John Day Mayor Heather Rookstool addresses attendees during the city’s town hall about a proposed homeless camping ordinance on Aug. 15, 2023.

JOHN DAY — Heather Rookstool will not be continuing in her role as the mayor of John Day following the results of the Jan. 16 recall election.

In unofficial returns posted by the Grant County clerk on election night, the recall was passing by 252 votes to 224 votes. As of Monday, Jan. 22, the margin had grown to 257-225 after additional mail-in ballots were received.

The recall petition was filed by Oren Wyss, the operator of the John Day wastewater treatment plant, at the end of October. The petition accused Rookstool of dishonesty and a lack of transparency and claimed she was was not acting in the best interests of John Day, city staff or residents. The petition also accused Rookstool of disregarding her oath of office and the city charter, as well as putting the city’s services at risk.

The recall petition followed a complaint against Rookstool filed by a group of local residents accusing her of overstepping her authority as mayor in violation of the city charter and state law.

Rookstool pushed back against those claims, filing a statement of justification with the county clerk noting that the recall petition did not cite any violations of city code, ordinance or Oregon revised statute and characterizing the allegations against her as “opinion without any proof.”

Wyss said he was pleased with the outcome of the election.

“She was bad for the city both financially and for personnel here,” he said of Rookstool.

“I’m just glad she’s out.”

While the margin is slim at 32 votes, Wyss said he thinks the spread will hold and that a recount will not be necessary.

“I think we got enough votes that a recount isn’t going to make any difference,” he said.

Rookstool said the people have spoken and she will follow their direction.

“If the voters want me gone, then I’ll leave,” she said.

Rookstool said she hopes that the community can find some way to heal the bitter division it is currently locked in following her departure. She added that her defeat in the recall election will allow her to devote more time and energy to other things in her life that are important to her.

“I am going to focus on the job that does actually appreciate me, my family and my health,” she said.

Grant County Clerk Brenda Percy said she will certify the vote 21 days after the election, which would be Feb. 5. That will mark Rookstool’s final day in office. Percy said there have not been enough mail-in votes trickling in to change the outcome of the vote and only five of the ballots she’s received are being challenged due to some sort of irregularity.

What happens next is not entirely clear.

The city charter refers to the mayor as a voting member of the city council and specifies that a vacant council seat is to be filled by appointment of the remaining council members. A number of current council members have made clear their intention to choose a new mayor by appointment.

However, others have suggested that the selection of John Day’s next mayor should be left up to the citizens since it was they who voted to remove Rookstool from office in the first place. There is no specific language in the city charter regarding a process for filling a vacancy in the mayor’s office.

In the meantime, the charter states that when the mayor is absent, the city council president shall step in to assume the role of mayor.

As of now, John Day’s city council president is Rookstool supporter Sherrie Rininger, who was voted into the post at the Jan. 9 session of John Day City Council. Rininger was appointed following the ouster of Dave Holland, a critic of Rookstool who supported the recall campaign.

Wyss said there has been discussion among the backers of the Rookstool recall about whether to mount a similar effort targeting Rininger, but for now that seems unlikely.

“I doubt we will,” he said. “I don’t think the public will want to go through a second recall.”