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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2018)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2018 | 9A COMMUNITY from page 7A “I’m not political” “When Maureen was first up for the board, the mayor actively disliked her, and expressed it and attacked her during the process,” Preisler said in an interview with the Siuslaw News. It was Jan. 18. Miltenberger was applying for an open posi- tion on the city council, left va- cated by George Lyddon, who relocated out of Florence. Hen- ry began the meeting cordial- ly. The field had been whittled down to four, all of whom were interviewed that day: Dan Lofy, Woody Woodbury, Joel Marks and Miltenberger. The record- ed interviews are part of public record and were sourced for the following recounting. “I’ll kick this off, and ask the first one: What unique skills, ex- perience, or qualifications can you bring to the City Council position?” asked Henry. Miltenberger listed a number of jobs she had done over her life; teacher, tutor and “doing so- cial work kinds of things.” Greene asked if there were any other questions on the topic, be- fore moving on to his own ques- tion for Miltenberger. “I do have a couple,” Henry said. “I was particularly interest- ed in your service on the Canby City Council.” Miltenberger replied, “Yes, I was going to mention that later but, sure.” “Well, I didn’t know quite what question that would fit into, but it seems to fit into this as far as qualifications, so you can tell us a bit about that?” Henry asked. On her application for the Florence City Council, Milten- berger wrote under prior gov- ernmental experience, “Canby, Oregon: City Council Appoint- ed in 1991. Elected 1992 to 1994. Miltenberger said that she was a single mother with a full-time job, saw an ad in the paper for the Canby City Council position and then applied. It’s at that point she began speaking matter-of-factly about being recalled from her position because of her opposition to Measure 3-2, a charter amend- ment that sought to prohibit special rights for homosexuals, according to a December 1993 article in the Canby Herald. “I said, ‘I don’t discriminate against people, … I don’t do that.’ I refuse to follow that and discriminate against people. I said I wouldn’t do it, and anoth- er guy on the council said the same,” Miltenberger said. Because of their opposition to the measure, the electorate held a vote to remove Milten- berger and fellow councilor Joe Driggers. Only half the city vot- ed, and the approval to remove Miltenberger had a margin of 62 votes, according to the Canby Herald. “Even though it may seem like a negative that I was recalled, it was something I was proud of,” she said. “I stood up for some- thing that I believed in and felt good about.” “Okay,” said Henry, and the questioning continued; what she thought of the issues facing Flor- ence, her involvement in com- munity activities. Miltenberger spoke in length about her work with EMAC. “You mentioned that you are a part of the EMAC committee, are you actually a member?” Henry asked. “You mentioned a number of other organizations. Are you on any other commit- tees or boards or non-profit boards?” “Not actually, no,” Miltenberg- er replied. However, on her application, she listed EMAC, Siuslaw Vision and other organizations. But she neglected to mention that she was the vice-chair of the Flor- ence Area Democratic Club. “So, have you served on other entities?” asked Henry. “No, no actual boards,” she said. “Several different commit- tees. But no, no boards or civic kinds of things.” The question period moved on, and everything seemed normal until the very end, after Miltenberger’s final statements. Florence Food Share Ask us about volunteer opportunities. 2190 Spruce Street • P.O.Box 2514 Florence, Oregon 97439 (541) 997-9110 info@fl orencefoodshare.org Habitat for Humanity Florence Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a place to put your talents to work. From customer service to furniture repair, we offer volunteer opportunities geared toward individual interests and skills. By giving your time, you help Florence Habitat ReStore do more to support building projects that benefi t families in our community. 2016 Hwy 101 or email volunteer@ fl orencehabitat.org Store hours 9am – 5pm Monday- Saturday 541- 997-5834 www.facebook.com/restorefl orence Volunteer Get involved Donate Do your part and volunteer today to help support these local non-proft organizations in our community! Meals on Wheels and Cafe 60 Meals on Wheels are available to people over the age of 60 who cannot get out much due to illness or advanced age and who are not eating properly, regardless of income. Cafe 60 is available for those who prefer to make new friends in a dining room setting. 