LETTERS IN THE EDITOR’S MAILBAG: Wednesday’s paper

LETTERS IN THE EDITOR’S MAILBAG: Wednesday’s paper

Open meetings lawsuit was costly

It’s quite difficult when reading letters to the editor to know just who the writers represent. With that in mind, let me point out the roles of some of the players in the Lane County South Eugene District commissioner race:

Peter Sorenson, incumbent; Andy Stahl, candidate; Alan Leiman, Sorenson’s lawyer; Scott Bartlett, Sorenson mentor and former Lane County Budget Committee chairman; Rose Wilde, Sorenson supporter and county budget committee member.

Sorenson and North Eugene District Commissioner Rob Handy appointed Bartlett and Wilde to the budget committee, which included personal assistants for the commissioners in its budget.

And who were the biggest losers in the open meetings lawsuit filed against the commissioners in 2010?

Nonprofits, which did not receive historically budgeted monies — Willamette Treatment Center lost $200,000, Centro Latino Americano lost its total budget and Lane County Mental Health had its budget reduced — and county taxpayers, who paid $1.2 million for the lawsuit, including $350,000 for plaintiffs’ lawyers, $350,000 for defendants’ lawyers and $95,000 for the related Rudy Chiavarra settlement.

The money came from the county’s risk pool, which has to be repaid at the rate of 1.5 to 1 from the general fund. Each county department will be responsible for repaying the same percentage as it receives from the county budget. For example, the sheriff receives 44 percent of the budget and will repay approximately $528,000. Think of all the sheriff’s deputies and other county jobs that $1.2 million could have paid for.

KIERAN WALSH

Former South Eugene District

commissioner candidate

Eugene