Waldport City Council Recall Petitions Fail to Meet Requirements

By Brian Bahouth

In a letter dated November 10, 2025, Lincoln County Clerk, Amy Southwell informed chief petitioner of the effort to recall six Waldport city councilors, Tony Thimakis, that after she and legal counsel reviewed the signatures, the petitions do not comply with Oregon law.

“After much review of the petitions brought to me for Recall 21-COWR-2025, I have determined, along with county counsel, that all 6 petitions do not meet the recall petition requirements,” Southwell explained.

“County counsel and I had a closer look at the laws, (and) it seems ORS 260.567 was unintentionally violated by the petition gatherers, and unfortunately, I cannot determine which, if any, voters requested help due to a disability.

“County counsel and I had a closer look at the laws, it seems ORS 260.567 was unintentionally violated by the petition gatherers, and unfortunately, I cannot determine which, if any, voters requested help due to a disability.

“My team and myself looked over each signature thoroughly and although most matched, the law is clear that the voter needed to initial if someone helped them with their information on the petition, and no initials appear on the petitions. Megan [Torres] has been notified of my findings, and as the filing officer, will make the final determination,” Southwell wrote.

Upon notification, the Waldport city recorder, Megan Torres, declared that the petitions failed under Oregon law.

Chief petitioner Tony Thimakis issued the following statement.

“Myself and the other petition gatherers utilized the advice and guidance of the County Clerk and proceeded in good faith. We were told that it is okay to help signatories complete the cumbersome petitions. Given that the median age of the residents of Waldport is 64 years, many required some assistance in filling out their address and other pertinent information on all but one of the six petitions.

“EVERY SIGNATURE WAS MADE BY THE CITIZENS ON EACH PETITION.  Every signatory provided their address and zip code on one of the petitions, while myself and the other signature gatherers copied it over to the other signed petitions—per the advice we were given.  We did not consult legal counsel and it was never suggested that we do so.  We were never told that the signatories had to initial the petitions on which we provided their identifying information.  We trusted in the advice we were given by the County Clerk.

“We would like to appeal the Waldport City Clerk’s denial of the recall petitions. We ask that this minor technicality be dismissed as each signature on each petition is valid and the City Recorder’s decision to delegitimize the petitions suggests otherwise.

“At the very least, as chief petitioner, I request an opportunity to defend the process we utilized to facilitate the participation of the citizens who signed in good faith and explain this technicality, and give them and us the opportunity to prove that there was no intentional violation of ORS 260.567.”