Some straight answers on Wheeler Politics and answers to specific points in publications like “Elephant in the Room”, “Being Aware Will Make for Wise Decisions” and “Notice of the Wheelers Candidate”. Forum.
My name is Clif Kemp, I am a current City Councilor, and up for re-election in the 2 year slot. I choose to recommend Deanne Ragnell and Karen Mathews for two of the 4 year council seats because I have watched them both work for the city benefit for several years.
The candidates I will be voting for have dedicated countless hours for the betterment of the City of Wheeler through public park and city hall landscape improvements, guiding our city maintenance staff in landscape techniques, organization of documents, volunteer coordination, downtown lighting and planter boxes, train station remodel, grant writing, project management, and more.
Both have volunteered many hours to improve our City. While on Council (2008-2015) Karen helped write many of the Ordinances we use today, Deanne wrote and received the grants (2019 & 2020) for money for our new Train Depot, and is currently working on a grant project to redesign and build new restrooms on the waterfront.
The other candidates have single event, and some longer-term city service, which I applaud them for. I was on Planning Commission prior to City Council and saw how that was managed under the leadership of Mike Anderson. Ask yourselves why he, as a private citizen, not running for office or serving the City in any official capacity is so desperately working to get “his people into office?” Going so far as to spend his own money and time on the effort. In August 2022, he held an “invitation only” townhall meeting at his house to “Guide the Future of Wheeler”. When excluded citizens asked if they could attend his meeting he stated it was by invitation only.
Several members of this group should take ownership of this quagmire the city finds itself in now. The Planning Commission made a sound data based decision weighing a poorly and incomplete land use proposal which they denied. It was appealed to City Council and Burden, Bell, King, and Stacks all took part in the Council’s overturning of a perfectly good Planning Commission decision, without any regard as to what the consequences might be. They simply did not follow the law. So along comes the 2020 election, and Bell and Stacks loose their bids for re-election. Now, after 2 years of the current council moving forward on multiple tasks to create new revenue for the city, bring excitement to the waterfront and downtown, work with Botts Marsh LLC on a solution to serve his and the city needs, improving the water district, improving the storm water safety, and fighting to save Wheeler from several litigations burdening staff, Council, Commission, and city funds they want to pull the brake on work and reverse the legally held (LUBA supported) decision.
We don’t need Levertte, a self proclaimed emissary for the developer; a person who has lived in Wheeler for two years and does not understand the laws. Lets move forward for the city, not individual egos. Leverette meets Ulbricht before public meetings. Ms. Leverette has publically stated she is Botts Marsh LLC representative. So a vote for those candidates will be a vote for suing the City of Wheeler it seems. Or would they just rubber stamp the incomplete application again?
Please Ask Yourself
Do you support The Citizens of Wheeler through the Vision Plan: a document enforced by ordinance and Comprehensive Plan?
Or
Do you support the out of town developer who refuses to provide the technical data needed for safe building and who refuses to follow the rules?
I’m asking for your vote, and for your vote for Karen and Deanne, this will put some new life on the council with people who will work on real issues and do the research needed to move us forward. It will provide new prospective, and a sense to get the correct job done for the city following the laws. We are too good a community and individuals not to get this done.