The clumsily run campaign to recall Coquille City Councilor Matt Rowe has failed to turn in the required 250 valid signatures to put the matter before the voters. Comprised of what amounted to little more than a Matt Rowe enemies list which included Coquille Mayor Kathi Simonetti, Councilor Ann Parker, newsprint publisher Jean Ivey-Gurney and […]
Time is running out for the Committee to Recall Rowe to turn in 250 valid signatures of registered Coquille voters by September 1, in order to put the matter on the ballot. The committee is being run out of Jean Ivey-Gurney’s office on the corner of Central Avenue & First St in Coquille and the […]
Coquille Mayor Kathy Simonetti acknowledges downtown business owners failed to meet their fiscal responsibility to fix sidewalks that caused multiple serious falls. In a letter to the editor of a local newspaper meant to disparage City Councilor Matt Rowe, Mayor Kathi Simonetti admits that Coquille City funds Urban Renewal funds were misdirected toward sidewalk repairs […]
The recall of Matt Rowe may make it to the ballot… or will it? Jean Ivey Gurney has claimed to have in her possession “about 300” signatures toward putting the recall of Councilor Matt Rowe on the ballot. Ivey Gurney, who runs a local newspaper and has invited people to stop in and sign petitions, […]
The Sawdust Theatre may be closed for the season due to COVID-19 but there is still plenty of melodrama emanating from Coquille City Hall to provide entertainment through the rest of the summer. We are talking about the recall effort to oust City Councilman Matt Rowe apparently driven by a handful of business owners on […]
The World has a story about the most recent candidate for treasurer, Heather Fox. She sounds like a reasonable candidate and she answers some questions raised previously, such as will she collect two salaries and is she just running as a spoiler to help Megan Simms oust Matt Rowe. The answer would appear to be […]
Commissioner John Sweet bristles whenever anyone dares to note the similarities between the newly created position of finance director and a county administrator. The latter, as everyone will remember, was brought before the voters in 2012 asking whether the county should transition to an administrator model of government and soundly defeated. Nevertheless, the local oligarchy […]
It’s no secret that the Coos County Board of Commissioners is no fan of Matt Rowe. Rowe was, until last Thursday, running unopposed for the county treasurer’s position on a what he calls a transparency platform. Last week, Megan Simms, the newly hired finance director/de facto administrator filed for the position. The term “de facto […]
“If you’re in trouble, or hurt or need – go to the poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help – the only ones.” Ma Joad spoke those words in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath after someone of equally modest means gave her a dime’s worth of sugar. This sentiment, unfortunately is clearly demonstrated in […]
The City of Coquille voted to impose a 5% tax on medical marijuana and 10% on recreational marijuana sold within the city limits if and when the State legalizes marijuana dispensaries. Measure 91 legalizes the use and tightly regulated sale of marijuana to adults 21 and over if it passes in November. The city tax […]
