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Community delivers emotion-packed outpouring of support for Oakridge City Administrator Bryan Cutchen, demanding that he be kept on the job

by Doug Bates | Mar 11, 2021 | Communities, Front Page, Oakridge/Westfir

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oakridge city council,city administrator bryan cutchen,zoom meeting,public forum,contract renewalDoug Bates/The Herald

An extraordinary virtual (Zoom) forum in Oakridge Wednesday night brought forth a commanding wave of support for renewing the contract of City Administrator Bryan Cutchen.

By DOUG BATES/Editor/The Herald — One by one, they flickered to life on the Zoom screen, like participants in the old “Hollywood Squares” TV show, in a powerful and unprecedented show of support for an Oakridge public servant under attack.

Business owners, civic leaders, professional people, retirees, neighbors — 22 people in all spoke out Wednesday night in a remarkably united call for keeping Bryan Cutchen as the city administrator of Oakridge.

oakridge,covid-19 clinic, vaccinations,bryan cutchen

Bryan Cutchen

The retired Navy admiral’s contract calls for renewal or nonrenewal by March 31. His continued employment had been expected as a mere formality until news broke Sunday that a faction of the Oakridge City Council had privately discussed letting Cutchen go, for reasons that remain murky and unexplained.

Wednesday night’s drama was a reaction to The Herald’s revelation of those secret talks. Mayor Kathy Holston, who released an open letter to the community Sunday warning that losing Cutchen would be “catastrophic” for Oakridge, called for the evening’s virtual (Zoom) meeting as a public forum on the matter.

And the public turned out in an electronic-age show of force never witnessed before in Oakridge. The gusher of adjectives in praise for Cutchen was overwhelming.

“Consistent, fair.”

“Absolutely truthful and honest.”

“Very organized.”

“An outstanding, admirable person.”

“I was shocked to hear there was any discussion of not renewing his contract,” said Oakridge banker Rustie Ackland.

“He is a no-nonsense leader,”  said Oakridge Chamber of Commerce President Lynda Kamerrer.

“He is more than competent,” said Oakridge School Board member Mikal McPherson.

The tributes poured forth for more than an hour before what may have been the most notable development of the evening. Councilor Bobbie Whitney broke her silence on the subject and issued an emotional testimonial to Cutchen’s performance.

“He is a fantastic administrator,” she said. “He’s a strong leader who is strongly supported by staff, which is new here.

“He has integrity. He is trustworthy and organized. He is a strong communicator who treats people with kindness.

“We’re lucky to have him.”

Meanwhile, the other five members of the council attended in stony silence. Throughout the forum not a word was uttered by Council President Christina Hollett, Audy Spliethof, Melissa Bjarnson, Michelle Coker or Dawn Kinyon.

Holston and Whitney, honoring the rules of executive sessions, have not divulged what their five colleagues said at last week’s closed meeting. As a policy, The Herald declines to attend such sessions because journalists who sit in on them must agree not to report what they hear. By not attending, The Herald remains ethically free to try to report what’s going on.

Hollett and her cohorts, who are new to the council, appear to have coalesced around an agenda that they have not shared with the public. Rumors about it are rife in Oakridge, but The Herald will report only what can be substantiated. All five have been asked for explanations, and only Coker has replied, denying comment.

Cutchen’s performance received only two negative assessments Wednesday night, both incoherent. The forum was followed by a lengthy executive session, after which Mayor Holston grimly announced there would be yet another executive session on March 16 and then adjourned the meeting.

Herald Editor Doug Bates is a retired newspaper journalist who lives in Oakridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Written by Doug Bates

March 11, 2021

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