Group seeking to recall county commissioner Claire Hall turns in 1,000 more signatures than needed Monday

By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/ Lincoln Chronicle 

A petition to recall Lincoln County Commissioner Claire Hall carrying 4,882 signatures made its way to the county clerk for verification Monday. Now, the county has 30 days to verify the signatures before determining if a recall will be on the ballot.

Christine Jamison of Otter Rock, who spearheaded the effort, handed a stack of more than 500 petitions to county clerk office employees, bearing thousands of signatures collected over the past three months.

“It’s strange to think that after all that work this isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning,” Jamison said as she leaned on the counter outside the clerk’s office.

If petitioners collected at least 3,950 verified signatures, Hall will have five days to resign or submit a statement of justification of why she should stay in her position. If Hall does not resign, a special election – likely in mid-January – will be held to decide if she keeps her seat.

Volunteers set up beside grocery stores, post offices and even knocked on doors throughout the county to collect signatures from Lincoln County’s 40,000 registered voters. Many  businesses told Hall’s opponents not to collect signatures near their property after receiving calls from people upset with their recall effort, Jamison said.

Much of the reasoning behind the recall attempt has to do with how Hall has handled comments at commission meetings, including when Jamison was barred from meetings after supposedly breaching rules regarding slander when she attempted to relay what county counsel Kristin Yuille told her.

People of all political backgrounds signed the petition, said Jamison, who also uses the surname Hutchins on social media where she has promoted the recall effort. She said volunteers ran names through the county’s registration database and found out that less than half of the signatures were from Republicans, about one-fifth were nonaffiliated, 13 percent were Democrats, 5 percent were independent and 2.45 percent were not able to be categorized.

“This is about how we are being governed,” Jamison said later in a press release. “People from all throughout Lincoln County told us they want transparency, accountability, and a Board of Commissioners that works for everyone. They want the chance to vote on whether this approach to leadership should continue.”

Hall has served as a commissioner since 2004 and is in her sixth term in office. When she ran for re-election in 2024 she faced four challengers in the May primary and defeated Rick Beasley of Depoe Bay in a November runoff by just 115 votes, the closest commissioner race in decades.

Hall has not attended meetings in person since suffering a fall that fractured her hip and shoulder in September. Since then, she has also been hospitalized for additional health setbacks. Hall did not respond to questions from Lincoln Chronicle but did reply that she still felt unwell and was unable to make a statement Monday.

If the signatures are valid a recall election will likely take place mid-January. Since ballots would have to be mailed after the November election, the recall is estimated to cost $40,000 to $50,000.

• Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, education, Newport, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at Shayla@LincolnChronicle.org