Baker City Resident Files Petition to Recall Mayor
By Joe Hathaway on Monday, September 18th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY – A Baker City resident has filed a recall petition against Mayor Beverly Calder.
Bryan Dalke filed the petition with the city on Thursday, September 14. If the city certifies the petition, Dalke has 90 days to gather approximately 720 signatures from registered voters in the town to force a recall election.
“I’ve just been talking to a lot of people around town who want what is bst for our community and we don’t feel like she is doing that,” said Dalke.
Below is the text of Dalke’s petition:
Calder, who was elected by voters in November 2022 to a two-year term that started in January 2023, was elected by the city council as mayor that month. After the council removed her from that position in April, she was again elected as mayor last month.
In a statement to Elkhorn Media, Calder says:
To all of the citizens of Baker City.
I have no intention of stepping down as an elected member of the Baker City Council. I take very seriously my oath to defend the charter and represent our citizens.
I have dedicated myself to improving communication with the public to rebuild trust between the city and citizens.
The lawsuit and recall challenge compromise the ability of our council to serve the community and respond to the immediate challenges we are facing.
The public safety and fiscal stability of Baker City have been my chief aim since the election, but these are not achievable without dependable city operations.
For this reason, I will continue to focus my work on the critical issues facing our community including hiring a city manager, restoring a budget that we can afford, supporting adequate health and birthing services and developing ‘middle and affordable housing’ units to address stable employment.
It is vital that the Town Hall meetings are rescheduled to give our community the opportunity to address revenue generating options and prioritize city services.
I am honored to serve in my fourth elected term on the Baker City Council.
I will always strive to keep the best interests of this community in mind in all my actions as an elected representative of this community.
Beverly Calder
Dalke says he has nothing personal against Calder, but that the direction of the city is a major concern.
He says it should be easy to collect all the signatures.
