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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2015)
January 23, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A Jesse asks Gearhart mayor to bow out Councilor says controversy has ‘split the community apart’ By Nancy McCarthy Seaside Signal GAIL COMO PHOTO Gail Como, Gearhart city treasurer and administrative assistant, shot this photo of the elk herd as it marched down Pacific Way in front of City Hall. Show to feature local elk herd ing them out of her \DUG´ *LO¿OOLDQ DGGHG “I have crawled The incident presented along the pumice plain the issue in a nutshell. inside Mount St. Hel- “There are legitimate ens to try to get covered safety concerns, I just with elk urine so that feel that way person- I’m not smelling like a DOO\´ VDLG *LO¿OOLDQ human in order to get “I think I wanted to close to elk,” she said. honor all the opinions “They’re very skittish. that I did hear, because They’re very aware. I want to represent the They have great sens- community’s opinion es of smell, and they authentically. So we know when a human is found people with lots around.” of different views.” The Gearhart herd “I don’t think we was different. take a stand,” she add- “These elk, I guess, ed. “But we explore are habituated enough the issue of how the to being in the midst community is going to of human activity that grapple with it. I have they really didn’t scare a feeling this is not DW DOO´ VDLG *LO¿OOLDQ an uncommon experi- “And that was so un- ence in communities usual, according to my all over, particularly experience.” in the American west, Along with a camera- and likely to become PDQ*LO¿OOLDQIROORZHG more so, because wild- the herd closely for two life is more protected in days last August. some areas and that has “They were in the allowed them to repro- dunes area, then they duce more, and we are made their way into a also building in habi- neighborhood and then tat.” made themselves at After the initial air- home on a golf course,” ing Thursday, the ep- VDLG*LO¿OOLDQ³:HMXVW isode will be repeated got amazing footage.” at 1:30 a.m. and at 6:30 “We met one poor p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, on woman who was chas- OPB. Elk from Page 1A In an impassioned speech during a recent Gearhart City Council meeting, City Coun- cilor Dan Jesse told Mayor Dianne Widdop, “I don’t think you’re the best choice for the community” and asked her to resign. The controversy sur- rounding some of the may- or’s recent actions has cre- ated an atmosphere that has “split the community apart,” Jesse said. “I don’t think it is fair that the rest of us have to endure that,” he added. Widdop, however, repeat- ed her intention of staying in RI¿FH XQOHVV D UHFDOO IRUFHV her out. “I have gotten a tremen- dous amount of support from the community,” Widdop replied. “I have not attacked anyone; I have defended my- self. If someone attacks you, how would you handle that?” Following the discussion, the council asked city attor- ney Peter Watts to request letters from the Oregon Sec- UHWDU\ RI 6WDWH¶V 2I¿FH DQG the state Ethics Commission that describe where they are in their investigations. Although Kevin Willett, an unsuccessful City Council candidate in the November general election, had contact- ed the agencies, he eventual- ly withdrew the complaints against Widdop. However, :LGGRS ¿OHG KHU RZQ FRP- plaint with the Secretary of 6WDWH¶V 2I¿FH FODLPLQJ WKDW allegations contained in a recall petition against her are untruthful. The conversation Jan. 7 repeated several recent City Council discussions about accusations that Widdop un- GXO\ XVHG KHU LQÀXHQFH DV PD\RU6KHKDV¿HOGHGFRP- plaints from a local business owner who said Widdop sug- gested that Willett’s cam- paign sign be removed from the business and that she accused Willett of having a temper and being unsuitable for the City Council. Former City Councilor Joy Sigler has also accused Widdop of secretly recording a private conversation between the two of them and City Admin- istrator Chad Sweet and try- ing to distribute the recording to other councilors. Sweet later said he was the one who recorded the conversation af- ter Sigler asked if she could use her