Police
Chief Targeted
for Termination?
Recall of 3 City Councilors Started in Gold Hill
Over Row
By US~Observer
Staff
Gold
Hill, OR
- On January 9th, 2006 at a regularly scheduled Gold Hill city council
meeting local resident Scott Baker began the public business section
of the council's agenda with an announcement that he would be seeking
to recall three of the council members.
Baker,
from behind the podium facing the council stated, "I'm here to
inform you guys that I'd like Gus Wolf, Jan Fish and Donna Silva to
resign from city council. Through your inability to keep the city first,
as well as city departments, the police department, public works and
city hall. You three have lied ... You have a choice to either step
down or face a recall for inappropriate behavior in and out of city
council."
![](images/wolf.jpg)
Councilman Gus Wolf
Councilman
Gus Wolf, who’s known by some as an alleged ex-cocaine user, asked
Baker as he was leaving the podium if he would explain how he had lied.
Baker turned and asked Wolf, "Gus, do you support the police department?"
Wolf
immediately responded, "I do."
"You
couldn't answer that in the last council meeting." Baker retorted.
"I
don't know what you're talking about, Scott." Wolf replied.
Pointing
a finger at Wolf, Baker said, "You lied again ... Somebody asked
you four times in the last city council meeting whether you supported
the police department or not. And you couldn't answer them.”
![](images/silva.jpg)
Councilwoman Donna Silva
The
row began several months earlier when Gold Hill's appointed Judge Don
Leahan reported to the Medford Mail Tribune that the Gold Hill police
department were citing people to fund another officer, and more so,
increasing their ticketing to meet this end. In statements made by Judge
Leahan he said that he "... wasn’t elected to be a pawn for
the City Council or the police department," and that if he found
55 people waiting for him with tickets he'd, "dismiss everything
because I smell a rat."
The
explanation for the increase in tickets was justified. According to
police chief Dean Muchow they had more officers working and they were
asked by the local school to patrol the school zone as the school year
had just gotten underway. But council members Fish, Silva and Wolf didn't
seem to accept the explanation from the chief at the December 19th,
2005 council session which was assembled to deal with the increasingly
public infighting between the judge and police chief.
![](images/fish.jpg)
Councilwoman
Jan Fish
Ignoring
the public at the council session who all called for the council to
back the police department, the three council members went so far as
to say that they felt the judge had done nothing wrong. Fish especially
attacked chief Muchow throughout the session and the final determination
by the council was that the judge should receive a letter stating their
displeasure with his comments to the media and that it should then be
business as usual, a ruling the public attending were infuriated by.
Since
the December 19th session the three council members, who are all friends
of Judge Leahan, have stepped up their attacks on Chief Muchow, trying
to find some way to oust him, and perhaps the whole department.
Armed
with information, uncovered by a US~Observer investigation in the matter,
of a phone call by city recorder Mary Goddard to a police union representative
investigative journalist Ron Lee took to the podium immediately following
Baker.
![](images/mary-goddard.jpg)
City Recorder Mary Goddard
Lee
approached and said, "Good evening council ... I'm here to make
public certain moves by this council in regard to the police department
... I have a couple questions for Mary Goddard, if that's appropriate."
With no objections he continued, "Mary Goddard is it true you recently
contacted the police union rep Wayne Botta to inquire what the payoff
would be to fire both Sgt. Hobart and Chief Muchow and disband the police
department only to reform it 30 days later with officer Hanson as head
officer? What was the outcome of this conversation? Is this something
the entire council agreed upon? If not who put you up to the phone call?"
Wolf
jumped in stating, "What are we doing this here for? I mean why
is he grilling our ... recorder?"
Raising
her hand and then speaking, Kathleen Price, another Gold Hill city council
member said, "Well, I'd like to know ..."
Lee
went on to say, "I think this is something that should be made
public."
After
a tirade by Gold Hill public works director Royle Gasso, an alleged
ex-heroine addict and felon, who interjected out of turn, Wolf asked
Lee, "Why are we even wasting time with you?"
After
much back and forth debate regarding media and feeling like the city
council was being attacked Gasso, once again out of turn, gave what
appeared to be approval to answer the question by saying, "Answer
the question but this is the ... I've been here nine years and I've
never seen anything like this. This is bizarre."
Wolf
added, in what some considered an astonishing confession, "This
is not city government, folks. I don't know what it is but it is not
city government."
Wolf
went on to state that he was the one who asked Goddard for "information
about disbanding the police department.” He went on to say that
this was something he was pursuing and that he was entertaining all
options.
The
public heard for themselves that there are board members more involved
with their own personal agendas than dealing with city business at hand.
They also heard evidence blatantly presented that Wolf's reply to Scott
Baker's earlier question, "do you support the police department"
was in fact a lie. "Support" in an English dictionary just
doesn't lend credence to any interpretation Wolf might try to say he
was speaking of by saying that he did support them.
The
recall paperwork was filed January 31st, 2006 and Baker needs 61 signatures
for each council member. He hopes to gather quite a few more as he says
he knows the good people of Gold Hill truly do support their police
department, as well as the good man, Dean Muchow, who is its chief.
![](images/DeanMuchow3.jpg)
Police Chief
Dean Muchow
Call
Gold Hill City Hall - (541) 855-1525 and let them know what YOU think!
Email them
- recorder@ci.goldhill.or.us.