22
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
RYAN: Tensions have
existed between
neighbors for months
Continued from page 1
ongoing beef between Kane
and Ryan and his wife over a
dog bite Kane suffered from
the Ryan’s German Pinscher
last February.
Kane said she was
“shaken” by the incident
and told The Nugget that
she posted it on the Sisters
Political Forum & Cocktail
Hour Facebook page because
she felt bullied.
“The purpose and intent
was — I’m being bullied and
I’m going to stand up to the
bully,” she said. “Because
what other recourse do I
have?”
Ryan expressed regret
over the incident, but told The
Nugget that he had “reached a
boiling point” with an ongo-
ing issue with Kane where he
says his wife has been bad-
gered and harassed over the
dog-bite incident.
“Everybody has a boiling
point,” he said. “Yes, I’m the
mayor, but I’m also human.
Am I proud of what I did? No.
Did I do it as the mayor? No.
I never gave a thought to the
mayor situation, just so you
know.”
“The mayor situation” is
what made the behavior on
the video an issue – and the
behavior on display caused
local resident Patty Schild
to call Ryan that same eve-
ning. She said she wanted to
understand Ryan’s conduct
rather than talking about it
on Facebook. She told The
Nugget that she was taken
aback by Ryan’s response.
“He said he has a lawyer
and he’s going to ‘sue my ass’
as an accomplice to the lady
who posted the video,” Schild
said.
She said that Ryan did not
really let her speak and hung
up on her.
“I then had a very negative
impression of our mayor,” she
said.
Ryan denied using any pro-
fanity, but acknowledged that
he probably had threatened to
sue the caller.
“I did not use profanity,”
he said. “I said you have no
right to call me like this. I had
no idea I was being video-
taped. I was pretty worked up.
I’m at my boiling point.”
Schild argues that she did,
in fact, have a right to call
Ryan and that doing so was
completely appropriate.
“It was a courtesy and out
of respect, even though I had
concerns about his behavior.
This is what we’re supposed
to do (regarding actions by a
public official) is to call him
if we have concerns or ques-
tions,” she said.
Ryan told The Nugget that
he realizes that he is always
the mayor, even when not
engaged in City business, and
that his actions reflect on the
community he leads.
“The last thing I want to do
is bring negativity to the City,”
he said. “I completely under-
stand that. I have remorse for
that piece of it.”
He also said that he “has
remorse” for his handling of
the conversation with Schild.
“She caught me at a bad
time,” he said. “I would
definitely take that back.”
And, according to Schild,
he did.
She posted on Facebook on
Sunday, July 21, that “Mayor
Ryan left a voice mail on my
phone today apologizing for
the way he treated me on the
telephone a few days ago. His
explanation was that he had
reached a boiling point in the
situation with the neighbor
who made the video of him;
and he thought I was a friend
of hers calling on her behalf.
He stated he was not thinking
as the mayor at that moment.
I accept the apology and I am
personally done with the situ-
ation. Hopefully, lessons were
learned throughout this ordeal
and behavior changes in the
future towards anyone else
who takes the time to call our
mayor to discuss a concern or
ask questions.”
The City of Sisters offered
a muted response to the con-
tretemps, stating that, “The
City of Sisters staff and vol-
unteers strive to be profes-
sional, fair and civil in all of
our interactions with the pub-
lic. We have become aware of
a personal dispute between the
mayor and a neighbor. This
dispute, although unfortunate
and made public, is a personal
matter between two private
parties. The City understands
the community’s concern
about this issue and welcomes
The fi x is...
input on improving our rela-
tionship with the citizens of
Sisters.”
Several people have made
comments to the effect that
new City Manager Brant
Kucera should take some
action in the matter. However,
the City Manager works for
the City Council, not the
other way around, and it is the
council’s responsibility — and
ultimately the citizens’ — to
address the actions of elected
officials.
Council President Nancy
Connolly provided The
Nugget with an individual
statement:
“As elected officials we are
held to a higher standard of
behavior than the general pub-
lic, 24 hours a day, on public
or private land. The mayor’s
alleged actions do not reflect
the values of council, city
staff, or other city volunteers.
This is a teachable moment
for the mayor and the commu-
nity at large regarding treating
all people with dignity, respect
and civility in any situation. I
do not condone this behavior.”
Ryan told The Nugget he
intends to acknowledge at
Wednesday’s City Council
meeting that he “should have
been thinking more about
Sisters and my mayoral role
and approached things more
professionally.”
However, he is adamant in
arguing that his actions were
provoked by months of “libel
and slander” in the wake of
the dog-bite incident.
For her part, Kane says
she’s never lied about the
dog and denies badgering or
harassing Ryan or his wife
— and says that the oppo-
site has been the case. She
said that she initially acqui-
esced to Lidia Ryan’s request
that she not report the bite
to police, but changed her
mind because she felt that the
dog needed to have a paper
trail.
“They’re going to say I’ve
harassed them for months —
but I was the one who was
bit,” she said. “I’m the victim
here. And from the beginning
— ‘don’t call the police’ —
it’s been about them.”
It is a Class A misdemeanor
to record audio of a person
without their knowledge and
Kane was cited on Monday.
She told The Nugget that she
did inform Ryan that she was
recording.
Ryan appears to desire to
continue as Sisters mayor,
despite online calls for his
resignation or removal. The
City Council appears prepared
to accept Ryan’s acknowl-
edgement that his behavior
was unacceptable and move
on. Whether the underlying
neighborhood dispute can be
resolved remains to be seen.
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