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Previously:

• Recalls Filed Against Brookings Mayor, Councilors Schreiber and Morosky In Connection With Janell Howard's Continued Employment

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Organizers behind efforts to oust the Brookings mayor and two city councilors have enough signatures to put the matter before voters on Nov. 7.

The petitioners collected more than the 463 valid signatures needed to move forward with the recall against Mayor Ron Hedenskog and counselors Ed Schreiber and Michele Morosky, according to Dennis Triglia, chief petitioner in recall effort against Hedenskog.

Efforts to recall Hedenskog, Schreiber and Morosky stem from their vote in January to reinstate Brookings City Manager Janell Howard despite Howard’s plea of no contest after she was caught shoplifting from Fred Meyer on July 4, 2022.

The mayor and his two colleagues now have until Oct. 9 to either resign their seats or submit a statement of justification that will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot, said Triglia, a former city councilor. He and two other Brookings residents, Henry Cunningham and Debra Worth, are chief petitioners in the recall effort.

“If none of them step down, the recall election goes ahead as planned on Nov. 7, and Oregon does it by mail, so it’ll be a normal election,” he told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Thursday.

Triglia, Cunningham and Worth submitted their signatures to Howard, who is also the city recorder and elections officer, on Sept. 6 — a month ahead of the Oct. 8 deadline. Howard sent the signatures to County Clerk Shelley Denney in Gold Beach on Sept. 21, according to Triglia’s news release.

In an interview with KCIW news director Lori Gallo-Stoddard, Denney said she and her staff stopped counting signatures when they determined that the petitioners had collected the 463 that was required.

“The petitions that were returned had quite a few over what was required,” Denney told Gallo-Stoddard, referring to the number of signatures.

Voters will be asked three questions — should Hedenskog, Schreiber and Morosky be recalled. If no one steps down before the election and all three are recalled, another vote will be necessary to fill the vacant seats in about 60 days, Triglia said.

“If they all get recalled, the government can’t function,” he said, pointing out that if three councilors were recalled a quorum wouldn’t exist. “Or they could only conduct business up to $25,000.”

Triglia said he didn’t want to get involved in who voters would tap to replace Hedenskog, Schreiber or Morosky, but said he wanted it to be someone who “at least listens to the people.”

The Council’s 4-1 vote on Jan. 31 to reinstate Howard prompted a Brookings police officer and several other city staff members to leave their jobs, Triglia told the Outpost after filing the recall petition against Hedenskog in July.

In March, Howard offered an apology to the public, singling out the officer who responded to the shoplifting call. On May 8, Brookings City Councilor Andy Martin called for Howard’s termination effective immediately, though Hedenskog, Schreiber and Morosky voted that motion down.

Martin then asked the city attorney to draft a separation agreement between the city and Howard to take effect June 16. Howard chose not to accept that agreement, Martin told the Outpost in July.

According to Denney, ballots will be sent to Brookings voters between Oct. 18 and 24. Denney told Gallo-Stoddard that the county will coordinate with the city on that recall election. Denney noted that Gold Beach and Port Orford have ballot measures slated to go before their residents on Nov. 7.

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