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Claire Syrett exits the Eugene City Council

Claire Syrett speaking at the Sept. 26th Eugene City Council meeting
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Claire Syrett speaking at the Sept. 26th Eugene City Council meeting

The Eugene City Council meets Wednesday to discuss how to appoint an interim councilor in Ward 7 ahead of a 2023 election. The seat officially became vacant after Lane County Elections certified the results Monday of the Sept. 6 special election to recall ten-year councilor Claire Syrett. The final count showed 59% of Ward 7 voters opted for the recall.

Last week at her final meeting, Syrett expressed dismay that the district would be without a voice for perhaps months, but said she has deeper concerns.

“This kind of anti-democratic strategy to undermine and remove duly elected public officials should raise alarms for all who care about our representative democracy, regardless of your political affiliation or ideological point of view," she said. "This is just a harbinger of a future in which elections truly won’t matter unless we take action to combat this strategy.”

Syrett has withdrawn her lawsuit challenging the recall. According to a press release from the City of Eugene, the city council is required to fill the vacant position within 90 days. That person will serve until an election is held next May.

Representatives of the recall campaign did not respond to a request for comment regarding their hopes for the empty seat.

Karen Richards joined KLCC as a volunteer reporter in 2012, and became a freelance reporter at the station in 2015. In addition to news reporting, she’s contributed to several feature series for the station, earning multiple awards for her reporting.
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