By Ron Brown
November 5, 2009
GRANTS PASS, Ore. - A judge has turned down another attempt to void the appointment of five temporary Grants Pass city councilors.
The ruling is the second attempt to undo the appointments made following the recall of five council members in September.
The ruling was made by Jackson County Judge Phil Arnold Thursday in a Josephine County Courtroom. In late October Judge Lindi Baker upheld Grants Pass Mayor Mike Murphy's appointments. Attorney for Former Mayor Len Holzinger renewed arguments that the appointments denied voters a chance to fill the vacancies at the ballot box, this time in a video conference hearing.
"Nobody is being deprived of the right to vote here. On the contrary, the scenario that we have here where the mayor appoints the interim city councilors and calls for a special election is actually much more democratic and conducive to the public's right to vote than either of the other two scenarios," City Attorney Mark Bartholomew said.
Arnold agreed.
"The request to enjoin the actions of the mayor and the city by having the council in place and the council to act is denied," Jackson County Circuit Judge Phil Arnold said.
"I'm not too surprised at the results. I'm certainly relieved at it, but I'm not surprised. We have done our homework here," Grants Pass Mayor Mike Murphy said.
Those opposed to the appointment indicated they'll probably file an appeal with the Oregon Court of Appeals.
At a meeting Wednesday night, the Grants Pass City Council set March 9th as the date for a special election to pick five new councilors to replace those recalled in September. Four of those positions now held by interim councilors expire in December of 2010, meaning there will be another council election next November.
The recall election came after months of turmoil between former City Manager David Frasher and the city council. Frasher officially left his position on August 4th. He resigned July 8th, after repeated attempts by the council to fire him. Before he resigned Murphy had vetoed the council's resolution to fire Frasher. The council fell short of the votes needed to overturn the veto.
A special election to pick 5 new councilors is scheduled for March 9th.
