Commissioners apologize for unruly meeting

Citizens sounded off at the Aug. 14 Josephine County Commissioners’ meeting after the prior week’s session devolved into disruption and disorderly conduct, which embattled Board Chair John West accepted full responsibility for.
Both meetings were held at the Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass.
It was during JoCo Veterans’ Services Program Director Lisa Pickard’s presentation on the need for a levy to fund her department that proceedings went off the rails. Pickard accused the board of defunding veteran’s services, while they maintained that she had endorsed the decisions that led to the department’s declining budget.
The combative exchange led West and Pickard to speak over each other as they debated whether the left should be referred to the November ballot, or an advisory question asking voters to weigh in on whether they would support a levy of $0.05 per $1,000 assessed property value.
At one point, Pickard violated meeting rules by prompting the audience, composed of over a dozen veterans, to indicate whether they supported the levy. Audience demonstrations are prohibited during county business sessions.
A frequent attendee of county meetings, Victor Zeitsev, rebuked Pickard for a “serious lack of professionalism.” In his view, Pickard “proceeded to incite and foment her gang of around 20 also ill-mannered followers into an insurrection of the proceedings.”
After Zeitsev spoke at the Aug. 7 meeting, expressing his opposition to the levy, he said he was accosted by an attendee who was allegedly told by Pickard that Zeitsev was armed with a handgun. The altercation resulted in security intervening and the individual who confronted Zaitsev being ejected from the auditorium by West.
“Her actions endangered my life, the safety of all in attendance, and I demand her immediate removal from that position and termination from county employment,” Zaitsev stated.
After testimony from the veterans in attendance, the board voted to refer the levy to the November ballot.
West, who is the subject of a recall based on several allegations of unethical behavior, apologized for allowing the meeting to spiral out of control.
“Victor, I want to apologize to you and to every citizen of Josephine County,” remarked West. “As the board chair, I failed you in that meeting. It was my responsibility to take control of the meeting, not to allow the meeting to get out of hand. So I take 100% responsibility for that. I didn’t do my job properly and it won’t happen again.
“I was trying to be cordial because we don’t get the veterans, the vets here very often. We get some, but not a group like that. And I was trying to give latitude and by my kindness, other people took advantage of it and it got out of hand. And instead of me reining it in, I thought that maybe we could get through that, but it didn’t. So I will never ever allow that to happen again. This board will be respected; the process will be respected.”