Previously:

• Brookings Recall: Hedenskog, Morosky Quit Before Vote Is Certified; Remaining City Council Appoints New Colleague to Maintain Quorum

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Fourteen people are vying for two open positions on the Brookings City Council, including the mayoral seat.

The deadline for residents to apply for the vacancies came and went at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to a city press release. About three weeks prior the former mayor and his colleagues — Ron Hedenskog, Michele Morosky and Ed Schreiber — were recalled.

However, according to Curry County Clerk Shelley Denney, the election results from the Nov. 7 recall have not been certified yet. The last day to “resolve ballot challenges” was 5 p.m. Tuesday, she told the Wild Rivers Outpost via email Wednesday. The election can’t be certified until that deadline has passed.

“The last day to certify is Monday, December 4th,” Denney said. “Ed Schreiber still holds his seat until the election is certified and the city receives the abstract of the votes.”

On Nov. 13, Hedenskog and Morosky resigned their seats. Remaining councilors Andy Martin and Isaac Hodges appointed Brookings-Harbor High School counselor Kristi Fulton to take Morosky’s place. Schreiber abstained from the vote, though he presided over the meeting as council president.

The applicants for the two vacant seats include Anthony Bond, Nicholas Chapman, Diana Cooper, Bruce Flowers, Jim Jollota, Judy Kaplan, Thena Larteri Lyons, Teresa Lawson, Clayton Malmberg, Candice Michel, Phoebe Pereda, Blake Peters, DeAnne Varitek and Nicole Winn.

Bond and Malmberg are currently on the Brookings Planning Commission. Cooper is the executive director at Brookings CORE Response. And Candice Michel is the treasurer on the Board of Directors for the KCIW community radio station.

The current City Council will interview the applicants. According to Martin, who is serving as council president currently, they are tentatively scheduled for Monday in the Brookings Emergency Operations Center with follow-up interviews to be held Tuesday.
Details about the interviews are being sent to each applicant, Martin said.

According to the unofficial election results from Nov. 7, out of a total of 1,811 ballots cast, 70.96 percent voted in favor of recalling Hedenskog. Out of a total of 1,814 ballots cast, 68.47 percent voted yes to recalling Schreiber. And out of a total of 1,811 ballots cast, 69.63 percent voted in favor of recalling Morosky.

The recall efforts were in response to the mayor and two councilors votes to reinstate Janell Howard as Brookings city manager following a 2022 shoplifting incident from Fred Meyer.

Following the Nov. 13 meeting, Dennis Triglia, the chief petitioner in the Hedenskog recall, sent a letter to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, U.S. senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Oregon Congresswoman Valerie Hoyle.

In his letter, Triglia criticized the Council for adding Fulton’s appointment to the Nov. 13 agenda the day before. Before the recall deadline, voters understood that a special election had to be held within 60 days if all three recall efforts were successful, which is stated in the city charter, Triglia said.

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