Campaign to remove Oregon City's top elected official turns in more than required 2,400 signatures

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On Sept. 8, members of the committee to recall Oregon City Mayor Dan Holladay Dan Holladay submitted 2,467 signatures to City Hall for verification.

"The campaign is thrilled by the community's positive response to the mass mailer we sent out last week," said Holladay Recall Campaign Manager Adam Marl. "With the outpouring of support that we have seen, especially in the last few days, I am confident that we will qualify for the ballot. Fellow Oregon City voters: Get ready, because together, we are going to recall Dan Holladay this November."   

Recall campaign organizers say that hundreds more signatures are pouring in every day to ensure that the 2,400 required number of valid signatures get in before the Sept. 21 deadline. They expect more than 3,000 valid signatures in the final count.

Holladay's attempt to get people to use the recall campaign's pre-paid envelopes to show their mayoral support apparently backfired. Holladay has responded to critics by advocating that his possible supporters should hijack recall campaign materials to criticize the campaign.

City Recorder Kattie Riggs said she took the signatures to the Clackamas County Elections Office for verification. Signature verification is set for completion on Oct. 1, and then Holladay will have until Oct. 6 to resign or else face the recall election.

"If they have met the required minimum number of signatures, then we are looking at a recall election date of Nov. 10, 2020," Riggs said. "If the mayor is recalled, the Commission President (Rachel Lyles Smith) will serve as the temporary chair (to lead meetings). There would need to be another election for a replacement mayor."

A special election would be held to elect a new mayor on March 9, 2021, if Holladay is removed from office.

Those who have not yet signed and returned their signature sheet can mail it back to the recall campaign on or before Tuesday, Sept. 15. After that date, recall organizers recommend citizens deliver their signature sheets personally to 411 Fifth St., Oregon City, any time before Sept. 21.