To the Editor:

Charlene Morris, an active member of the Grant County Conservatives PAC that campaigned in opposition to the pool ballot measure this spring, has filed a recall petition against Lisa Weigum, a longstanding Parks and Recreation District board member.

The basis for this petition is Mrs. Morris’s claim that Ms. Weigum violated public meeting laws and public records laws.

Here’s the nice thing about living in the United States in the 21st century, as opposed to 18th century France. We don’t have public executions by guillotine just because Madame DeFarge has knitted your name on her political kill list (and has an insatiable appetite for revenge).

Lucky for us, Mrs. Morris has not been appointed judge, jury, and executioner in this matter. The only body determining whether a violation of public meetings law occurred is the nine-member Oregon Government Ethics Commission appointed specifically for that purpose — and they have made no such ruling.

We are better than this.

I’ve had a few policy disagreements with Ms. Weigum myself. Some of them included a bit of voice inflection and some salty language that would make a sailor stand up and take notice.

But here’s the thing about Lisa. She has integrity. She’s an unpaid volunteer who contributes her time (hundreds of hours a year) to serve on numerous boards and committees. And she has been unfairly treated and targeted for having the courage to stand behind her convictions.

Grant County does need a pool. And law enforcement. And a whole lot of other things. What we don’t need … is more of this.

Targeting public officials by weaponizing public records requests, filing recall petitions, and obstructing them in the conduct of public meetings may be in vogue in certain circles, but in reality, it accomplishes nothing. This recall petition says more about the person who filed it than the person it was filed against.

Send a message to the Grant County Conservatives PAC to class it up a bit. Don’t sign this unwarranted petition.

Nick Green

John Day