COTTAGE GROVE – The first batch of unofficial results for the potential recall of councilors Alex Dreher, Mike Fleck, and Chalice Savage was released July 30 at 10:15 p.m., and it seems the town’s voters are in favor of a full sweep, recalling the whole trio.
According to that initial batch of data, about 62% of the votes were in favor of each councilor’s recall, which equates to about 1,550 voters in that majority out of the just under 2,600 votes that have been counted so far.
Overall ballot turnout for this special election is 37% as of Aug. 5 with 2,757 ballots returned. The 2022 election in Cottage Grove garnered about 4,000 votes in comparison.
Chief petitioner Michael Borke said the unofficial results that have come out thus far have been “a little more than a pleasant surprise.”
He added that he intentionally wanted to recall three councilors maximum so the Grove’s council could still operate within a quorum until the seats are filled again. A quorum, according to the State of Oregon, is “the minimum number of members that must participate in order for the governing body to transact business.” For Cottage Grove, a quorum is four members of council.
Borke said, if it wasn’t for the need to have a quorum, “there would have been another one involved in that (recall),” seemingly alluding to councilor Jon Stinnett who Borke attempted to recall last year alongside Savage and Fleck.
The county election’s office noted it may not have the final official results until Aug. 26 at 5 p.m. at the latest, so all results as of now are unofficial.
However, the City of Cottage Grove has already updated its website to address the potential that Dreher, Fleck, and Savage will not be finishing their terms on council.
In a post which discusses the Nov. 5 general election, the City wrote that the positions currently expected to be on the ballot are:
■ Mayor, held by Candace Solesbee
■ Councilor at large, held by Dreher
■ Ward 2 councilor, held by Stinnett
■ Ward 4 councilor, held by Greg Ervin
The website also now states, “In addition, based upon the outcome of the July 30, 2024 Recall Election, the City anticipates voters filling two additional Councilor seats at the (Nov. 5 election).”
Since Dreher’s seat is already on the ballot, the two additional seats would be Savage’s Ward 1 position and Fleck’s councilor at large position, which both expire December 2026. The City wrote that it “cannot accept filings for either of these two positions until those positions are vacant,” though.
The latest these vacancies will be known is Aug. 26, since that is when the official results are due, but Aug. 27 is the deadline set by state law to file a declaration of candidacy or nominating petition for all positions that will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Dreher and Savage were unable to be reached prior to The Chronicle’s deadline, and Fleck declined to comment, but Dreher did post the following on Facebook: “It has been an honor and privilege to serve as a volunteer councilor for the wonderful people of Cottage Grove. I will not be running in November.”
More updates on how each ballot measure is performing in the polls will be available on The Chronicle’s website throughout the month of August.