1570 Kingwood, PO Box 2313, Florence 541-997-5673 laneseniormeals.org Peace Harbor Volunteers Join the Peace Harbor Hospital Volunteers, you will fi nd an area of interest in a caring organization. 400 9th Street, Florence 541-997-8412 ext. 2218 “I do have one follow up ques- tion,” Henry said. “When I asked you specifically if you were on, or have been on since you’ve been in Florence, any other boards, committees, 501(3)c’s, you said, ‘No.’” Miltenberger answered, “I’m a member of the Democratic Par- ty, I just didn’t want to bring that up. Yes, I’m the vice chair of the Democratic Party. I just didn’t want to get political. … There’s also some committees that I’m a chair of. Actually, two that I’m the chair of.” “Why didn’t you mention that on your application?” Henry asked. “Because I didn’t want to be political,” Miltenberger repeat- ed. “Did you read the part on there that says, ‘That all infor- mation that is provided on this form is true, to the best of my knowledge?’” Henry asked. “Everything that was on that form is true,” Miltenberger an- swered. “And I would be very happy to bring that up. I don’t have any problem discussing it all. I’ve been a member of the Democratic Party, but I was a part of the committee of this group. And six months into it I became vice-chair. I’m very proud of it, and very happy, but I just didn’t want this to be a polit- ical discussion.” Preisler agreed, saying, “And I would take that attitude as being correct, too. This is not a politi- cal application.” “Oh really?” Henry said. “Well, gee.” “Yes, I don’t think it is a politi- cal issue,” Preisler said. “You don’t think omission is an issue?” Henry continued. “You also spent a whole para- graph talking about your time on the city council, but you didn’t mention the fact that you were recalled until I specifically brought up your service on the council.” The application for the po- sition did not specifically state that candidates needed to list if they had ever been recalled, and Miltenberger was open about the issue when asked. “She did mention it during her presentation,” Preisler said. “She did, though not until I brought it up,” Henry said. “We were ready to go onto the next subject, so I came back with a follow-up question. … I’m just curious as to why, especially since you have limited experi- ence on committees, why you would not list that on the appli- cation?” There was a long pause, then Miltenberger said, “I’m not po- litical. I’m really running as a cit- izen of this community, and I’m not running as a Democrat or a Republican.” “Okay,” Henry said. “If no- body has anything else, thank you very much.” As the council went to break, Preisler said, “Really?” At a city council meeting four days after the interview, Miltenberger stated in public comments that she believed she was verbally attacked by Henry, saying she hadn’t disclosed being in the Democratic Club because she felt the council was supposed to be non-partisan. She stated that she didn’t appreciate the in- sinuation that she was a liar, and told Henry, “You made me feel there was something I should confess to, and not something to be proud of.” Finally, she said the mayor should “listen to the things that people have to say. Don’t just turn them away and make them feel bad because they don’t be- lieve the same things you do.” As she walked back to her seat, multiple members of the audience applauded. How one views these events largely depends on one’s feel- ings toward the two. For those who dislike Miltenberger, Henry could be viewed as a shrewd tac- tician, perceiving her to be un- trustworthy and caught in a lie. “She was not as forthcoming as she should have been,” Preis- ler said. “But she didn’t want to wave the flag in front of the bull, basically. With Maureen’s back- ground, it’s as far as I’m con- cerned excellent. Is she a perfect person? No, she’s not. None of us are.” Greene said, “What every- body wants to do is catch you in a lie. Once you do that, then you’re not trusted. Why was it necessary to out Maureen? They tried to use a gimmick to tarnish her name and make it look like she’s a liar.” With Miltenberger claiming she was attempting to keep pol- itics out of the discussion, and Henry outing her political ties, it appeared both sides believed the same thing: Partisanship doesn’t belong in the council election. Unfortunately, it became a factor anyway — as well as ha- rassment from both sides. Florence First Wednesday afternoon, Katie Prosser, who volunteers on Lu- cio’s campaign, quietly came into the Siuslaw News with a stack of hundreds of fliers that had been left on the doorstep of Lucio’s business. The photo on the flier ap- peared to be taken from a polit- ical ad posted on the website for Patriot Place, which had Lucio cutting a local man’s hair. Except on the flier, the picture had been altered: Instead of a local, it was President Donald Trump. The flier was labeled “Welcome to Old Town Trump- ershop, Florence Oregon.” The flier also pictured a speech bubble with Lucio saying, “Oh Donald, I love your HAIR! And we really need more affordable assault weapons in every home for the safety of children: I know Let me Showcase your property. Us Too Florence Saving men one PSA test at a time. “Someone to talk to...who understands!” 