By QUINTON SMITH/Lincoln Chronicle
WALDPORT –- One week after she was removed as Waldport’s mayor, Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies cited Heide Lambert for disorderly conduct Thursday when she came to a city council meeting and refused to leave the seat normally occupied by the city’s top elected official.
The scene played out in council chambers packed with a large and vocal contingent of Lambert’s supporters but also Sheriff Adam Shanks, two deputies and a sergeant.
It was the first arrest of a former public official in a public meeting that anyone could remember and highlighted the months-long, increasingly bitter and social-media fueled dispute between Waldport Beachcomber Days officers, its supporters and the city.
The city council voted 6-0 last week to remove Lambert from office after only three months in the position, saying she violated the city charter by trying to direct city employees to deal with Beachcomber complaints instead of working through city manager Dann Cutter. Lambert, who was Yachats’ city manager during 2022-23 and previously served on the Waldport council, denied the accusations last week, saying she didn’t know she was violating protocols.
Under Waldport’s charter the council could have reprimanded Lambert, asked for her resignation, or voted for her removal. When she refused to resign last week, the council voted her out – citing a lack of trust, for not working together and the threat of employee grievances.
In addition, after an executive (closed) session last week to discuss Beachcomber allegations against Cutter, the council found them without merit. The council issued a letter of explanation about that decision Friday.
On Friday, the city issued a statement on its website that Lambert had emailed Cutter and the council that she would be attending Thursday’s meeting and would “be sitting at the dais and running the meeting as usual.” The city prepared an exclusion order which was given to Lambert when she arrived, the city said in its statement, which said that she could not enter city hall “representing herself as anything order than a general citizen.”
Cutter also requested deputies attend the meeting in case there was trouble and had the council agree earlier in the day to dispense with the usual public comment period at the beginning of the session. Shanks, who like Lambert took office in January, was pulled into the conflict while there to talk to the council about a new patrol contract.
Lambert entered city hall with a large and vocal contingent of supporters after a council executive (closed) session to discuss potential lawsuits, stepped to the mayor’s area of the dias, read a short statement disputing her removal and then sat down in the chair usually reserved for the mayor.
“I am the elected mayor and have done nothing wrong,” she said, accusing the council of not providing her due process, overstepping its authority and claiming that the section of the city charter that allowed her removal is unconstitutional.
“I have every right to be here in the capacity as the mayor,” she said. “The people elected me. Only the people who elected me can remove me.”
That drew loud applause and cheers from her supporters, many who then yelled questions and insults at the six council members and Cutter.
After several minutes of the crowd yelling, Shanks approached Lambert to talk with her. After several more minutes Deputy Abby Dorsey joined Shanks to help convince Lambert to stand up and leave – never touching her.
“I’m under arrest, you all,” Lambert said loudly as they moved her to an outside hallway where she was cited for second-degree disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. She is scheduled to be arraigned April 21 in Lincoln County circuit court.
That led to 10 minutes or more of the crowd yelling at council members – who are under instruction not to talk about the issue because both Lambert and the Beachcomber organization have retained lawyers and indicated they may sue the city.
It was letters from Beachcomber officers and supporters asking for an investigation of Cutter that Lambert got involved with that led to the staff complaints. In a long letter written by councilor Jerry Townsend posted to the city’s website Thursday, councilors tried to explain how all that unfolded and their decision to remove Lambert.
Sheriff helped, commissioner didn’t
After helping cite Lambert, Shanks returned and addressed the crowd to ask them to calm down so the council could proceed with its meeting. They eventually did.
Also in the crowd was county commissioner Claire Hall, who said she attended as a longtime friend of Lambert’s and “to observe.” Hall, who is the longest-serving politician in the county, later told the Lincoln Chronicle that she didn’t feel it necessary to step in and help Shanks calm the crowd.
“It wasn’t my meeting,” she said. But county commissioners – at Hall’s urging — recently adopted strict protocols for audience behavior and commenting at its meetings, including the threat of removal.
After being cited, Lambert returned to the meeting and sat quietly in a back row seat.
One of the last of the council’s decisions Thursday were the potential ways to fill the mayor’s position.
“Obviously this is contentious,” said Cutter, acknowledging the threat of a lawsuit but recommending the council leave the position vacant and it put it on the ballot in November.
After a brief discussion, the council agreed – voting 6-0 to leave the seat open until November rather than appointing someone.
“Let’s let the voters decide,” Townsend said.
- Quinton Smith is the editor of Lincoln Chronicle, formerly YachatsNews.com, and can be reached at YachatsNews@gmail.com
To read the Lincoln Chronicle story about Lambert’s removal from office, go here
To read the Waldport city council’s letter to the community, go here
To read the city of Waldport’s statement on Lambert’s disorderly conduct citation, go here
Speaking as a community member who attended the meeting, I will say I was deeply embarrassed at how members of the community acted, and treated the city council. What was even more troubling is how Commissioner Hall supported the treatment of the other elected officials.
City council members made a difficult decision that they were advised was legal, whether it is or isn’t will play out in courts. The “contentious” group of people who were disrespectful and interruptive appeared to be there only to cause disruption and did not appear to know what they were talking about. One vocal agitator accused two council members of being opponents of the former mayor in the election, which they clearly were not?
Many yelled at council members that they “voted for the mayor” and screamed about “democracy”, seemingly forgetting that the citizens of Waldport also voted in the city council members, for the purpose of making decisions that are best for the community. The decision was unanimous. Meaning all 6 of the counsel members, who were elected at different times, agreed the mayor needed to be removed. Again, legal or not, it will be decided in court, but if they were told it was legal, and all six felt it was best for the community and were courageous enough to make such a difficult decision and not sit back and do nothing.
Shame on those that were disruptive and disrespectful. Shame on former Mayor Lambert for contesting this decision in such an inappropriate way, and not encouraging her followers to join her and fight this in court. But most of all, shame on Commissioner Claire Hall for supporting the mistreatment of six other public servants, who unlike her, are not paid for their work. Her actions, or in this case inaction, disgust me.
Agree. I don’t know the details, but Commissioner Hall fomenting anger on social media does not help. She should support her friend of course, but adding fuel to the fire helps no one. Not her wheelhouse.
Well said.
I agree with everything Mervin has said. There is policy and procedures to be followed, which obviously were not.
Joni
Thank you, Mervin, for your thoughtful comment.
Very well said.
Didn’t you also report on Lambert in a issue, regarding her time in the City of Yachats? There has been a law suit but not sure, if she was involved. Maybe a reprint of that article about Yachats may enlighten Waldport.
Mervin, I also was there and sat right in front of Claire Hall. I feel the need to clarify that Ms. Hall was silent the whole time. I would also like to say that one of the reasons people were upset was that, although the removal of the public comment part of the meeting was well within the rights of the City Council, it happened the morning of the meeting and many citizens had prepared their 3 minutes of comment in front of the council. They/we, as voters, felt silenced so passions were ignited. This could have been avoided if voters were allowed their 3 minutes. Also, just a portion of the people wanting to speak were with Beachcomber Days. Many were citizens with no affiliation who wanted to be heard about their specific issues, including the firing of Ms. Lambert.
To be honest, It does seem Heide Lambert overstepped her role. This is a council-manager system. Even if her intentions were for good, it’s a violation of the charter. Because when she told city employees what to do, instructing them to handle complaints from Beachcombers instead of going through the city manager, that was the violation of the charter. It causes bypass of the chain of command, and potentially undermines the role of the city manager, which is charter protected.