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
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“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
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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-
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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
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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-
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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.”
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