GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Grants Pass Mayor Sara Bristol hosted a public forum Friday night. Bristol invited the chief petitioner, in a recall effort against her, to participate.
The public forum brought in a sizable crowd, but one person was notably missing from the forum, the chief petitioner Suzanne Barber.
Mayor Bristol said Barber did not respond to the invitation she sent about the forum.
At the forum, Mayor Bristol spoke publicly about the recall, ahead of the September 12th special election.
“The whole thing about the recall is born of frustration, and of people who don’t understand what’s going on or don’t like what the city council and I have been doing about it, I would like to hear about what their ideas and solutions are,” said Bristol.
Those in favor of the recall say it’s because of the mayor isn’t conservative enough for Grants Pass, and they’re unhappy with the homeless situation.
Mayor Bristol said the homeless issue is a priority for her. She actually vetoed the city council’s priority list earlier this year, because items related to homelessness, weren’t on the list.
Mayor Bristol claims the recall will cost the city of Grants Pass $30,000 regardless of the outcome.
There will be a second forum on Tuesday, August 29th, at the Fruitdale Grange at 6 p.m.
Friday’s forum was followed up by a rally the next day, where people gathered outside the Grants Pass Courthouse in support of the mayor.
Mayor Bristol’s supporters lined up in front of the courthouse to urge people to vote no on the recall in the upcoming special election.
Members of the public and community members spoke at the event to express their feelings on the recall.
“This recall was launched for reasons that don’t have anything to do with a proper reason to recall I think if there was malfeasance or corruption or if she just wasn’t doing the job, I mean she’s at every meeting, she doesn’t get paid, but she puts in tons of time,” said Grants Pass Resident, Matt Rosen.
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