OPINION
A Low Point in Bend’s Politics
WWW.BENDSOURCE.COM / MAY 19, 2022 / BEND’S INDEPENDENT VOICE
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y the time you’re reading this, We said then and we’ll say again: Bend’s first mayor to be direct- Many of the cracks that became rifts ly elected in nearly a century will in Bend city politics can be traced to have cast her last votes at her final the appointment of Chris Piper to the city council meeting, and likely, Bend Bend City Council in 2019. will have a new mayor. Sally Russell Piper came in to fill the council slot announced earlier this month that she Russell vacated when she became maywould be stepping down following the or. Piper did not win re-election during May 18 council meeting, citing exhaus- the 2020 election but is now running tion as the reason for leaving the post for mayor in the November election. before her term expires around the end Now, with Russell’s departure, the of this year. Just before this issue went Bend City Council will appoint a temto press, Councilor Rita Schenkelberg porary mayor to fill the slot until one (they/them), also announced their can once again become democraticalresignation, saying that both vitriolic ly elected. That appointed person may public opinion about them, and time very well be someone who is also runconstraints in managing a job and pub- ning for mayor in November. If a sitting lic office, necessitated the departure. councilor becomes mayor, then they’ll Suffice it to need to vacate say that this is a Because Bend’s charter their councillow point in modslot, and yet dictates that vacant seats or ern Bend politics. another perLosing not just a must be filled within 30 son could be councilor, but also to days or go unfilled until the appointed Bend’s mayor midthe rank and stream is a con- next election, there’s no file of the Bend cerning state of Council… good way to go about this. City affairs. with another City leaders— Bend needs leadership right behind it and voters—nurwhen Schennow more than ever tured a great idea kelberg resigns with 2018’s vot- and leaving the mayor’s We d n e s d a y ed-upon change night. seat or the remaining to the city charter, We’ll likewhich moved the council seats open would ly know who mayoral election the new mayor be just another kind of process from one is Wednesday decided upon by miscarriage of justice. night—and like fellow councilors the appointto one where the public decides who’s ment of Piper, which was fraught with to be mayor. accusations of back-room dealings Thus far, it is not going well. between Russell and city influencers, It was an idea that promised more including a representative of the Cenbuy-in from the public, and in turn a tral Oregon Builders Association—the stronger democracy. What we’ve got- appointment of this person could sow ten is bitter, ugly politics ever since. more doubt, confusion and lack of faith At least one of the candidates in that in local government. first mayor’s race left town after losing. Because Bend’s charter dictates that Now, the victor is leaving before her vacant seats must be filled within 30 term is even over, and someone will be days or go unfilled until the next elecappointed to fill the slot, along with the tion, there’s no good way to go about slot Schenkelberg is vacating. this. Bend needs leadership now more The end result is that we will now than ever and leaving the mayor’s seat have more appointed officials, when or the remaining council seats open what we wanted was more public par- would be just another kind of miscarticipation. riage of justice. After so recently votIn Russell’s case, this crisis of lead- ing to be able to name our mayor, we’re ership came without any outward accu- right back to having a de facto popularsations of fraud or impropriety or ity contest and a set of council appointillegality; no massive scandals to speak ments that just begs the back-room of. Less-scrupulous and more-embat- dealers of Bend to clamor for influence. tled politicians have faced far more Hopefully, the council gets it right this pressure and have stuck it out in their time and rises above the sordid politpositions. ical pressure, and then we can all put We have weighed in before about this initial chapter of mayoral politics “The Doubt We Sow When We Appoint behind us. Politicians,” as we outlined in our Feb. Along with that, may we also 3, 2022 editorial, but it’s a notion worth remember that these, too, are human revisiting now that our mayor and a beings—and that vitriolic behavior on councilor have resigned all inside a social media has consequences—both week. human and political.
