News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Gordon Petrie is defending a letter he signed that threatens to cost him his position on the Sisters City Council.
A local political action committee, Citizens for Cooperative Urban Planning, petitioned for Petrie's recall after he signed a letter sent by four Sisters couples to the Oregon Economic Development Department (OCDD) requesting that the agency deny Sisters $1.25 million in grants to help fund Sisters' sewer project. Thepetitioners believe Petrie's action was an effort to undermine the will of Sisters' voters, who approved a $7 million sewer bond issue in May.
Petrie has submitted a "Statement of Justification" that, according to City Administrator Barbara Warren, will be included on a recall election ballot on November 3. According to Warren, the recall ballot will be separate from the General Election ballot and arguments will not appear in the Voters' Pamphlet.
In the statement, Petrie argued that, in the effort to get him recalled, "facts were misrepresented and repeated as if true."
Petrie said the letter he signed "did not request the sewer project be stopped as opponents claim - only that '... City of Sisters should explore other options for less costly and more practical community sewer system.'
"Approximately 60 percent of city residents have low to moderate incomes," Petrie's statement continued. "My agenda includes providing the lowest cost sewer system possible."
Sisters Mayor Steve Wilson said, "we walked through every type of system and did our cost analysis for the residents. In the long run, the conventional system is the least expensive over a 20-to-30-year period. From the city's standpoint, the issue was discussed and decided this spring at the polls."
Petrie declined The Nugget's request for an interview, saying his "statement of justification" was sufficient.
The petitioners for recall also chastised Petrie for using his title as council president in the letter to OEDD. In the letter, the signers noted, "one of us is president of the Sisters City Council, one serves on the budget committee, and another is a member of the Community Action Team."
In his reply, Petrie said, "my signature was not accompanied by the title, 'City Council President.' I signed as a citizen."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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