Turmoil in Curry County leads to recall attempt against two commissioners

By JUSTIN HIGGINBOTTOM/Jefferson Public Radio

Some residents unhappy with two Curry County commissioners have launched a recall effort.

Curry County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeremy Krohn filed petitions late last month to recall commissioners Jay Trost and Patrick Hollinger.

The petition against Trost alleges he has created a “culture of fear and retaliation,” supported expenditures like additional legal fees to litigate against elected officials and avoided publicly engaging with residents by holding meetings in Brookings rather than Gold Beach. It also claims he defended the actions of an unnamed employee “who continues to subject Curry County to risk and litigation.”

Commissioner Trost called the allegations against him “baseless and intentionally vague.”

“We are being petitioned to be recalled because we are leading in a way that disrupts the status quo,” Trost wrote in a Facebook post.

He said the petitions were related to a lawsuit the board filed against Ward earlier this year. The complaint seeks a court order requiring Ward to provide commissioners with records and attend county meetings. Trost also claimed the recall effort is intended to block the board’s planned forensic audit of the county’s finances.

A special recall election will be held if either petition receives at least 1,902 valid signatures from county residents.

• This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.