Judge Wolke ruled; we will appeal

  

          Judge Wolke ruled against us, in favor of the City of Grants Pass.  We will appeal. 

          This plaintiff does not bring suit to go only halfway.  We knew from the start than any local judge is likely to find a way to rule for the city, having seen it happen too many times in the past.  

It is frustrating to see someone sue the city or the county and then drop it when a local judge obviously rules against state law.  This happened in the case of ex-Mayor Murphy appointing a quorum of our City Council after we recalled 5 of them, using a law that allowed him to appoint a single election official in order to call a special election if that official’s seat is vacant.  The previous Mayor Holzinger sued, and then pointed out Judge Baker’s conflict of interest after she ruled against him.  She was upheld by a Jackson County judge, and he dropped the case.

The interesting thing in that case was that she did not use the law Murphy cited for his authority; she just said that “exigent circumstances” allowed it, because we could not hold a special election for 6 months.  But another, authorized remedy lay within section 2 of that law.  It allowed the Board of County Commissioners to appoint a quorum if there were no councillors.  She could have ruled against Mayor Murphy, suggesting the remaining councilors resign and allow the Commissioners to appoint a quorum.

But Holzinger’s attorney did not see that remedy nor understand the reason for the law that Murphy was using, which appeared to be the possibility of a natural disaster killing a quorum of a City Council.  So Judge Baker did not have that remedy presented to her and did not have to consider it.  That was the same attorney I fired in my case before I hired a truly competent attorney out of Portland, who has won at least one appeal, Andrew DeWeese.

Mr. DeWeese works without a retainer, so I didn’t have to borrow more money to get him working on my case.  On February 22^nd, I paid him the $1925.00 raised at that point on GoFundMe and in person; I still owe him $2000 before the appeal.  We both believe that we will win on appeal and get those fees paid by the city, in which case the net funds over what I previously borrowed will be held for future homegrown defense. 

But we might not win, and neither of us wants me to be paying him and the city for their costs for the rest of my life, so please donate at GoFundMe.com/HomegrownDefense, or contact me below to donate by mail or in person.

March 12, 2016 protest leaflet.  Published on GardenGrantsPass.blogspot.com. 

Read the petition at https://www.change.org/p/grants-pass-city-manager-aaron-cubic-leave-pot-growers-alone-target-litter-and-weeds.

Read the ordinance at http://gardengrantspass.blogspot.com/2015/09/chapter-572-homegrown-and-medical.html

Read the ruling at http://gardengrantspass.blogspot.com/2016/03/judge-wolkes-ruling-in-my-lawsuit.html

Rycke Brown, Natural Gardener          541-955-9040        rycke@gardener.com

Oops! Goofed again!

Mark Seligman is a good friend to me.  He proved it by telling me that I had gotten a name wrong in my last piece, “David Frasher fired again.”  (Now corrected) It was Mayor Murphy who appointed 5 councilors, not Mayor Fowler.

I argued with him for a minute, while looking up a leaflet I’d written about it in 2009, “Clean the Slate.”  There was "Mayor Murphy."  I had forgotten a mayor who served 4 years, and ascribed all of his acts to Darin Fowler.  I voted for Mike Murphy, and I forgot him!

Lesson learned: fact-check everything, especially my own memory for names.  Mayors Fowler and Murphy, I am sorry that I didn't before spreading 300 hard copies.

A real friend will tell you when you are wrong, or if you literally stink.  You can catch a rancid bacterial infection of the sweat glands that you can’t smell until it is driving other people out of the room, but most people will never tell you about it.  I’ve had it twice, literally driving people from the room the first time, before I found a remedy. I find it helps to have a remedy to mention, which is triple antibiotic cream in the armpits.  People have thanked me for telling them. I learned it on the radio from Dr. Dean Edell, about curing stinky feet, a remedy I wish I’d known when my husband was still alive.

Mark is that kind of a friend.  He told me I was wrong; argued until I found that he was right; didn’t rub it in; and I thanked him.  We don’t agree on many things; we argue passionately in a friendly way; and sometimes we agree.

Some people think I hate the City of Grants Pass, its employees, and especially its Manager, Mayor, and Council because I am suing the City over an illegal ordinance.  I don’t hate anyone.  I am telling the Mayor and Councilor that they are wrong and their ordinance stinks, violating state laws, as Carl Wilson told them before the ordinance was passed.  I am pursuing the only remedy available to protect myself and other citizens from enforcement of that ordinance against us.

Some say that my lawsuit is costing the citizens money.  Elections have consequences, and so does not paying your elected officials.  Not paying your Mayor and Councilors means that you have few choices at election, and the ones you elect readily give up their seats.  In order to have real accountability from your elected officials, you have to give them something to lose, like a salary.

The Council showed how little they have to lose by trying to circumvent the laws and the will of the people of Oregon.  We changed the law, and they are unwilling to follow it, so the Council has to be changed.

November 7, 2015 protest leaflet.  Published on GardenGrantsPass.blogspot.com.  Sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/grants-pass-city-manager-aaron-cubic-leave-pot-growers-alone-target-litter-and-weeds

Read Chapter 5.72 at http://gardengrantspass.blogspot.com/2015/09/chapter-572-homegrown-and-medical.html

Support the lawsuit at www.GoFundMe.com/HomegrownDefense 

Rycke Brown, Natural Gardener          541-955-9040        rycke@gardener.com