The Bend City Council voted 5-2 that Casey Roats is qualified to be a Bend City Councilor. The City held a special City Council meeting Monday afternoon (December 1, 2014) to vote on Casey Roats’ qualification.
Casey Roats when announcing his candidacy said he was a small business owner, fourth-generation and lifelong Bend resident. He is part-owner of Roats Water System, a privately-owned water utility company that has operated in southeast and southwest Bend since 1962.
Questions rose during the recent election about Casey Roats’ eligibility to run for a Bend city council seat. Roats had temporarily moved outside the city into his parents home east of Bend while building a home within the city limits.
Despite the questions Roats was elected by Bend voters in November for an open seat winning 44.57 percent of the vote, over second-place finisher Lisa Seales, who earned 42.05 percent in the four-way race.
The City of Bend Charter does state a councilor must have resided within the city limits for the 12 months immediately preceding his or her election to office. The city’s charter also states “the council is the final judge of the election and qualifications of councilors,” which gave the City Council the right to interpret what it means to reside in the city.
Roats has explained that he did not rent or own a residence outside the city and that his residency with his parents was only temporary.
However, local attorney Charlie Ringo, founder of Bend Good Government Committee (a PAC that supported candidates including Roats’ opponent Lisa Seales) filed suit against Roats. Ringo suggested that Roats had lied on his candidate application form. A complaint was filed with the Deschutes County Circuit Court and during the city council meeting on Monday Judge Ropger DeHoog dismissed Ringo’s complaint suggesting that he could re-file and challenge the council’s ruling.
Following a sometimes contentious debate and review of state and local laws, Councilor Mark Capell moved that Casey Roats is qualified to be a city councilor for Bend. Councilor Scott Ramsay seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-2, with Councilors Doug Knight and Mayor Jim Clinton opposed.
The findings will be adopted on Wednesday, December 3, at a regular City Council meeting.
The politics of this issue has gotten in the way of what the voters decided…to elect Casey Roats to city council…knowing he was temporarily living with his parents. Roats, a community volunteer, local business owner and lifelong resident of Bend, should be able to take office in January without further lawsuits or complaints and let the council get on with the business of running the city.
