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The management of Clackamas County Service District #1 and the county administrator has filed a Slapp suit and an injunction against us. This suit was authorized by the county commissioners in executive session. The real purpose of the suit is to block the Citizens Constitutional right to vote on the Clearwater plan and to intimidate the petitioners by naming us in the suit as well. The suit goes on to say that the petitioners would be responsible for the county's legal fees and court costs. The basis of the county's suit is a so-called question of whether the commissioners' vote for the Clearwater plan was an administrative versus a legislative decision, meaning that we would not have referendum rights in the district. Even though our rights are clearly stated in the Oregon Constitution and in ORS 451.487, the county administration has chosen to listen to bad legal advice and has challenge us in circuit court. There is no money involved in this suit or any legal liability, just a question to the court that will cost us at least $20,000.00 to defend because the county chose to personally name us in the suit. When we brought this fact to Larry Sowa and Bill Kennemer, county commissioners, they immediately told their attorney to remove the court fees from the suit and they offered to remove our names too. Since we had already hired our own attorney to defend us, we had to make a decision for us and our district: To stay with the case and defend your right to vote or to take our chances with a county paid attorney who may not defend your rights properly. We stayed with our attorney. Over the last two months, the county commissioners could have done a number of things at any time to resolve this matter if they wanted to: They could have dropped the suit and paid our attorney fees. They could have cleaned house at the county and fired those involved. Or...they could have called for an election giving us our right to vote. It was their choice, and they did nothing because they wanted to see if they could beat us. |
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In an effort to defeat the Citizens right to vote on Clearwater plan, the county commissioners listened to bad legal advice and did nothing to stop this suit. As a result, the court ruled against the county in December 2005 giving us our referendum right to have our election. This was an expensive gamble by the county commissioners that will cost us (the taxpayers) about $75,000.00 In January 2006, the county commissioners settled with the petitioners and dropped the suit. |