Transparency

Lincoln County deserves open, accountable leadership. Several concrete transparency concerns have emerged over the past year—each supported by public records, meeting videos, or county documents. These are the five most significant:

1. Secretly Stepped Down Just Hours After Administrator Appointment.
Just hours after County Commission Chair Claire Hall was appointed as Acting County Administrator by the BOC on November 5, 2025, she stepped down from the role, and designated HR Director David Collier to the role. Why did Chair Hall not alert the public that she was going to step away from the role that very day? And why did she not even alert her fellow Commissioners she had done this? Is this being accountable to her constituents? See our Who's Actually Running the County? page for details.

2. Undisclosed Votes on the DA Hiring Freeze.
Hall is making key decisions restricting staffing in the District Attorney’s Office were made without public discussion or a recorded vote, leaving residents without a clear explanation of who decided what—or why.

3. Silencing and Limiting a Commissioner’s Participation.
Hall has allowed, and even encouraged Commissioner Miller to be repeatedly prevented from speaking, asking questions of County Counsel, raise Motions, or discussing his agenda items. These actions weaken public deliberation and undermine open decision-making, and violate the requirements in ORS 192.620, and ORS 192.630(2), that deliberations and decisions, be made openly. See our Basic Fairness page to watch the five short videos.

4. Long-Standing Audit Weaknesses.
Hall has failed to address the fact that the last four annual audits identified serious material weaknesses and repeat deficiencies—issues that require corrective action but have persisted for years without clear public accountability. See our Four Failed Audits page to read the audit summaries.

5. Secret Investigation of an Elected Official.
Hall allowed the County to spend approximately $65,000 on an investigation of Commissioner Miller without a public vote, public notice, or affording Miller the opportunity for a public hearing, despite his right to one under ORS 192.660(2)(b). See our Miller Investigation page for details.

Many of these issues listed above are also documented on our home page so voters can review the evidence directly and decide what best serves Lincoln County.

Last updated 1/4/26 9:18pm