the courage to file a police report. How dare she? So much for believing women.
I am very glad that the police report found no evidence of a direct threat to the mayor. I'm also glad Mr. Kesselman made it clear he wasn't intending to imply or threaten violence and doesn't condone it. That's a huge relief, but it doesn't mean filing the complaint was unjustified. If someone, especially a man with a history of hostility toward me, escalated that rhetoric to include the disturbing image of pushing me off or toward the edge of a cliff, I would feel a great deal of discomfort and even fear. Assuming that the mayor's motives were anything but genuine perpetuates a pattern of mistrusting, disbelieving, and gaslighting women. To me, it is understandable that the mayor might want to investigate escalating hateful rhetoric against her, as well as get it on record to help prevent future incidents.
Misogyny and sexism are still ingrained in our culture, and they are particularly ingrained in political culture. I hope that Mr. Kesselman, Councilor Bears, Councilor Tseng, and all of us can reflect on the ways in which our words and actions might contribute to the problem.
Milva McDonald is a Medford resident.
