Recall petition filed against Harney County Judge Steve Grasty
A recall petition has been filed against Harney County Judge Steve Grasty in the aftermath of the 41-day occupation earlier this year.
Petitioners say they gathered 566 signatures, the Oregon Secretary of State's Office reported Thursday.
The valid signatures of 444 active registered Harney County voters are needed to force a recall election or compel his resignation from the non-judicial position that essentially makes him chairman of the county commission.
But Grasty says he has no plans to step down.
Kim Rollins of Burns, OR needs to be supported for starting this recall!
Sarah Redd Buck shared Shannon Albrecht's post.
update: 05/13/2016
(G)NASTY just keeps on pissing people off..just amazing how often he can hang on with his gnashing teeth to the rope while his broken appendages flail in the wind! it is a nasty picture indeed. ewwwwwwwwwwww
All the signatures have been gathered and now, the verification begins as NASTY GNASTY screeches like a pig refusing to go to slaughter..oh man, we just insulted the pigs! sorry guys! OINK
Voting Registration brings you more then just the right to vote. You may also exercise your rights and move toward getting changes by signing petitions, etc. Harney County Grasty Recall Petition (R-2016-1) is a OR State Election Division approved petition for Harney County Registered Voters to sign (paper form). The purpose of the petition is an attempt to hold a public official accountable and to send a message to others that are in or going to be in positions of HC Judge and Commissioners that political times are changing and people are paying better attention.
Please note that such "Recalls" sometime have the effect of making positive change in others with political positions too.
It is IMPORTANT to contact me NOW in order to help make it possible to remove our present Harney County Judge Grasty from his position early.
You may contact me at by email at Grastyrecall@outlook.com
or you may call me at 541-589-3658 or 541-573-6848 (evenings) and I will arrange to facilitate you signing this Petition.
Thank you for your consideration.- Kim Rollins
Recall petition filed against Harney County Judge Steve Grasty
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on May 12, 2016 at 10:45 PM, updated May 13, 2016 at 12:43 PM
Petitioners say they gathered 566 signatures, the Oregon Secretary of State's Office reported Thursday. The valid signatures of 444 active registered Harney County voters are needed to force a recall election or compel his resignation. Grasty is the County Court judge -- not a judge in the traditional sense, but essentially chairman of the county commission.
If the petition is validated, Grasty will have to resign or submit a "statement of justification" that would be printed on the ballot. If Grasty chooses the latter, a recall election would be held within 35 days of the end of the resignation period.
But Grasty has no plans to step down.
"People elected me to a six-year term, and that's what I'll do unless they decide it should become less," he said late Thursday.
"I love this place," Grasty said. "I love these people. I'm humbled to serve them, and it's my intention to do it for the length of the term."
Officials are working to verify the signatures, said Laura Terrill, chief of staff for the secretary of state.
Kim Rollins of Burns submitted the paperwork to launch the recall drive, according to the state agency. Rollins, who had been critical of Grasty in an Oregon Public Broadcasting report, declined to comment Thursday night.
Grasty had been adamant that Ammon Bundy and his supporters leave Harney County after they took over the refuge outside of Burns on Jan. 2 to protest federal land-use policies and the imprisonment of local ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven Hammond.
The standoff ended with the arrests of Bundy and more than two dozen others and the death of occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy'' Finicum, who was shot by Oregon State Police during a confrontation at a roadblock between Burns and John Day.
— Jim Ryan
jryan@oregonian.com503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
UPDATED:
Recall petition against Harney County Judge Steve Grasty validated
That means Grasty has until 5 p.m. Tuesday to resign or submit a "statement of justification" that would be printed on the recall election ballot, according to a letter notifying him of the petition's result. But Grasty said Thursday he is not resigning.
Grasty is the County Court judge — not a judge in the traditional sense, but essentially chairman of the county commission. He has served three terms, entering office in January 1999, and his current term lasts until the end of the year.
A recall election would be held no later than June 28, according to the letter. The effort to oust Grasty comes in the aftermath of the 41-day takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by armed militants earlier this year.
He and the petitioner were notified of the results Thursday morning, said Molly Woon, a secretary of state spokeswoman. Petitioners gathered the valid signatures of 458 active registered Harney County voters, Woon said in an email.
They needed 444 to validate the petition.
Kim Rollins of Burns expressed his grievances against Grasty in a prospective petition filed Feb. 11.
He wrote, in part, that "Judge Grasty and other county officials have prevented and/or hindered US Citizens the same privileges and rights that he and other officials use and exercise themselves. These privileges and rights include: The privilege of citizens use of public buildings for peaceful assembly, the right of the people peaceably to assemble, & the unabridged right of freedom of speech."
Grasty said he's not ready to say what he'll include in his statement and that he wasn't surprised to see the petition validated.
"He worked his tail off for 90 days to get those signatures," Grasty said of Rollins.
Grasty had been adamant that Ammon Bundy and his supporters leave Harney County after they took over the refuge outside of Burns on Jan. 2 to protest federal land-use policies and the imprisonment of local ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven Hammond.
"Many of us are frustrated by state and federal regulation of land use. Some here are mightily angry about our economy which we cannot control," Grasty said in a statement in January when the occupation was about three weeks old. "Most of all, many of us are appalled by those who were neither invited nor welcomed, but who purport to speak for our county's residents."
The standoff ended with the arrests of Bundy and more than two dozen others and the death of occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy'' Finicum, who was shot by Oregon State Police during a confrontation at a roadblock between Burns and John Day.
— Jim Ryan
jryan@oregonian.com503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
Linsay Tyler
Steven E. Grasty, County Judge
450 N. Buena Vista #5
Burns, OR 97720
Phone: 541-573-6356
FAX: 541-573-8387
Email: steve.grasty@co.harney.or.us
Mandi Jacobs John Parker Jr. John George Bj Soper Wes Miller William Wilson Dillon Banton Lisa Sundloff Bundy Jeanette Finicum Challice Finicum Finch Kelli Stewart Brooke Agresta Brandon Curtiss Maureen Peltier
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