Waldport Council Faces Recall

A group of Waldport citizens announced they have successfully gathered over 250 signatures for each city councilor in support of recalling all six Waldport city council members, which is above the required 192 needed to move the process forward. Tony Thimakis, who has led the recall effort, turned in the signatures to the Waldport City recorder at 10am on Monday October 13th, who will scan them and send them off to the county clerk. Once they have been received by the county clerk's office, the signatures will be verified. Once verified, the councilors will be notified and will have 5 days to either resign or face a recall election, which will be placed on the ballot in November.

According to the City of Waldport's website, council members facing recall include Jerry Townsend and Michelle Severson, who are serving their first terms. Townsend's term expires in 2028 and Severson's next year in 2026. Rick Booth, and Jayme Morris, who are in their second terms, Booth's term expiring in 2026 and Morris's term in 2028. Susan Woodruff, who has been involved with city government for nearly 25-years including being a city councilor and Mayor, and now a city council member again, her current term expires in 2026. Gregg Dunn, council president, is serving his third term, which expires in 2028.

The recall effort originated from the ousting of Mayor Lambert after just three months into her term and growing concerns over the actions of the city manager, and lack of oversight by the 6 council members. According to Thimakis, “It started with the mayor and them illegally removing her from office and then failing to admit they've done anything wrong. They've incurred a healthy legal expense to defend a position that was unjustifiable.”

Thimakis shared that the actions of the city manager had fostered fear among residents, making some hesitant to support the recall: “In canvassing the neighborhood, we ran into many people who were afraid of retaliation that wouldn’t sign, so the city’s citizens are afraid of the city manager, and that’s not really a good place to be.” City Manager Dann Cutter stated, "We are not surprised that they were able to gather enough signatures based on the lies we are being told the petitioners made to get them. We look forward to challenging this in court." When questioned, Cutter said he couldn't comment further as it involves pending litigation.

Following notification, the council members facing recall have five days to either resign in writing or submit a statement of justification explaining why they should remain in office. If no resignation occurs, an election must be scheduled within 35 days, although integrating this with the regular November election is impossible due to ballot preparation timelines. It is estimated the cost for the recall would be around $4,000. According to Amy Southwell, county clerk in the event that the recall vote is successful, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners would appoint three people to the council in order to make a quorum.

Despite denials from the current council and city manager, residents behind the recall say their concerns remain unaddressed, and the campaign reflects widespread unease. The outcome of the recall effort could reshape the city's leadership, addressing what organizers and many community members describe as a lack of accountability and transparency in city government.