Continued turmoil and controversy has led the Waldport city council to move its meetings from city hall to the community center, which can hold more members of the public for the sometimes raucous sessions. (Garret Jaros/Lincoln Chronicle)

By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle

WALDPORT – A new petition to recall six Waldport city councilors was filed this week by the same opponent who led the first effort in July – which eventually failed because signature gatherers violated state law.

It will be the second set of recall petitions circulating in Waldport – another group is seeking signatures to recall Mayor Heide Lambert.

Lincoln County officials determined in November that while enough valid signatures had been gathered to hold a special election to recall the six council members, signature gatherers violated the law by writing in the addresses for some who signed. Oregon law states in part that petitions cannot be modified by anyone other than the person who signs the signature sheet of a petition.

Chief petitioner Tony Thimakis told the Lincoln Chronicle in November that petition gathers were in violation, but that they were given bad information by the Lincoln County clerk who he claimed told them they could fill in people’s addresses for them. That allegation was denied by Clerk Amy Southwell, who told the Chronicle that she provided complete, thorough and correct information.

On Friday, however, the secretary of state’s office said four of the six required committee petitions to recall – allowing the city to give out the petition sheets – were not approved until 4 p.m. Thursday. And that petitions for Greg Dunn and Rick Booth have not yet been approved because of paperwork errors submitted by Thimakis and recall treasurer Theresa Carter.

Thimakis, who is a supporter of the mayor and outspoken critic of the council and city manager Dann Cutter, filed Jan. 30 with the Oregon Secretary of State’s office to “create a committee to petition” and then submitted the necessary paperwork Monday with the city. But a signature was missing on a page, statements did not match and dates were incorrect, municipal clerk Megan Torres told the Chronicle. Thimakis resubmitted the corrected paperwork Tuesday and was given the recall signature sheets.

To advance to the ballot, petitioners must gather a minimum of 192 signatures for each councilor to be subject of the recall from city residents who are registered voters. The number of required signatures is set by the Oregon Secretary of State based on the calculation of 15 percent of the 1,276 city residents who voted in the last election for governor.

Council members facing potential recall are Greg Dunn, Rick Booth, Susan Woodruff, Michelle Severson, Jerry Townsend and Jayme Morris.

The new petitions mirror claims from the first recall effort. The petitions say councilors voted in unison “to oust our lawfully elected mayor, defying the voters choice.”

The council voted 6-0 on April 3 to remove Lambert for violating the city’s charter for improperly directing city employees. A judge ordered the mayor reinstated in May after Lambert asked for a court review of the council’s action and the council quickly complied.

The petitions also say councilors allowed Cutter to speak on their behalf in its intention to fight the district attorney’s decision not to file criminal charges against the mayor for returning to her seat April 10 when she was removed and arrested by a sheriff’s deputy. The petitions also accuse councilors of keeping Lambert from responding to repeated public statements at meetings, dismissing without investigation multiple complaints against Cutter while also failing to supervise him, resulting in fiscal mismanagement that included four years of delinquent city audits and impeding access to public records.

In conclusion, the petition referenced the city manager’s handling of issues surrounding the Waldport Beachcomber Days organization. It states councilors “condoned the city manager’s attempts to cause reputational and fiscal injury to residents and groups including slanderous statements, calling employers and filing complaints with various agencies.”

Between last April and this January, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission received 50 complaints, nearly all against Waldport councilors and Cutter and nearly all from people with ties to Beachcombers, including Thimakis.

The vast majority of those complaints were dismissed for falling outside the commission’s jurisdiction, according to the commission’s compliance and enforcement coordinator. Some resulted in councilors in November receiving a routine letter of education after admitting a technical violation of public meeting laws.

A number of new complaints have been made since Jan. 1, according to OGEC officials, but remain confidential while under preliminary review.

In a Jan. 18 Facebook post on her personal page, Lambert implored people to watch video of the Jan. 15 council meeting – which she did not attend – and to then let her know if they want to file a complaint with ethics commission.

“… for there is several public meeting violations here that need to be reported,” Lambert wrote. “Any registered voter in Oregon is welcome to file complaints on the (OGEC) website. I am happy to help walk you through it!”

Lambert recall effort

A petition to recall Lambert was filed Dec. 11 by Susan Swander of Waldport. The reasons given behind that recall effort include allegations of misleading statements regarding Lambert’s involvement in a federal lawsuit against the city of Yachats while she was city manager there, accusing her of racial discrimination, workplace retaliation and denial of disability rights.

It also claims that since elected mayor in 2024, Lambert has created a hostile environment by raising her voice to city staff, interfered with the duties of the city manager and called Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies on city staff.

“Lambert violated the attorney client privilege of the council and retaliated against a staff member for whistleblowing,” according to the statement. “On separate occasions she has created a potential violation of public meeting law.”

It also states after being reinstated following her removal as mayor in April that she has stated publicly her desire to move on but is refusing to allow the lawsuit to be dismissed, costing significant additional legal expenses for the citizens.

Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]