Baker County Commissioners Prepare to Fill City Council Vacancies
By Joe Hathaway on Friday, September 29th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY — In a pivotal moment for local governance, Baker County commissioners find themselves at the forefront of the disorder that has gripped the Baker City council.
The commissioners now have the responsibility of appointing four councilors, after the three remaining councilors resigned en masse late on Wednesday evening.
With the council now without any members, the task to fill vacancies falls on the county, under state law ORS 221.160(2).
Wednesday, September 27 saw a whirlwind of activity that rivaled a tornado. Baker County Judge Matt Shirtcliff sided with a group of residents who filed a lawsuit against the city council to stop the remaining three councilors from meeting and appointing four vacancies without a quorum. Those residents were seeking a special election to fill the vacancies, which the city said couldn’t be completed until February of 2024.
After the decision was handed down, the three remaining councilors, including Mayor Beverly Calder, resigned, triggering the state law giving the appointment authority to the three county commissioners.
All three commissioners, Shane Alderson, Bruce Nichols and Christina Witham say time is of the essence.
“We knew this could happen and we were hopeful that it wouldn’t, but it has,” said Nichols. “So we’re going to deal with it and we need to do it as quickly as possible to get the council back up and running.”
The commissioners will meet on Monday, October 2 at 9:00 AM to establish the process for appointing four councilors, which is the minimum number required to provide the Baker City Council a quorum. The process for appointing the three remaining vacancies on the Baker City Council will be left to the newly appointed City Council.
Nichols and Witham both tell Elkhorn Media Group that they believe they can fill the vacancies by the end of October, if not sooner.
Witham said that in considering candidates, she would not consider any former councilor who did not fulfill their terms.
“I will take a look at anyone else, but if a former council member puts in for another term and they did not fulfill their previous term, I will not consider them,” said Witham.
“I’m hoping what we come up with is four councilors who can work together and get the city back on track and problems resolved,” said Nichols. “The council has to quit the infighting back and forth, because that has been nothing but a disaster. What we’ve seen has hurt the city, not helped the city.”
The county will provide details on how applications can be submitted and the timeline for the
appointments following the October 2 meeting.
The county could also call a special election by declaring an emergency, but all three said it would be too long of a process and that their priorities are to get new councilors as soon as possible.
Former councilor Nathan Hodgdon, who resigned on September 6 and is at the forefront of some residents’ call for an election, wrote a letter on Thursday September 28, urging the county commissioners to consider that option.
His letter points out the complexities arising from the recent resignations and emphasizes the authority granted by ORS 203.085, sections 3 and 4, to call a special election through a public hearing process.
“I recognize and appreciate the political pressure and heat you all must be facing, so I am positive that you will rightly consider the most equitable decision at hand, which is to honor the people’s demand to elect their own leaders rather than having them chosen — whether by lot or by other considerations but either way not by constituents. I urge you not to disenfranchise us. We are law-abiding, tax-paying American citizens who want a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Please do your part and make the brave decision to uphold precisely those values.
Call a public hearing. Declare an emergency. Call for our special election. Please do not cite our own costs to us as reasons against this necessary action. If we can’t have the sort of government that our forefathers fought and died for, then what was the point of any of it?”
