This deserves some more critical attention. I know of no acceptable defense for terminating the services of a competent and highly praised civil servant... but I'd love Ted Wheeler to try and provide one.

I'd be emailing Mr. Wheeler quotes from The Wit and Wisdom of Chairman Linn except that his link from the Multnomah County page is non-functional (as is Jeff Cogen's).

Larry,

Commissioner Cogen's website is

www.commissionercogen.com. Sorry, too fast on the typing.

Elections Directors are very important people doing highly technical work. Wheeler should explain why this happened.

To the Editor

As a citizen of Multnomah County I am absolutely amazed and disappointed by the actions of our County elected officials. I see in today's paper that top county officials have forced out John Kauffman the Director of the Elections Division. I have worked with Mr. Kauffman for many years both as the County Clerk in Clackamas County and then as the head of Multnomah County elections. He is one of the most well respected and knowledgeable elections officials in the United States. His reputation is unblemished, his ethics unquestioned and his experience unequaled. As we head into one of the most contentious primary elections in this states (and countries) history what do our county elected officials do? Use his knowledge and experience? No! They force him out and kick him to the curb. What a foolish thing for them to do. I had hoped for better even from this inexperienced and untested leadership in Multnomah County. Ted says it is John' choice NOT to work beyond the 1080 hours set by PERS. since Vikki Irwin is limited to the same time - why don't they share the time - we would be well served to have both of these highly qualified indiviuals overseeting this highly political election. Hopefully our County Commissioners will step in and beg Mr. Kauffman to come back and see us through this entire election cycle, both the primary and the general.

Anything less, than the best is unacceptable.

I’m curious why a new director wasn’t chosen when Mr. Kauffman retired in June 2007. Seems like it would have been better to bring on a new person before you're in the middle of a Presidential election. Doesn’t seem like very good succession planning.

Sorry, Ted, but your post doesn't make sense. Anyone who knows Cecilia Johnson can figure out that John's objections to Cecilia's bad budget decisions led to his abrupt departure. You seem to be willfully misinformed about what is happening at the county. Any election night screw ups should be laid at your door.

Count me as another citizen who wants to thank John for his long and honorable service to the voters of Oregon.

Something that has been overlooked in the prior discussion -- Vicki Erwin Paulk retired in 2002, the year the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) passed and has been on the sidelines ever since. During this challenging transition John Kauffman has had a leadership role in implementing this key election reform in Oregon. John served effectively on the state HAVA Steering Committee. In addition, Mary Schultz has been a long-standing member of the Disabilities Task Force of the Oregon HAVA committee. Their insights and experience will be missed not only in Multnomah County but throughout Oregon.

It is disgraceful that these two dedicated public servants were not afforded a more appropriate sendoff than this summary dismissal.

I am concerned that the voters will suffer for the arbitrary ill-informed decision-making on the part of Ted Wheeler. For one thing, I would like to know why programs for disabled voters were targeted for cuts -- hasn't the county Chair read the provisions of the Help America Vote Act regarding the right of disabled voters to cast a ballot privately and independently?

I, too, have worked for John Kauffman and always applauded his treatment and support of his employees plus his ability to do a great job without getting involved in the politics of the county. I wish the best in the future for him and his family.

I got to know John Kauffman when he was clerk in Clackamas County, and I was a candidate and Democratic Party official. Though John was a Democrat [who later became unaffiliated] his administration of the elections office was always fair and professional. He neither favored Democrats nor discriminated against them in order to demonstrate his non-partisanship - the latter has seemed to me to be more prevalent in Oregon than the former.

Ted Wheeler claims The Oregonian got it wrong, and lord knows, that is not uncommon, but the flow of statements from Multco bosses suggests this was an administrative snafu. I am open to considering otherwise, but it would take a credible timeline of actions and motivations to be believable. Let's hope the primary election in the county is not screwed up because of this disruption.

Sorry to hear Mr. Kauffman had his feelings hurt in the way this transition was handled. I hope he enjoys the rest of his retirement. I am doubtful that this transition will have any impact whatsoever on the elections. Experienced people are being brought it to work on the election and the transition to new managment. Ted Wheeler is the first real manager the County has had in a long time (ever?). Why don't you all just simmer down, and let him do his job.

Frank,

The first rule of "real managers" is If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It.

