By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle
WALDPORT – The petition to recall all six of Waldport’s city council members except the mayor has passed preliminary requirements and now moves on to signature gathering.
To advance to a special election, petitioners must gather a minimum of 192 signatures from Waldport residents who voted in the 2022 gubernatorial election for each councilor. If enough signatures were gathered for some council members but not others, only the ones where the 192 count threshold is met would face a recall election.
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.
Petitions to recall council president Greg Dunn and councilors Susan Woodruff, Rick Booth, Jayme Morris and Michelle Severson were filed by Tony Thimakis of Waldport on July 14. Thimakis filed the petition to recall councilor Jerry Townsend the next day. To face recall, councilors must be in office for at least six months.
Petitioners have 90 days from the filings – until Oct. 12 and Oct. 13 – to collect the required signatures, Lincoln County Clerk Amy Southwell told the Lincoln Chronicle. If enough signatures are submitted to the city and then verified by the clerk’s office, Southwell said, councilors would have five business days to either resign or submit a statement why they should not be removed.
If a councilor does not resign within the five days after the petition qualifies for the ballot, the special recall election must be held no later than 35 days following the close of the five-day window, according to the Oregon Secretary of State.
The cost to the city of Waldport, if a recall election for any or all of the council members was held, would be about $2 per registered voter at the time the ballots were created. There are currently 1,830 registered voters in Waldport.
“But that number can go up or down daily,” Southwell said.
If the number of voters were to remain the same, the cost to the city would be $3,660, but Southwell said that number is also an approximation and that costs could reach as much as $5,000 depending on the final costs incurred by the county.
Southwell said she explained to petitioners that if recall elections for each council member was done individually over time, it would increase exponentially the cost to the city.
“So that’s why they waited until they (council members) were all in for at least six months,” Southwell said.
Reasons for the petition
Separate prospective recall petitions were filed – as required – for each council member. The explanations for each filing were the same, except for Dunn’s which contained a few extra points related to his public comments.
The filings say that councilors voted in unison “to oust our lawfully elected mayor, defying the voters choice.” The council voted 6-0 on April 3 to remove Mayor Heide Lambert for violating the city’s charter for directing city employees in their duties.
The petitions also say councilors allowed city manager Dann 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 then removed and arrested by a Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy.
The petitions go on to accuse councilors of keeping the mayor from responding to repeated public statements at council meetings, dismissing without investigation multiple complaints filed against the city manager 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.”
Chief petitioner explains
In an interview with the Lincoln Chronicle on Thursday, Thimakis reiterated the petitions’ statements in explaining his reasons for seeking the recall.
“They (council) abdicated power to the city manager and do not follow up on his actions or projects,” he said before going back to when it all really began for him.
“When they recalled the mayor, I filed a grievance against the city,” Thimakis said. “My first grievance was returned to me unopened because it was registered mail and nobody would sign for it. Then I went down to the council meeting and they wouldn’t let me talk and told me we had to submit it in writing.”
He said he then submitted it in writing but that it is not in the city’s records.
“I’ve been through all the minutes, there’s nothing there,” Thimakis said. “And I had to wait 14 days to file a complaint with the Oregon Ethics Commission. So basically, I got no response from the city, that’s really where it starts.”
Thimakis also takes issue with the city’s charter, saying even the League of Oregon Cities recommends changing the charter to specify a mayor can only be removed by recall, if they move out of the city or if they die. He also accused the city of violating its charter by allowing elected officials like Woodruff to serve too long.
Woodruff has served as an elected official with the city for 25 years. The charter states “No elected or unpaid appointed official shall serve a continuous period in office of more than 12 years.”
When asked about it by the Chronicle, Woodruff said the issue was cleared up by the city’s attorney when she was mayor and approaching 12 years of service.
“You can only have 12 years of consecutive service in a specific position,” Woodruff said. “So you could serve say 12 years as a council member, then 12 years as mayor and then even another 12 after as a council member if you wanted.”
Thimakis said the effort to begin gathering signatures has not started because the paperwork from the city just came through Wednesday.
“We plan on doing a door-to-door campaign,” he said. “We haven’t talked to specific people about setting up in areas. We’ll know more about that Monday. We’re meeting then to discuss what we’re going to do and how to break up the areas.”
Councilor’s response
Townsend is no stranger to city operations. He served on the budget committee and was first elected in 2020 to fill a seat for two years before being elected to a four-year term in 2024.
Townsend thinks the recall effort is an opportunity for the community to “define itself” and for the council to “show our mettle – what we are made of.” He said he wants to handle the potential recall in a positive way and believes the truth will win the day.
“People who are ugly, people who are not truthful, eventually lose,” Townsend said. “And I have faith that the citizens of Waldport are going to see what the six of us are made of. … I hope it ends some of this rancor that has been going on for the last seven months or so. I think it may wind up being healthy …”
Townsend also took exception to Thimakis’ claim that council bends to the city manager’s will and does not follow up on his duties.
“I see the city manager every week or two, normally for a good period of time and I don’t necessarily always agree with him and what he’s doing,” Townsend said. “I certainly influence his thinking and I know that other councilors do the same thing.”
He said council is very much a unified group but only so far as they want the best for the city, and as long as that’s happening that is why the council mostly agrees with the city manager.
But Townsend added that doesn’t mean the city manager has control over anyone on the council, who are all very independent and come from entirely different backgrounds, generations and parts of the country.
“I’m never going to give up my right to influence what happens in the city as long as I’m on city council,” he continued. “That’s what I was elected to do. And that’s what I’m always going to do. I will not bow down or follow somebody blindly because he happens to be city manager. We hire him. We’re his boss. That’s the relationship we have with him.”
