Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors recalls, Oregon (2016)
| Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Garry Smith Linda Beck-Sweeney |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| April 5, 2016 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Oregon Oregon recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Sharon Clyde, Garry Smith and Linda Beck-Sweeney from their positions on the Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors in Clatsop County, Ore. was launched in January 2016. Sharon Clyde is the president of the board.[1] The recalls against all three officials were defeated in a special election on April 5, 2016.[2]
The recall petition was initiated by Resident Susan Neuwirth after the board fired Fire Chief Mike Balzer. Balzer was fired in a "disrespectful, cold and calculating" way, according to a letter signed by seven volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians. Neuwirth said that Balzer was locked out of his office, collected his belongings with a police escort on hand and sent to walk home in the rain. The board said the termination was "strictly business, not personal," and said Balzer lacked the necessary clerical and administrative skills. Recall proponents did not believe it was a satisfactory reason.[1]
Recall vote
The special recall election took place on April 5, 2016. All three officials were retained to their positions.[3][2]
| Do you vote to recall Linda Beck-Sweeney from the office of Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District, Director, Position 2? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 205 | 41.41% | ||
 Retain | 290 | 58.59% | ||
| Do you vote to recall Garry Smith from the office of Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District, Director, Position 3? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 201 | 40.44% | ||
| Retain | 296 | 59.56% | ||
| Do you vote to recall Sharon Clyde from the office of Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District, Director, Position 5? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 213 | 42.69% | ||
| Retain | 286 | 57.31% | ||
Recall supporters
Neuwirth collected letters from 17 current and former firefighters and emergency medical technicians that supported Chief Mike Balzer. She presented these letters to the board. "During every call I have ever been on or with Mike (Balzer), his leadership, knowledge and skills were top notch," said one firefighter. The joint letter of seven people mentioned above said, "I can no longer respect or trust this board to represent our fire district or fire department," and recommended that the board members resign. Retired Fire Marshal Mike Graham expressed his support of Balzer and asked the board to reconsider his termination. Another resident doubted that the administrative shortcomings of Balzer were reason enough to fire him. Unless the board put forth proof that it was, he said, Balzer should regain his position.[1]
Below is the official statement given for demanding the recall of the three board members:
| “ | Because of a pattern of hypercriticism and micromanagement which culminated in the disrespectful dismissal of an exemplary Fire Chief, Mike Balzer, this Board member has lost the trust and respect of the body of Firefighters and the community that elected her to this position.
There are numerous letters from the community and from the majority of Fire Fighters/EMTs denouncing the Board for their action and in support of the Chief.[4] |
” |
| —Statement from recall petition[5] | ||
Recall opponents
Balzer's 2014-15 evaluation, which was released after an open records request, showed that the board believed Balzer "needed improvement" in four out of five categories (accuracy, job knowledge, productivity and timeliness). He was rated "satisfactory" in the thoroughness category. The evaluation said that Balzer displayed poor leadership and communication. They also questioned Balzer's judgement "in allowing his spouse to continue to interact inappropriately online via social media criticizing board members and staff."[6]
The three board members issued identical statements in defense of themselves for the recall election ballot. Below is that statement in full:
| “ | People who serve on elected boards of public agencies are responsible for providing citizen oversight; often when those organizations receive little scrutiny from the media or the public-at-large. Board members have a fiduciary responsibility to those who've elected them to ensure sound organizational direction.
This is critical in the areas of management and administration. Shortcomings in these areas can lead to sanctions by regulatory agencies and liability in many forms. Recently, the majority of directors at Cannon Beach RFPD opted to dismiss the fire chief, not because they questioned his commitment to the community; but because they became concerned about his ability to manage the myriad administrative tasks that come with heading a public agency. With a lawsuit filed regarding this matter, there has been little public disclosure about the board's specific concerns and the events that led to the chief's dismissal. A recall effort at this point is premature, as most community members have little information, absent a trial or other resolution. The chief clearly has many friends in the community. But nobody in the community will be well-served by the rush to judgement proposed by this recall effort.[4] |
” |
| —Sharon Clyde, Garry Smith and Linda Beck-Sweeney[5] | ||
Lawsuit
After his termination, Balzer filed a lawsuit against the Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District, seeking $677,000, the reinstatement of his employment benefits and relief from "further retaliation or harassment." Balzer accused the board of firing him for "personal animus" because of comments his wife made on social media. He was "unwilling and unable to restrict his wife from speaking her mind, despite the threat that he could be discharged if she continued to express her opinions," according to the complaint.[6]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Oregon
Recall proponents needed to collect at least 125 valid signatures by April 6, 2016. The required number of votes is calculated by taking 15 percent of the votes that the district cast in the last election for that specific position. The petitions were certified by the Clatsop County Clerk’s Office on February 26. For each of the three petitions, 126 signatures were certified. The directors had until 5:00 pm on March 2 to either resign or turn in a written statement in defense of themselves.[7] Since they did not resign, an election was scheduled for April 5, 2016. Ballots were mailed out on March 16.[3]
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cannon Beach Gazette, "Neuwirth leads effort to recall three fire board directors," January 14, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Clatsop County, "Special Recall Election Results," April 5, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Clatsop County, "April 5, 2016 Recall Election," accessed March 4, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Clatsop County, "Reasons for the Demand of Recall and Statements of Justification," accessed March 4, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Daily Astorian, "Cannon Beach fire chief amends lawsuit, ups damages," February 1, 2016
- ↑ Daily Astorian, "Cannon Beach fire officials confront ouster," February 26, 2016
