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Newport Council President Jan Kaplan led a special city council meeting on Monday July 10th to officially accept the resignation of Mayor Dean Sawyer. Kaplan noted that the council recieved over 95 emails over the weekend calling for Sawyers' resignation. This meeting Kaplan said, was the first opportunity for the council to address what happened. He also stated that the council accepts Sawyer's resignation and thanked him for his service to the city over the last several years including his tireless advocacy for funding for the dam replacements at Big Creek. Kaplan will be acting Mayor until the council appoints a new person to fill the role of Sawyer's 18-month term.
As a result of the OPB article there were over 70 who protested at Newport at City Hall on Saturday. Over the weekend Lincoln County Sheriff Landers, Newport Police Chief Malloy and the Lincoln County Commissioners all put out public statemets condeming the actions of Sawyer and assuring the public that his actions on a private facebook page designed for members of law enforcement, did not reflect the views or policies of the Sheriff's Office, Newport Police or County Commission.
Those who spoke to the council said they appreciated that Sawyer resigned and hoped that he would indeed take time to reflect on how his actions hurt those he served in the community. The council thanked the public for coming forward. Councilor Goebel said he was angry that the former Mayor's actions were dividing the community. Councilor CM Hall encouraged concerned citizens to get involved in government to make a positive change. Councilor Botello also thanked citizens for their input. She suggested that city volunteers should take DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion training.
City staff will be working to put together a policy regarding DEI and will be further discussing the issue along with next steps needed to open up the process for applications for mayor. The next meeting will be held July 17th.
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