Despite being cold to the idea of recalling Coos County Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean last year The World is now calling for the recall of Adam Colby. In the Stufflebean matter there was ample evidence of what was wrong and why the recall was brought against him. The paper always spun it as only having to do with the road department layoffs. In fact, the recall was motivated by the layoffs but was entirely about public process and transparency. Despite narrowly surviving the recall, Stufflebean’s low vote count in Tuesday’s election supports that most citizens got the message and agreed, even if The World did not.
Not that I disagree the assessor needs to go, I find it interesting the paper supports a recall while admitting, unlike the Stufflebean matter, little is known about what is wrong in the office.
County Assessor Adam Colby, 16 months into a four-year term, has become a liability to taxpayers and an obstacle to his staff’s effectiveness. It’s time to think about a recall.
This suggestion may seem drastic. Thanks to employee confidentiality and the county’s liability concerns, taxpayers know little about the problems in the assessor’s office.
Some small factoids. Commissioner Nikki Whitty is the liaison to the assessor’s office. Adam Colby and the ‘G-Man’, Steve Allen, were frequent lunch partners when Allen was still Human Resources Director. Allen resigned to go into private industry. Today is his last day.
Maybe the paper should launch a ‘please resign for the good of the county’ campaign.
