Chris Barnett and Andreas Blech recall, Josephine County, Oregon (2025-2026)
| Chris Barnett and Andreas Blech recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Andreas Blech |
| Recall status |
Resigned |
| Recall election date |
| January 6, 2026[1] |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Oregon Oregon recall laws County commission recalls Recall reports |
An election to recall Josephine County Commissioner Chris Barnett is scheduled for January 6, 2026, in Oregon. The recall effort also targeted Commissioner Andreas Blech, but he resigned after the recall petition against him was verified.[1]
Jim Goodwin filed the recall petition. Recall organizers needed 6,445 verified petition signatures to get the recall on the ballot.[2] On November 18, 2025, recall organizers claimed they submitted more than 7,000 signatures.[3]
On December 3, the Josephine County Clerk announced that a sufficient number of signatures were verified for both Barnett and Blech. The petition targeting Barnett contained 6,728 valid signatures, and the petition targeting Blech contained 6,711 valid signatures.[4] Blech resigned from his position on December 5.[5] Barnett declined to resign, and a recall election was scheduled for January 6, 2026.[1]
Recall vote
Chris Barnett recall, 2026
Chris Barnett is facing a recall election in the Josephine County Commissioner, Position 2 recall on January 6, 2026.
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Recall supporters
The petition targeting Barnett listed the following reasons for recall:[6]
| “ |
This petition demands the recall of Commissioner Chris Barnett for the following actions resulting in loss of public faith and trust. It is Petitioner’s belief that the following actions demonstrate poor judgment, poor management skills, and a lack of integrity: 1) Voted to temporarily give away voting power and hand over personnel authority to just one unelected commissioner. This resulted in lawsuits, unexplained layoffs, unexplained department restructurings, and also the firing of several well-respected County department directors. 2) Voted to approve a voluntary employee resignation program costing over $700,000 in related payoffs without appropriate justification. 3) Oregon Supreme court recently upheld a $3.2 million judgment for elder financial abuse and breach of contracts for Barnett's company’s purchase of an RV resort. 4) Voted in January 2025 to prematurely cancel the lease agreement of the GP Library District branch and in March 2025 paid for Facebook advertising to spread an article that was advocating against the Library’s interests. 5) Threatened and attempted to silence local citizens and media members against their First Amendment rights. These actions are a sample of the many concerns that have severely damaged public trust, hurt Josephine County, and warrant immediate recall. [7] |
” |
The petition targeting Blech listed the following reasons for recall:[6]
| “ |
This petition demands the recall of Commissioner Andreas Blech for the following actions resulting in loss of public faith and trust. It is Petitioner’s belief that the following actions demonstrate poor judgment, poor management skills, a lack of transparency, and disrespect for the County citizens: 1) According to the County’s former Budget Officer, he attempted to promote the IT/Emergency Management Director to a newly created position with a total compensation package cost of approximately $388,000 per year. 2) He accepted temporary sole personnel authority by the Board of Commissioners. Actions taken while holding sole personnel authority resulted in lawsuits, unexplained layoffs, unexplained department restructuring actions, and also the firing of several well-respected County department directors. 3) Recommended and voted to approve a voluntary employee resignation program costing over $700,000 in related payoffs without appropriate justification. 4) Insulted local citizens during several weekly business sessions and refused to answer many questions from citizens and local media. These actions are a sample of the many concerns that have severely damaged public trust, hurt Josephine County, and warrant immediate recall. [7] |
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Recall opponents
Barnett submitted the following statement in response to the recall attempt:[3]
| “ |
I want to address the ongoing recall effort and the misinformation being circulated throughout Josephine County. First and foremost, I love serving you the citizens of Josephine County. Secondly I sincerely hope the County Clerk carefully verifies each and every signature submitted. If this recall does make it onto a ballot, the public deserves to know that many citizens were misled into signing a petition based on false information and fabricated claims. The county clerk is also in litigation from last recall election over verification of signatures with an appeal from former recalled Commissioner John West that is still ongoing. Citizens have demanded that every petition signature get verified and not to do a sampling method. The clerks email is clerk@josephinecounty.gov Petitioners working for chief petitioner Jim Goodwin have been telling voters that the Board of Commissioners “evicted the library.” That is one hundred percent false. The truth is simple: we renegotiated the library’s lease and extended it for an additional five years, well before the December 31st deadline. There was never any eviction proposed or discussed. Yet petitioners continue to repeat this falsehood to gather