541-997-6626 maribob@oregonfast.net www.ustoofl orence.org To include your organization in this directory, please call us @ 541-997-3441 Do your part and volunteer today to help support these local non-proft organizations in our community! Volunteer•Get involved•Donate Ed Kopilec Principal Broker 541 991-8630 4836 Laguna Ave – Lake and forest views from this 4,000 sqft home just minutes from Florence. Boat, fi sh and kayak from your private dock. Remodeled in 2003. This house has hardwood fl oors, gourmet kitchen, and large master suite with walk-in closet. Pole barn and large 3 bay RV barn provide plenty of parking. $1,425,000. #2850-18330278 1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200 you get that!” Two pictures of rifles were placed above Lucio’s head. On the right bottom corner of the flier, the Florence Liberty Alliance logo was placed, with the phrase “And all ‘Sovereign’ Nationalists invite you to VOTE TRUMP: MAKE FLORENCE ‘GREAT’ because ‘We love ev- erybody, ‘even you!’” The fliers had been dissemi- nated across Old Town Florence sometime during the previous night. It is unknown who cre- ated and distributed the flyer, but the reasons were clear — to administer public ridicule and shame. It was after this incident that Tomeny came to speak with the Siuslaw News, providing new in- formation about the Lucio cam- paign and the issues he felt her supporters are facing. “The reason I’m here is there’s a lot of stuff going on in the community that’s uglier than people have seen in a long time,” Tomeny said. “It’s been esca- lating. You don’t hear it, but it comes to her by text or email or anonymous letter, or real vile crap.” According to Tomeny, Lu- cio is constantly afraid that her business, property or residence will be vandalized. When her candidacy was first announced, the Siuslaw News received sev- eral anonymous phone calls ac- cusing Lucio of child abuse and neglect, which were found to be untrue. “How things started to turn ugly is beyond me, but I’m al- most at the point now where I’m going to tell her, ‘I’m sorry for ever have gotten you involved in this.’” Tomeny echoes this phrasing in a letter to the editor included in today’s two Opinion pages. This was not how the cam- paign was supposed to go. When Lacer announced that she was going to retire, members of the community began looking to encourage people to run for her replacement. For Lacer, it was someone more diverse than the current remaining council. “I did advocate and encourage younger people, both in per- son and in social media, and at council meetings, to consider running in hopes that our coun- cil would become a little more diverse and be more representa- tive of our citizens,” Lacer said. As for age, Lacer is the young- est on the council at 53, and doesn’t remember the last time someone younger was on the council. At the same time, Tomeny, the mayor and others were looking for a replacement. “Everybody wanted a woman,” Tomeny said. “A lot of the older people wanted an established older woman, but none of them wanted to run. Now I see why.” Henry had known Lucio per- sonally and liked her. So did Tomeny, who states that he leans conservative, but is generally non-partisan. “I was getting a haircut once,” recalled Tomeny, “and I said to Geraldine, ‘Why don’t you con- sider running for Florence City Council?’” But there was also anoth- er reason that Lucio had been asked: Miltenberger. “I’ll be honest, I don’t like par- tisanship, and I look at Maureen as a very left-leaning person as the vice chair of the Democrat- ic Club,” Tomeny said. “If Ger- aldine was the vice president of Patriot Place, I wouldn’t want her in there either.” From all accounts, Lucio is independent in her politics, with no party affiliation. She has supported LGBTQ rights, allow- ing her business to host the first show of local performer Jason Wood’s drag queen character “Fanny Rugburn.” She has also been a vocal pro- ponent of gun rights, with Lucio being an avid hunter and fisher. So, she was convinced to run a completely non-partisan race. “She gets along with both sides, so I thought this was a re- ally great thing,” Tomeny said. A non-partisan campaign was formed. Henry helped out at the beginning of the campaign, but has since backed off, according to Tomeny. See COMMUNITY page 10A