The public does not see the council’s interactions with the city manager because they do not “get up in front of people and grandstand and attempt to diminish him in council meetings. But do we agree with him all the time – no we don’t.
“And sometimes he has to change his direction because of where we stand,” Townsend said. “But all that doesn’t need to be spread out in public. That’s between us and our employee. It’s a personnel matter and we deal with it that way.”
- Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
Hope this goes down in flames as it well deserves. These Beachbummer Days folks have become a complete pain in the behindski Nothing like defending financial and legal incompetence.
As a resident of Waldport, I support the legal recall effort and plan to sign the petition. This isn’t about personal attacks it’s about accountability, transparency, and making sure the community’s voice is respected.
I’m concerned about the dismissive tone some city officials have taken toward residents who raise concerns. The environment has become tense and discouraging for open dialogue.
I’m especially troubled by how our elected mayor was removed from office. While some point to past events in Yachats, many residents, especially those present that day, believe the removal was political and disregarded the will of the voters. That moment sparked a movement for change.
Recalls are a legal and democratic tool for the people to correct course when they feel unheard. I hope this process leads to a government that better reflects and respects the people of Waldport.
“accountability, transparency, and making sure the community’s voice is respected”… I recall issues with the Beachcombers committee regarding these topics. Is this related to the recall?
I’ve been to city meetings for other matters when the Beachcombers drama was happening. They think they are some sort of vigilante citizens brigade doing right by their fellows. They are just angry for getting called out and not getting their way. Here we see the squeaky wheel always getting the grease as this small constituency gets louder. They don’t get their way so want to recall six elected officials simply to get at the city manager in a personal vendetta. Now wasting more city money. I can tell you from experience the city works within the code and they work for the citizens and city of Waldport in mind. I feel bad for these employees and officials constantly being attacked for doing their job because one specific group can’t handle not getting their way.
I am behind you Townsend. I will sign that petition. When I found out that there hasn’t been a tax audit in 5 years, I realized the council and mayor are not doing its job. I feel sorry for the Southworth family. What has surfaced about the construction of the Southworth park is a disgrace. It is obvious nobody is doing their job, no communication and where was the city attorney in negotiating the contract with the contractor.
I say get rid of them all. We need people to do their jobs and make this town a better place for this community. I don’t want our town to be like Yachats. Lets think of the community and we who pay the taxes, not the tourist who fly in and out of here.
I have lived in the Waldport area for 60 years. I served on the planning commission and city council. The past couple of years has been troubling to me, not because of city officials and manger but because of this outside group trying to take over the city. No thanks! I believe the city is being run very well. Driving into town I see the dog park and playground and they are really used. I would ask people not to sign this recall petition and squelch this before it starts. I support the city council and city manager 100%. I feel this vindictiveness must stop.
Lee, my friend, I respectfully disagree.
Neither you nor I is a resident of Waldport and thus cannot vote. However, I will support the recall effort by gathering signatures and explaining the significance of these events to my friends.
Once you read the Petition, you will see that the Recall has nothing to do with Beachcomber Days and that the Council had nothing to do with BCD.
The Waldport City Council fired the mayor. Why do I care? It was an anti-democratic act. While the council rescinded the expulsion vote just before a Lincoln County Judge had scheduled a hearing, not one of them has acknowledged publicly that they were wrong or taken steps to amend the city charter.
If firing an elected official by vote of the City Council can happen in Waldport, it could happen elsewhere, and it could happen again in Waldport.
Did you find it odd when you read in the Lincoln Chronicle last April that the City Council fired an elected mayor less than three months into her term? This really bothered me. The constitutional remedy for this situation should be a recall by the voters, not a decision made by six councilors, right?
Because the situation really bothered me, I consulted an attorney specializing in local government law. He confirmed that my instincts were correct—removing an elected official in this manner is unconstitutional. In fact, a U.S. District Court judge in Eugene struck down a similar provision in the Corvallis Charter as unconstitutional in January 2025.
Regarding the Beachcombers, I think the Council placed too much trust in the city manager’s interpretation of his authority under the Waldport Municipal Code. The city manager is not an attorney. Failing to monitor the developing situation that could have resulted in the city manager’s cancellation of BCD 2025 was prevented because BCD hired an attorney who corresponded directly with the council.
I reviewed the correspondence from the attorney for Beachcomber Days, which explained in 11 pages why the city manager’s threat to rescind the Beachcomber Days 2025 license — just one month before the event — violated the special events provision of the Waldport municipal code.
Nonetheless, the recall petition focuses on the Council’s actions (and inactions), not the Beachcombers.
I harbor no animosity toward any of the councilors. Still, they seem overly trusting of the city manager. Only the council can hire and fire a city manager. The recall petition includes examples of how the council abdicated. Councilors need to ask questions, to “trust, but verify.”
By the way, even though the council rescinded their expulsion vote, not one of them has publicly apologized to the voters for putting them in legal jeopardy.
Monica, I respectfully disagree back at you!. You’re beating a horse after it has been killed and resuscitated. By rescinding the mayor’s firing, the council acknowledged what the law is. I don’t think they owe any further apology because the mayor was wrongly going behind the city manager’s back and approaching city employees directly.
I don’t believe the council merits the recall because they fired a mayor who got out of line. Or backed a city manager who found fault with the way the Beachcomber’s Days folks mishandled financial and legal requirements.
I understand your position is based on the legal issue regarding to the mayor’s firing, but I believe inappropriate anger among the Beachcomber’s Days people is extremely relevant here. As an outside observer who doesn’t live in Waldport and has no ties to anyone involved, this group sure looks like a vindictive bunch that should instead be focusing on learning federal rules for nonprofits and proper record keeping.
I don’t know Waldport that well but I will venture that this recall is going to be soundly defeated by the city’s sensible and responsible citizens.