By Dan Corcoran

EUGENE, Ore. -- There is evidence of growing tension among the mayor, some city councilors and even anonymous voices. At the heart of it all, there's a debate about public safety in Downtown Eugene.

A group known only as Eugene Advocates is snapping photos depicting problems with crime and public drunkeness that the group believes are associated with transients and young people. The images are being emailed anonymously to city leaders like Mayor Kitty Piercy, as part of a grassroots campaign to call for a crackdown on such behavior downtown.

The mayor responded to Eugene Advocates, in part, with this: "Those who have hidden their identities such as the Ku Klux Klan are fresh in our memories. One can say and do anything if one does not have to be held accountable for it."

The comments drew fire from Councilor Mike Clark who knows some of the members of the group. Clark does not believe names need to be part of the discussion about downtown safety.

Can the Eugene Advocates group act anonymously and still be part of this democratic discussion? Mayor Piercy says transparency is ideal and that her klan-related comments are being misinterpreted. She says she's not comparing the citizen group to the KKK.

The question of anonymity may be raised once again on November 23rd when the City Council plans to tackle the topic of downtown public safety next.