APRIL 9, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A7
Council, Eppley draw continued support,
ire in wake of city manager's resignation
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The resignation of former city manager Chris Eppley
continued to churn waters in oral and written testimony
during a Keizer City Council meeting Monday, April 5.
Eppley discharged a gun in his offi ce in early March,
which led to an internal investigation and Eppley’s resig-
nation on April 5.
Two former city councilors came to Eppley’s defense
while the majority questioned Eppley’s judgment and the
council’s accountability.
“Why was he not immediately terminated? Near
as I can tell, there was no reprimand. What does that
tell city staff ? Bringing a gun to work has no conse-
quences. Firing a gun at work has no consequences,”
said Rich Rodriguez during public testimony.
“Instead, he was given a golden parachute. The les-
son I take from this is that a well-paid, white man gets
a pass for one of the most egregious violations of city
policy. ”
Eppley was off ered six months salary and a year of
insurance coverage after tendering his resignation.
If accepted, the salary alone will amount to more than
$80,000.
Resident Carol Doerfl er thanked the council for mak-
ing “what had to be the most diffi cult decisions of your
personal or professional career” and said she wanted to
do so publicly for “doing the right thing.”
Marlene Parsons, a former city councilor, off ered sup-
port for the council and its decision and thanked the
council for off ering Eppley the severance package.
Former city councilor Jacque Moir also defended
Eppley in written testimony.
“I am so sorry that so many people have the opinion
that you have to be PERFECT (sic) to have/hold a job. I
previous occasions, but claimed it was the
fi rst time he ever carried a full, loaded fi rearm
into the Keizer Civic Center. Doing so would
appear to have been a violation of ORS 166.370,
which prohibits “possession of fi rearm or dan-
gerous weapon in public building or court
facility, states any person who intentionally
possesses a loaded or unloaded fi rearm or any
other instrument used as a dangerous weapon,
while in or on a public building." Conviction on
such a charge is a Class C felony, but no police
report appears to have been made regarding
the incident. Instead, Eppley contacted the
city’s human resources director, the chair of the
civic center’s safety committee and the mayor.
Resident LaTonya Gibbs questioned the
council’s authenticity regarding whether a
minority employee would have been given the
same treatment as Eppley.
“Are all issues with every city offi cial han-
dled in this manner when there is a criminally negli-
gent issue involved? If so, that’s both shady and not at
all transparent,” Gibbs wrote. “There could be a million
character witnesses for [Eppley], it wouldn’t change the
facts of his behavior nor absolve him of any repercus-
sions for his horrible decisions.”
Gibbs was referring to a March city council meeting
that brought out a number of Eppley’s supporters to
make the case for forgiveness.
Dylan Juran wrote that anything less than termination
of the city manager set a precedent making it “inequita-
ble to dismiss anyone else for making a similar mistake
in the future. This decision doesn’t only aff ect the posi-
tion of city manager, but the condition of the workspace
for all of city hall now and in the future.”
Are all issues with every
city offi cial handled in
this manner when there
is a criminally negligent
issue involved?
— LATONYA GIBBS
Keizer resident
certainly hope none of them has ever made a mistake or
used bad judgment,” Moir wrote. “I certainly hope when
the time comes NO (sic) one allows these folks a second
chance.”
Resident Martin Doerfl er questioned how any “sober”
person could not tell the diff erence between an offi ce and
a car.
“Would any responsible, knowledgeable concealed
carry permit holding gun owner begin to work a pistol
without fi rst dropping the magazine and clearing the
slide to make sure there was not a bullet in the chamber?
To do otherwise is not preoccupation, it’s plain careless,”
Doerfl er wrote.
In a description of the incident, Eppley said he was
“preoccupied” when the discharge happened. He stated
that he brought pieces of fi rearms into his offi ce on
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