Diane Pohl recall, Clatskanie, Oregon (2015)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Clatskanie Mayor recall
Diane Pohl.JPG
Officeholders
Diane Pohl
Recall status
Recall defeated
Recall election date
November 17, 2015
See also
Recall overview
Political recall efforts, 2015
Recalls in Oregon
Oregon recall laws
Mayoral recalls
Recall reports

An effort in Clatskanie, Oregon, to recall Mayor Diane Pohl from her position was launched in September 2015.[1] The recall effort was defeated at the ballot on November 17, 2015.[2][3]

Recall vote

Recall of Diane Pohl
ResultVotesProzentualer Anteil
Recall18946.9%
Red x.svg Retain21453.1%

Recall supporters

A group led by Virginia Leloff cited Pohl's unwillingness to support a police officer who filed an official complaint against former police chief Marvin Hoover. Hoover was accused of making racist remarks by Officer Alex Stone, who told The Oregonian that he felt encouraged by his commanding officer to not file the complaint.[1][4] The Clatskanie City Council and Mayor Pohl opted to accept Hoover's resignation on September 8, 2015, rather than pursue further investigations.[5]

The following statement was made on the prospective petition:

"

We believe Mayor Pohl should have publicly supported the police officer who filed a report regarding allegations of professional misconduct by former [police] chief [Marvin] Hoover.

Mayor Pohl should not have rushed to accept and recommend to the city council the acceptance of former chief Hoover's resignation prior to the completion of the DPSST investigation.

Had Mayor Pohl taken people action it would have saved the taxpayers of the city of Clatskanie from undue monetary expense. [6]

The Oregonian, (2015), [1]

Response by Diane Pohl

Pohl made the following statement regarding the petition on September 22, 2015:

"

I can only say from the time the city received the complaint from DPSST, the city sought and acted upon advice from our attorney only.

The complaint was not filed with the city, but with DPSST. Once we received the complaint from DPSST, we hired an investigator. Former Chief Hoover’s termination was a result of agreement by legal counsel representing former Chief Hoover and the city and presented to the Council for their decision. At no time did I make a decision alone or without advice of legal counsel or the City Council.

As far as support for the officers, the City has been advised by legal counsel to wait for any comments until after the DPSST investigation has concluded, which it has not.

I have proudly served as Mayor for 8-1/2 years and have strived to do my best for the constituents of Clatskanie. I do believe in the democratic system of our government and will leave the decision in the capable hands of the citizens of this city. [6]

—Diane Pohl, (2015), [7]

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Oregon

The prospective petition filed in September 2015 was required to start the recall process. The petition was approved by the city recorder before signatures were collected. Recall organizers needed 90 signatures within 90 days of the petition's approval to trigger a recall election.[1] Leloff filed 140 signatures on October 6, 2015.[8] The Columbia County Elections Department approved the recall for the ballot on October 20, 2015.[2]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Diane Pohl recall 2015. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

Footnotes