I’ve had the privilege of serving as one of your City Councilors since 1995 and am proud of my many accomplishments, including representing the best interests of the seniors in our community and preserving and enhancing open space and parkland. Likewise, my goal is to represent the best wishes of the majority of voters.
On January 3, Jackson County will mail you a ballot for a special recall election. Please read my reply to Hubert Smith’s accusations on the ballot. In the meantime, feel free to call me personally with any questions you may have at 541-899-7092. I sincerely ask that you vote NO on the recall.

Originally, Hubert Smith circulated and perfected recall petitions for me, Councilor Becker and Mayor Garrett. After signature validation was complete, Mayor Garrett resigned from office. Then, after having a very public meeting over coffee with Councilor Becker, Hubert Smith withdrew the certified petition for Councilor Becker. Mr. Smith offered no reason for excusing Mr. Becker from the recall. Unlike Councilor Becker, I never had the chance to meet with Mr. Smith and was, therefore, never given an opportunity to express my views on the future of the fire department.

While returning back to an all volunteer department as advocated by Mr. Smith sounds like a good cost-saving idea, the population demographic of Jacksonville just does not support such a return.  Please note that 90% of the calls are for medical assistance and accidents, not structure or wild land fires.  These types of calls require an immediate medical response to save lives and assist accident victims. Presently, we have a stable fire department that meets the needs and expectations of our community, funded by a $31 monthly surcharge. The Fire Department is staffed with fully-trained firefighters with Basic and Intermediate Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certificates. The Fire Department is capable of handling both fire suppression and basic-level emergency medical response calls.

Should Mr. Smith’s recall succeed, it will set a dangerous precedent with negative implications for the many volunteer council and committee volunteers serving Jacksonville. It is my hope that we will continue to settle our political differences by continued citizen involvement at all levels of City government and not with unwarranted or uncalled-for recall elections.
I would greatly appreciate your support by asking you to vote NO on your ballot.

Sincerely,
Councilor Donna Schatz