The "simmer down and let him do his job" sentiment has been used to cover inept and/or incompetent decision makers from Diane Linn and Bernie Giusto up the chain of command to Condeleeza Rice and George W. Bush.

The nature of elected office is that you answer to your constituents and, at this level of democracy at least, we get to scrutinize and criticize to our hearts' content.

Thank you Mr. Wheeler. I am willing to admit that I did not have all the inside information. As I am certainly no "insider" when it comes to Multco, I just pay taxes that support the county I do not make the decisions.

It just seems weird to me that of all the management people who should have been laid off Mary Shultz was certainly not one of them. I went back and read some of the old information regarding Cecilia Johnson and her rather scandalous past. What part of the Oregonian quote "Johnson was concerned about Kauffman's leadership and thought his objections to some of her decisions regarding budget cuts could undermine the smooth transition to a new director" did I misunderstand? Sounds pretty negative to me. This from a person who paid no maintenance, insurance or gas bills for her county car used for personal use and paid no taxes on the benefit! Seems to me like we could use less of her and a lot more of Mary Shultz and John Kauffman.

Vikki Irwin was and will be a great elections director, another example of excellent leadership in that position. I don't know who from Virginia is coming in; I must assume they will be up to the task. But----I stand by my original position that we need experience, competence and integrity during this up coming election cycle as it promises to be quite controversial. From what I see posted here - everyone trusts and respects John.

Bring him back!

Right on Larry!

Frank, simmer down is insulting and so is the "hurt feelings" comment. This is about elections itegrity NOT about feelings.

Just had to say that!

To suggest that the election will lack integrity because Wheeler canned a couple of bureaucrats seems a little over-the-top to me. I am sure these folks who are leaving were good people and all, but seriously, is their departure really going to make a difference in the election? Fat chance.

Specifics, please? How is it that the departure of these two guys is going to damage the election process?

Frank:

These "two guys" are actually a man and a woman -- get your basic facts right, at least.

These two are actually experienced managers who have provided leadership not only in Multnomah county but statewide in election administration. In addition, John Kauffman has served on national technical standards committees so we are not talking about people who are easily replace.

Instead of these two seasoned veterans who are well versed in Oregon election law and administrative procedures, we are going to have Vicki Erwin Paulk who is experienced in Multnomah county elections but has been on the sidelines while important changes like the statewide online voter registration database has been implemented. Vicki is going to be providing part-time consulting to guide the new guy from Virginia who has no experience with Vote By Mail and comes from a jurisdiction that does not even have a paper trail.

This is not a reassuring picture as we head into the May primary in a presidential election year. I would like to see more continuity in leadership and John's steady guidance at least until the primary is over.

So there are no seasoned veterns left at county elections? These were the only ones? Sorry, I don't buy it. Kauffman is retired now, if he feels his expertise so irreplaceable, why doesn't he volunteer his time to help out with the transition?

The two top managers just got ushered out the door rather unceremoniously -- just days before the overseas ballots are due to go out. And the newbie from Virginia starts Monday 4/7.

I don't think that John thinks his expertise is irreplaceable -- but he wasn't given an option one way or the other. He just wanted to have some overlap with the new hire so there would be a smooth transition and had planned to stay on for a little longer to make sure it happened.

Mr. Wheeler needs to understand that County Government is NOT a widget factory. He must supervise his supervisors. I think this Johnson woman needs some serious supervision since she ran down pedestrians and had accidents with a publicly owed vehicle.

Vicki has not been around since 02. She needs Johns help. The new guy who has never seen VBM needs all the help he can get from both of these talented individuals.

Frank - you need to pack in your hateful rhetoric towards John and take a look at elections ethics. Oregon will be pivotal in the national and state wide elections. Multnomah County will set the tone for decades in Oregon. It is not that these individuals are irreplaceable it is that they have value. Their experience with VBM is incalculable. Why should we as taxpayers allow this talent to go unused? Only a conservative right wing, non-thinker would want us to turned into another Florida. I am sure that is not your intent.

The loss of votes in Multco will mean more power will be turned over to areas of the state that do not share our values. Now this may be ok with some but not with me. I am with Becky - Bring them both back - too much knowledge is never a bad thing in my humble opinion.

