Commissioner Smith recuses herself from vacancy appointment, cites intimidation and political pressure

Commissioner Smith told the Josephine County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 16 that she is withdrawing from the process to appoint a replacement to the vacant commissioner seat, saying recent interactions left her feeling pressured and threatened.

"I have been intimidated, bullied, belittled, threatened, and pushed to participate in backroom deals," Smith said in a public statement she asked to be entered into the record. She said she would not make any appointment "outside of full public transparency" and chose to "preclude myself entirely from the appointment process" because she feared the perception of a backroom deal would damage public trust.

The remarks prompted an on‑the‑record exchange with the chair about attendance at recent meetings and statutory limits on political pressure. The chair referenced Oregon ethics statute language, saying political pressure alone is not a statutory reason to recuse. Legal counsel later clarified the county charter specifies Wednesday meetings and that changing the charter would require a public vote and a charter advisory committee.

No formal change to the appointment process occurred at the meeting. Commissioners recorded Smith—s recusal statement in the minutes and said legal counsel would provide additional guidance on how to proceed with the vacancy. A separate motion to reschedule the county—s weekly business sessions for 2026 was debated in part as a charter compliance issue and failed for lack of the required two voting members.

The public record shows the matter will proceed with additional legal advice; no appointment vote was taken at the Dec. 16 workshop.