recorder. DAN JESSE Widdop is the focus of a recall campaign being waged by Gearhart resident Har- old Gable, who is collecting signatures to trigger a recall election. Although the City Coun- cil had planned to discuss the issue in a closed executive session, Widdop said she wanted the discussion to be public. “I like transparency,” Widdop explained. Widdop asked the coun- cilors if they had any ques- tions. Jesse said he didn’t have questions and that he would have preferred a closed session. “It pains me a lot to have to do this, but it bothers me that the community is being torn apart,” Jesse said. “I’m embarrassed and ashamed for the community,” he said. “I feel we are truly a laughingstock of the county. I wish this would come to an end. It won’t happen unless you choose to resign.” Jesse said he didn’t think a recall election was the best way to deal with the contro- versy. “You owe an apology to all of the citizens,” said Jesse, adding that Widdop’s apolo- gy to business owner Linda Goldfarb wasn’t believable. Jesse, who was elected in 2012, said he had consid- ered resigning, but his wife reminded him that he was “elected to a four-year term and I owe it to the citizens permit is pending. “Allegations that were made against me; I have an answer to everyone,” Wid- dop said. “What more can I do?” “I didn’t tell her to re- move the sign. I did nothing to Kevin Willett. He has a temper. It’s my constitution- al right to say what I want. I have done nothing wrong. “I apologized to Linda Goldfarb. What else do you want from me? I did nothing illegal. I’ve done nothing wrong. I am not going to re- sign.” Jesse said he had never accused Widdop of doing anything illegal. “Just because it may not be illegal doesn’t mean it’s right,” Jesse said. He noted that the City Council wrote a code of eth- ics to follow. “We agreed to respect each other and treat each oth- er right,” he said. Kerry Smith, a new coun- FLORU ZKR WRRN RI¿FH ODVW month, said he didn’t agree with Widdop’s actions con- cerning the sign but felt DIANNE WIDDOP the other accusations were “nit-picking.” “I talked to the (Oregon) who elected me to continue Ethics Commission,” Smith on.” “I have no interest in sit- said. “It was not smart, but ting in this chair anymore,” it shouldn’t have been blown Jesse said. “I feel like we’re up like this. I have a bitter going backward instead of taste about it. “It has soured my feeling going forward. I couldn’t sit here, saying nothing. I didn’t about this job. I’m going to ¿JKWHYHQKDUGHUWRKDYHWKLV think it was right.” Widdop said she had been be a council that gets the job personally attacked since last done,” Smith said. Widdop agreed that her April. The incident in which she suggested that Goldfarb actions were “stupid.” “It was stupid. I’m the remove Willett’s campaign sign because it might hurt ¿UVWWRDGPLWLW´VKHVDLG Councilor John Duncan, her business was a “red her- ULQJWRJHWPHRXWRIRI¿FH´ ZKRDOVRWRRNRI¿FHIRUWKH ¿UVW WLPH LQ 'HFHPEHU VDLG Widdop said. “It goes back to the barn,” as an engineer and land sur- said Widdop, who was re- veyor in the region he has ferring to another city issue worked in several small over whether a historic livery communities, and he has stable can meet safety codes seen worse controversies. “What you’re seeing here to become an events center. An appeal to the state Land is small,” he said. “You may Use Board of Appeals over be thinking it’s just Gearhart, a council decision involving but it happens all over Ore- the barn’s conditional use gon and Washington.” grab all your supplies in one stop at COAST HARDWARE 16 FT. ALUMINUM LADDER WET/DRY ROOF CEMENT WET PATCH ROOF LEAK REPAIR RUBBERIZED ROOF CEMENT WET PATCH ROOF LEAK REPAIR 8VHDVDQHPHUJHQF\ SDWFKLQJFRPSRXQG 3DWFKHVKROHVDQGFUDFNVRQ :(7VXUIDFHV (DV\WRJULSPRGLƋHG,EHDP VLGHUDLOVQRQVOLSVWHSV 6WRSVOHDNVDURXQGVN\OLJKWV YHQWSLSHVPRUH &DQEHXVHGLQGULYLQJUDLQRU XQGHUZDWHU RUBBERIZED WET PATCH REPAIR WET/DRY ROOF CEMENT 10 OZ. BLACK ROOF PATCH 1 GALLON CLEAR ROOF SEALANT 6 FT. FIBERGLASS STEP LADDER 8VHGIRUVHDOLQJURRIOHDNV RQZHWVXUIDFHV )RUPVDVWURQJWLJKWVHDOVWD\V VRIWIRUGU\VXUIDFHUHSDLUV 'HVLJQHGWRERQGRQZHW RUGU\VXUIDFHV 6 FT. 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