Oregon City resident Arin Marcus, who led one of two recall efforts against former Gov. John Kitzhaber in 2015, has filed paperwork to petition for the removal of Gov. Kate Brown from office.

Marcus said Brown should resign, instead of seeking reelection in 2018, because of what he characterizes as Oregon Democrats’ overreach.

“Enough is enough,” Marcus said. “Oregon can’t survive with the overreach that the Democratic Party has unleashed in the last few weeks alone.”

Marcus said the governor led the effort to pass “unconstitutional” taxes and manipulate the voter referral process during the legislative session, which ended July 7. He said he also blames Brown for the death of Robert Lavoy Finicum during authorities’ crackdown on the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January 2016 and the unnecessary separation of families in an overaggressive state foster care system.

Thomas Wheatley, campaign manager for Brown’s campaign, said the governor “welcomes the chance to stand on her record – protecting health care, balancing the budget and delivering a game-changing plan to fix our roads and bridges,” referring to a $5.3 billion transportation funding package the Legislature passed earlier this month.

“The governor is proud to live in a state that provides voters the opportunity to express their opinions and freely support or oppose their elected representatives,” Wheatley added.

Marcus sought to recall Kitzhaber in 2015 because the then-governor did not intervene in Marcus’s child custody case, according to news reports at the time. A judge, relying on advice from DHS, removed his son from his custody and forcibly adopted him out, he said.

Marcus, who is involved with the Safer Oregon Political Action Committee, said he has about 100 email subscribers and a Facebook page but had no contributions, website or signatures as of the afternoon of Tuesday, July 11.

He said the recall effort is nonpartisan.

Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, a presumptive candidate for governor in 2018, declined to comment on the recall effort.

To get a recall on the ballot, Marcus will need to collect signatures from 291,907 registered voters — 15 percent of the number of votes cast in the 2016 gubernatorial election.

Paris Achen

Portland Tribune Capital Bureau

503-385-4899

email: pachen@portlandtribune.com

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