This story was originally published on LincolnChronicle.org and is used with permission.
The start of Lincoln County’s first commission meeting of the year was somber as two commissioners recognized the sudden death Sunday of their colleague, Claire Hall. A bouquet of flowers sat at her space on the commission’s dais.
Hall, 66, died in a Portland hospital after months of dealing with health issues and the same week of a contentious election to possibly remove her from office. Now void, the Jan. 9 election would have been the first time in the county’s 132-year history that voters were being asked if a commissioner should be recalled from office.
Hall served as county commissioner for 21 years, building a reputation as an advocate for unhoused people and affordable housing, and was popular with progressives. She also publicly came out as transgender in 2018 while holding office. But the last year under her leadership was fraught with division and inspired a recall effort.
On Wednesday, commissioners Casey Miller and Walter Chuck shared words about the late commissioner during a virtual meeting that Miller later said should have been held in person.
Hall’s death was shocking, Miller said as he looked at the flowers and card he meant others to sign on the dais as he tuned in virtually to the meeting from the commission chambers. He and Hall had been at odds in the past year over a whole host of issues.
Miller said it was difficult to watch some of the hate that Hall endured for being transgender and said he always wanted any criticism of Hall to be about governance, not her as a person.
“I think we did a great job in this office, supporting Claire, respecting her, but it doesn’t change the fact that that would be certainly difficult for her and for us as her supportive team, to redirect people when they are in the wrong lane, when they are calling to resolve county issues,” Miller said.
Miller wanted people to think about all the positive things Hall had accomplished. She was also funny, loved baseball and Star Trek, Miller said.
“I really hope people take the time to think about the wonderful things that Claire did for this community and really take time to reflect on how hard it is for our trans community to be exposed to just awful things and stand up against those things,” Miller said. “I’m gonna miss Claire, we certainly didn’t agree on everything, but I respected a lot of work that she did, and she’ll be missed.”
Despite his condolences, Miller complained after the meeting about the unprecedented nature of it being held virtually when it was originally planned to be in-person. Miller tuned into the meeting from the county courthouse and said several other staff had tuned in from their courthouse offices.
Chuck shared that he was impressed by the outpouring of sentiments honoring Hall. Her loss was a loss for Lincoln County, he said.
“She was a tireless advocate for her community,” he said. “She will be missed.”
Chuck and Miller then had to come to an agreement on who would hold the chair position – the commissioner who helps set agendas and presides over meetings. Normally, the chair rotates yearly between commissioners, but Chuck had been filling in for Hall since her injuries in the late summer and health complications in the fall.
The other administrative roles that Hall had assumed in the continued absence of a county administrator were not decided Wednesday.
Chuck proposed that he and Miller alternate the role of Chair every other meeting. Miller proposed the two share the duties. In the end, the two agreed that Chuck would be chair the first meeting of the month and Miller would preside over the second meeting of the month.
Both commissioners are up for re-election in May. Earlier this year, Miller announced that he would run against Chuck but only Chuck, who was appointed last spring, has filed for election so far. It is unclear if Miller still intends to run against Chuck after Hall’s passing.
The process of filling Hall’s position will be discussed at the commission’s Jan. 21 meeting.
The Friday, Jan. 9 recall is basically void, county Clerk Amy Southwell told the Lincoln Chronicle. After getting in touch with the Secretary of State’s office, Southwell said Wednesday the ballots already cast do not need to be counted.