signatures. Another falsehood being pushed is that the Commissioners ended the 4-H Extension programs. Again—completely untrue. This Board reinstated and fully supported the program this year, and I personally serve on the advisory board. To claim otherwise is misleading the public, plain and simple. There is a current video of a petitoner trying to gather signatures by spreading misinformation that has been turned over to the Secretary of State Elections Division. There are many falsehoods that have been fabricated to mislead voters to sign a bogus petition and encouraged to take 5 minutes and report to https://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Pages/election-law-violation.aspx It is also important for citizens to understand who is behind this recall attempt. The chief petitioner, Mr. Jim Goodwin, is a former employee who resigned and accepted a severance package after just a few months of me being in office. I barely interacted with him during my time as commissioner, he never raised any concerns with me, and then he abruptly resigned with compensation. We are currently reviewing the contract he signed, which may indemnify the County and its elected officials. If someone accepts monetary compensation and then immediately seeks retaliation against those who approved it, that is not a legitimate basis for a recall—it is a personal grievance disguised as a public cause. Despite the noise and misinformation, this Commission has accomplished a tremendous amount in just under one year. We restored 24/7 sheriff’s patrols for the first time in 15 years, strengthened public safety by supporting the DA’s office, saved taxpayer dollars, maintained a balanced budget with a surplus, and did all of this without laying off a single employee. That is responsible, effective governance. It is also important to note that the same activist groups who recalled former Commissioner John West—Rogue Indivisible, Citizens for Responsible Government, and Restore Josephine County—are supporting Mr. Goodwin’s recall effort. Many of these individuals were candidates or supporters of candidates who lost the 2024 election. This recall is political, not factual. It has no merit, and it is not based on job performance. We were warned on election night, November 5th, 2024, that we would be targeted for recall the moment the six-month window opened. And here it is. But the timing and motivations behind this effort should concern every voter. Removing two commissioners at once—something unprecedented in Josephine County history—would result in replacements being chosen not by voters, but by a small group of elected officials. That is not healthy for democracy, and it would change the future of our county in ways voters may not expect. Because of the volume of misinformation used to persuade citizens to sign this recall petition, the Oregon Secretary of State has provided a formal avenue to report election law violations. If you believe you were misled, pressured, or misinformed into signing a recall petition, please visit the Secretary of State’s website to report it: https://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Pages/election-law-violation.aspx I pledged to serve the citizens of Josephine County, and I have put in countless hours doing exactly that. My colleagues and I take our responsibilities seriously and work every day with integrity and dedication. It is unfortunate that the county must now endure a costly recall and the potential litigation that may arise from it, all for reasons rooted in misinformation and political retaliation. I am asking the citizens of Josephine County to stand up for truth, reject misinformation, turn in their ballots, and vote NO on this recall. Let us finish the work you elected us to do. Allow us to continue fixing county government, protecting public services, and serving the people of this community. I love this job and the opportunity to serve, and I will continue working hard for the future of Josephine County. [7] |
” |
As of August 2025, Ballotpedia had not identified a response from Blech.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Oregon
No specific grounds are required for recall in Oregon. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 15% of the votes cast in the last regular gubernatorial election in the relevant jurisdiction. Signatures must be collected within 90 days.[8]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Josephine County, Oregon
- Recall campaigns in Oregon
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- County commission recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Grants Pass Tribune, "January 6 Recall Moves Forward as Barnett’s Official Statement Draws Perjury Concerns," December 10, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jefferson Public Radio, "Citing lack of trust, petitioners seek to recall two Josephine commissioners," August 27, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 KOBI 5, "Josephine County Commissioner Chris Barnett speaks out on recall effort," November 21, 2025
- ↑ The Daily Courier, "Recall signatures verified, triggering special election; Barnett files suit to halt process," accessed December 10, 2025
- ↑ Jefferson Public Radio, "Josephine County Commissioner Andreas Blech resigns rather than face recall election," December 5, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Restore Josephine County, "Recall Petitions," accessed September 10, 2025
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Recall Manual," accessed October 17, 2023
