Cottage Grove Councilor Jon Stinnet announced his resignation this week.
Stinnet will be the fourth council member to leave office this year. Three others were recalled by voters this summer.
During Monday’s meeting, Stinnet said he was moving to Eugene. He said part of the reason he was leaving was the division in the community over homelessness.
“To me, the recall signaled that we’re done giving each other the benefit of the doubt – assuming that each of us has the best interest of our community at heart,” he said. “We decided that we were against three people, and we sent the message that if we do not agree with the way you vote, we will blame you personally and we will vilify you to your neighbors, to your community and to the world at large.”
Cottage Grove residents have been divided for months over two large homeless encampments that were recently cleared. Recall proponents argued the camps were magnets for drugs and crime and the city should have shut them down sooner.
The city council appointed Randell Lammerman, the only candidate who had filed to run for Stinnet’s seat, to replace him.
Six out of seven city council seats are up for election this November.
