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McMinnville resident says commissioner falsely accused him of leaking executive‑session information
Summary
James Goings told the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 19 that Commissioner King publicly accused him of revealing privileged information and implied Commissioner Johnston leaked from executive session; Goings demanded a public correction and apology, calling the allegations 'slanderous.'
At the start of the Feb. 19 session, resident James Goings addressed the Board of Commissioners and said comments made by Commissioner King at a Jan. 29 meeting had falsely identified him and accused him of revealing privileged information. Goings told the board the statements were untrue, that the material he cited in testimony came from publicly available sources, and asked the board to publicly correct the record and apologize.
Goings said, “At no time did I receive privileged information from commissioner Johnston or anyone else. Your statement were not only incorrect, they were slanderous.” He characterized such accusations as chilling to public participation and urged the board to hold public officials accountable when they make statements from the dais.
The chair acknowledged the comment during public comment but the hearing transcript does not record a public apology or retraction at that time.
