Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission recalls, Oregon (2018)
| Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Jim Lewis Rick Landt |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| March 13, 2018 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2018 Recalls in Oregon Oregon recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Michael Gardiner, Jim Lewis, and Rick Landt from their positions on the Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission in Oregon was launched in November 2017. Members of a group called Support Our Seniors (SOS) took out recall petition paperwork on November 8, 2017, in response to layoffs at the Ashland Senior Center and proposed changes to the city's senior services. They also alleged that the commission mismanaged its budget and violated the state's public meetings law.[1] The commissioners said the accusations made in the recall petitions were false and not based on facts.
Recall proponents submitted signatures in January 2018 to the county clerk's office, which verified that there were enough signatures in early February 2018. The commissioners declined to resign from their positions, so a recall election was scheduled for March 13, 2018. All three recalls were defeated.[2]
The Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission has five members.
Recall vote
The special recall election was on March 13, 2018.[3] Lewis, Gardiner, and Landt were retained.[4]
| Jim Lewis recall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 1,752 | 30.16% | ||
 Retain | 4,057 | 69.84% | ||
| Mike Gardiner recall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 1,760 | 30.32% | ||
| Retain | 4,045 | 69.68% | ||
| Rick Landt recall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 1,755 | 30.23% | ||
| Retain | 4,050 | 69.77% | ||
Recall supporters
The names on the recall petition were Mary Sundberg, Mary Canfield, and Avram Chetron. Members of Ashland SOS disagreed with the firing of Senior Center Manager Chris Dodson, among other layoffs of Ashland Senior Center staff. Dodson hired a lawyer after she was fired, who said, "The Department’s decision to remove Ms. Dodson from her role as manager of the Senior Center was totally unnecessary and makes no sense. No one has more knowledge and expertise concerning the Senior Center’s services and the Ashland senior community’s needs than Ms. Dodson." Recall proponents said that positions at the senior center were filled by "unqualified parks employees, thus endangering our seniors’ well-being."[1]
Recall opponents
Commissioner Jim Lewis said that the recall was based on claims but few facts. He denied that any of his votes or actions as a commissioner were malfeasant and said, "I challenge any person to name one senior program that has not stayed open."[5]
Letters of justification
After it was confirmed that there had been enough signatures to trigger a recall election, the commissioners had to either resign or submit letters of justification that would appear on the recall ballot. Below are Gardiner's, Lewis', and Landt's letters of justification, submitted on February 6 and 7, 2018.
Gardiner
| “ | This election is about accountability. As commissioners, we expect Ashland citizens to hold us accountable for managing the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission budget and for holding all APRC employees accountable for their job performance. Citizens who disagree with our difficult and necessary personnel decisions and then falsely claim commissioner malfeasance only make problem-solving more difficult. This tactic does not promote stronger city government.
We commissioners have managed our city-approved budget with careful diligence. There is no pending threat to the city general fund either by audit, by city administrator reprimand, or by City Council action and to broadly suggest otherwise is flat wrong. We are diligent in our open meeting protocols with absolutely nothing to hide and not a single citation or substantiated complaint or violation on record. Our ex-senior program manager authored her own misfortune by failing to accept the accountability and responsibilities that belong to that management position. Commissioners Rick Landt, Jim Lewis and I made the responsible decision to recommend the restructure of the Ashland Senior Program. We unanimously performed our duty as difficult as it may have been. Your vote is very important. Thank you for your support and your no vote on recall.[6] |
” |
| —Michael Gardiner[7] | ||
Landt
| “ | Please support ALL Seniors by voting NO on the RECALL. Jim Lewis, Mike Gardiner and I are seniors who volunteer our time to serve the City of Ashland.
We protected ALL seniors and City taxpayers by making the difficult decision to restructure the Senior Program because of irregularities that created liabilities for our City's taxpayers. Senior Center unauthorized decisions and irregularities included:
All services for at-risk seniors are being maintained. New staff will have credentials consistent with National Institute of Senior Centers standards. An Advisory Committee, made up of Senior Program participants and experts in senior-related fields, is taking public input and making recommendations for long-term, inclusive Program improvements. As you prepare to vote, consider the lack of fact-based evidence backing the claims of the recall proponents. At the national AND local level, decisions should be fact-based, not based on innuendo and unsubstantiated claims. Thank you for reading. Please consider the verifiable facts. I would hope they lead you to VOTE NO ON THE RECALL.[6] |
” |
| —Rick Landt[8] | ||
Lewis
| “ | First, let me thank you for taking the time to vote. As this recall is costing the city approximately $30,000, my hope is that you take the time to review both sides of the Senior Center issue.
In 2017 I was appointed to the Senior Center sub-committee, I attended all meetings and reviewed all information. I concluded we needed to reorganize the Senior program. This decision was not popular with a few citizens in town thus resulting in the recall. Recall reason #1 Accuses us of mismanaging the Park's budget. I feel this is decidely false. There is no budget mismanagement and Parks has recieved passing grades from a private auditor for decades. Recall reason #3 Petitioners state we flagrantly failed to follow Oregon State meetings law, City records indicate no meeting law violations. I feel these are serious charges without any evidence. I believe gathering signatures with false statements calls into question the validity of this recall petition. The recall process is an important part of democracy however this recall was poorly thought through. I place a high value on volunteering to serve my community, and it's my hope you will allow me to continue.[6] |
” |
| —Jim Lewis[9] | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Oregon
Recall proponents had 90 days to collect 1,566 valid signatures for each recall petition.[10] Signatures were turned in to the Jackson County Clerk's Office on January 26, 2018. The clerk's office had 10 business days to verify the signatures.[11] On February 2, 2018, the clerk's office confirmed that enough signatures were submitted in order to move forward with the recalls. The commissioners then had to choose whether to resign or face a recall election. All three commissioners declined to resign.[2] The recall was scheduled for March 13, 2018.
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission
- City of Ashland
- Ashland SOS website
- Recall website
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ashland Daily Tidings, "Recall of parks commissioners launched," November 10, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mail Tribune, "Ashland parks commissioners will fight recall," February 6, 2018
- ↑ Ashland Daily Tidings, "Voting registration deadline Tuesday," February 13, 2018
- ↑ Jackson County Elections, "Official Results - March 13, 2018 Recall Election," March 30, 2018
- ↑ Mail Tribune, "Seniors launch recall against Ashland parks commissioners," November 15, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ City of Ashland, "Gardiner Letter of Justification," February 6, 2018
- ↑ City of Ashland, "Rick Landt Letter of Justification," February 7, 2018
- ↑ City of Ashland, "Jim Lewis Letter of Justification," February 6, 2017
- ↑ News 10, "Seniors in Ashland try and recall Ashland Parks and Recreation Commissioners," November 20, 2017
- ↑ Ashland Daily Tidings, "Parks commissioners recall moves forward," January 26, 2018