Ralph

There was nothing hateful in any of my posts. I think you all are making much ado about nothing. There's no evidence that anything is amiss at Elections, or that there is an election catastrophe in the making due to a couple of folks getting let go. Thanks to Kauffman for his great service, but it's time to hand over the reins to someone else.

Chair Wheeler has given inconsistent and changing reasons why Mr. Kauffman was let go " I would have been pleased to have Mr. Kauffman stay on through the general election in November, but that would have required Mr. Kauffman to work reduced hours in order to be in compliance with PERS rules. Regardless, Mr. Kauffman declined to work beyond June 30 (this was not mentioned in the Oregonian story), meaning there would have only been a short overlap between himself and his successor, and he would not be available at all for the general election in November" But wasn't the agreement that he stay just through the primary? When did Ted Wheeler decide he should stay for the general election? Is it Mr. Kauffman's fault that the county conducted a long drawn out hiring process? They knew that John had agreed only to stay through June. So, Ted was concerned there would be a short overlap between the experienced leader of election and the new guy who has never dealt with mail in only ballots. So, he fires the election director. And hires yet another former Bev Stein employee, who has been out of the game during critical changes over the past few years. That was the best choice for the county? Really? I think the real reason was found in Cecilia Johnson's quote in the O. John Kauffman was doing his job and warning against unwise budget decisions, so he was tossed out in order to "smooth the transition". Doesn't Ted think that sends a very clear message to the rest of the county employees? Don't speak up or you're out.

Frank, you are dead wrong. The time to make the change was after a hard fought and likely contentious primary. There was absolutely no reason to do it now. Do you really believe it is just coincidental that Kauffman was let go after he blew the whistle on a bad personnel move and the end of a successful voter outreach program?

Will we have an election meltdown? Probably not. Probably everything will go fine. Probably because of the rules and procedures put in place by Kauffman.

But why take a chance just before what is going to be the most contentious presidential primary in decades, a hard fought Senate race, and a set of hard fought city council contests?

And your suggestion that Kauffman volunteer his time after the County gave him a big f-you is really unbelievable.

A few of you seem to think Wheeler fired Kauffman. He didn't, Johnson did. And it appears Kauffman and Johnson had it out for each other.

In addition, I don't see what is inconsistent or changing about the statement Wheeler gave, jks. You seem to be taking this a bit personally.

While it's clear that a mistake was made, let's not start making things up.

I agree with jks711 "I think the real reason was found in Cecilia Johnson's quote in the O. John Kauffman was doing his job and warning against unwise budget decisions, so he was tossed out in order to "smooth the transition". "

Wheeler's problem is Johnson. Elections was one of the county departments that actually worked -- and did an excellent job -- until she started tinkering with it. She was clearly furious that Kauffman had gone to talk to Wheeler -- which is why he found her waiting in his office to tell him he had to leave well before the primary.
And that whole story about Mary is highly suspicious. You don't suddenly discover you have a budget problem and lay off a respected manager by escorting them to the door. That's what you do to someone you're firing.
And it's what Wheeler should do to managers like Johnson.

Right on DV. Linn should have fired Johnson when she used a county vehicle as a weapon and as her personal possession instead of property owned by the taxpayers. She has left quire a trail of victims. Some she ran down, some she just victimized in the workplace and some she just fired to get then out of her way. Someone needs to do the same to her! I hear from county workers that this woman is heck on wheels creating havoc wherever she lands. As a taxpayer I am sick of paying for her damage. Send her packing and bring back Mary, John and Vicki too if she is needed.

Right on DV. Linn should have fired Johnson when she used a county vehicle as a weapon and as her personal possession instead of property owned by the taxpayers. She has left quire a trail of victims. Some she ran down, some she just victimized in the workplace and some she just fired to get then out of her way. Someone needs to do the same to her! I hear from county workers that this woman is heck on wheels creating havoc wherever she lands. As a taxpayer I am sick of paying for her damage. Send her packing and bring back Mary, John and Vicki too if she is needed.

bfp,

Wheeler is reponsible for the job done by Johnson, who manages for him. If her actions are inconsistent with his words, it's up to him to straighten out the situation.

My understanding is that she's already poised and ready to go with her lawyer for a discrimination lawsuit if she's asked to leave. I assume that's the reason Linn didn't fire her and likely the reason Wheeler hasn't.

It's one of the reasons gov't entities have such a difficult time getting rid of crappy employees.

Who hired her anyway?