Recall: The Case For - The Case Against - One Last Look

Referred to the people by petition.

Measure 4-126 RECALL OF RICHARD LEE, CLATSOP COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 3

Question: Shall Richard Lee be recalled from the office of Clatsop County Commissioner, District 3?

The reasons given for demanding the recall of Richard Lee, as filed in the petition: By his actions as a Clatsop County Commissioner, Richard Lee, has harmed the future of Clatsop County and its residents through: Squandering public funds by choosing to hire planning and management consultants and expensive attorneys but disregarding their professional advice and findings; Undermining common values, adopted plans, established policies, and regulations of the County; Failing to be open and transparent in decision- making and development of policy, violating the spirit of public meetings law; Ignoring and failing to respond to the advice and concerns of paid staff, volunteer committees, and the public; Jeopardizing the justice system through threats of under-funding support staff; Manipulating the membership of the Planning Commission in order to control the Planning Commission’s decisions and actions; Endangering the public and disregarding public safety by failing to require funding guarantees for emergency services and personnel from major industrial proposals; Creating a divisive environment that is acrimonious and counter-productive in doing the public’s business. We hereby petition for the recall of Richard Lee.


The justification given by Richard Lee for his course in office:
I’ve spent my life in Clatsop County as a dairy farmer, small businessman and community volunteer. I believe in public service, which is why I ran for the Clatsop County Commission and have been proud to serve the community I love as commissioner.
The people of District 3 elected me to make decisions on their behalf and I have done my best to do what I believe is right for Clatsop County, it’s economy, it’s future and the families that call it home.

One of the risks of public service is that you won’t please everyone, but I stand by my record which I believe represents the majority view of County residents.

I’m now the target of a recall by a small but vocal minority. They’re certainly entitled to their opinion, but I will stand by my convictions and will fight to retain my seat on the commission.
If you don’t agree with me, then you’ll certainly have your opportunity to replace me at the ballot box when my term of office expires in 2010. But until then, I will continue fighting to make Clatsop County a place where people want to do business and create jobs for working people.