Waldport voters rebuff attempts to recall six council members who now ask for healing and to get down to business

• Editor’s note: this story was updated at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21 after a third round of counted ballots were released.

Recall Election Total Voting: 719

Turnout: 39.9%

Approximate percentage counted: 99%

Final Report of Unofficial Results Aug. 3

Position 1: Greg Dunn: Yes 325 versus No 385

Position 2: Rick Booth: Yes 284 versus No 430

Position 3: Susan Woodruff: Yes 291 versus No 426

Position 4: Jayme Morris: Yes 291 versus No 417

Position 5: Michelle Severson: Yes 279 versus No 431

Position 6: Jerry Townsend: Yes 299 versus No 408

By Lincoln Chronicle staff

WALDPORT – All six Waldport council members have easily fended off an attempt to recall them by a group aligned with the city’s mayor, according to the first release of special election results Monday night.

Although 95 percent of ballots were counted Monday, the vote-counting will stretch into next week so the Lincoln County clerk’s office can account for ballots picked up at 8 p.m. or mailed over the weekend and Monday.

Ballots were mailed in late June to 1,821 eligible voters. As of Tuesday night there had been 671 people voting with a turnout of 37.2 percent, according to the clerk’s office. Voters marked their ballots “yes” to recall the councilors or “no” to reject the idea.

After the second round of results were released Tuesday night, results show that:

• Council president Greg Dunn, who is in his third four-year term ending in 2028, was not being recalled on a vote of 323 yes to 384 no;
• Rick Booth, who in his second, four-year term ending in December and who does not plan to run for re-election, survived the recall 282 to 429;
• Susan Woodruff, who has served a total of 25 years as mayor or councilor and does not plan to run for re-election in November, was not being recalled on a vote of 289 to 425;
• Jayme Morris, who is in her second, four-year term that ends in 2028, is keeping her position with a vote of 289 to 416;
• Michelle Severson, who is in her first, four-year term which ends in December, was not being recalled with a vote of 277 to 430; and
• Jerry Townsend, who is in his first four-year term which ends in 2028, beat the recall attempt 297 to 407.

Councilors reached by the Lincoln Chronicle on Monday night expressed their gratitude to voters who supported them and hoped the city can move on after two years of disagreements with the mayor and her supporters.

“No matter how things turn out, I hope we can come together as a community and start moving forward,” said Morris. “Once the results are in, let’s leave the division behind, heal where we can, and focus on building a stronger future for our city. We won’t always see eye to eye, and that’s okay — but we’re all neighbors, and we’re better when we work together. Here’s to finding common ground, rebuilding trust, and focusing on what brings us together instead of what pulls us apart.”

Dunn said he was dismayed by the onslaught of personal attacks against he and his family by recall supporters on their Facebook page.

“… I hope that this community realizes that was a strategic game plan of theirs and they can see through that,” Dunn said. “I love this community. I love being a city council member. I feel I’ve done my job well, and I want to continue doing my job. So I’m hoping to be here for the long run.”

Townsend said his faith in Waldport citizens has been “validated and reinforced.”

“I’m pleased that all members are going to be able to continue serving for the rest of the year, in the case of half of us, and the other half are going to have to run again if they want,” he said. “I think there’s obviously still a significant split in the community, and I think that needs to be repaired and hopefully we can do some things to to help that happen. But I think a recall was was not the way to address any of people’s concerns. They should have handled it differently.”

Severson said her first response after results were posted Monday night was “woo hoo!”

“I knew I loved my town, and I didn’t think I could love them any more until today,” she said. “The people of Waldport came through, and I love it. And I’m excited to get back to work.”

Tony Thimakis, the recall’s chief petitioner, said he was disappointed in the turnout, which Monday night was at 37 percent.

“People have overload, and they’re probably tired of hearing about it at this point,” Thimakis told the Chronicle. “We brought awareness to the community, which is a good thing. I think we have a lot more people involved in trying to find out what’s going on. But I’m disappointed that people didn’t get more involved and get more facts. But it is what it is, and I’ll wait to see what turns over the next few days. But I’m not expecting a big change.”

The next voting update will be at 5 p.m. Thursday and then Monday, July 20. The unofficial results will post at 5 p.m. Aug. 3 and the final, official results at 5 p.m. Aug. 6.

Second recall attempt

It was the second attempt to recall the six after an initial attempt to get on the ballot a year ago failed because signature gatherers violated state law by writing in the addresses for some who signed.

Recall organizers, who are aligned with Waldport Beachcomber Days and Mayor Heide Lambert, needed 192 signatures of Waldport voters to force the election. The city of Waldport is required to pay for the election which is estimated to cost between $3,600 and $5,000.

A summary of petitioners’ ballot statement for the recall goes back more than a year stemming initially from the city delving into financial issues with Waldport Beachcomber Days and then voting 6-0 to remove Lambert from office because they said she violated the city charter for directing employees. She was reinstated a month later. The petitioners also disagreed with the council’s oversight of city manager Dann Cutter.

When they were faced with a choice to resign or face the recall election, all six councilors were unanimous in disputing the recall’s allegations, that they followed the city’s charter, and that the election was really an attempt to appoint enough council members to dismiss Cutter.

If a councilor would have been recalled, their position would have been filled by appointment by a majority of any remaining council members — if there are enough for a quorum, according to the Waldport city charter. A newly appointed council member’s term would have begun immediately and continue until Dec. 31 if the position is up for election in November’s general election, according to the charter.