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72 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 11, 2005 King ‘humbled’ as recall attempt fails to gain momentum By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune Repeated demands by Jackson County commissioners for the recall or resignation of embattled Justice of the Peace Robert King appear to be falling on deaf ears. "So far we have not had any serious calls for recall," says County Clerk Kathy Beckett. "I thought I would get a flood of calls. I’ve had two." Commissioner Dave Gilmour wants residents in Gold Hill, where King lives, to initiate the recall. "I would hope he’d get some peer pressure to do the right thing, and that would be to resign," Gilmour says. Gilmour says King’s June 2004 citation for marijuana possession makes him unfit for service. Advertisement "Perhaps (smoking marijuana) is considered acceptable behavior in Gold Hill," says Gilmour. "But we expect a certain amount of decorum from our elected officials." Gilmour’s comments have frustrated the town’s leadership. "Why is (Gilmour) picking on Gold Hill? Because (King) lives here? He’s the judge for the county," says Mayor Sherry Young. "They should be negotiating together to work out their problems. That’s what the rest of us do." King says he is grateful the community he has served for 26 years is standing by him. At least so far. "(The county) is putting pressure on me, my family and my community," says King. "The people of Gold Hill have stood by me to the point that I’m driven to my knees and I’m humbled by it." King admits using marijuana. But he says he was targeted in a June 2004 drug sting by the Jackson County Narcotics Enforcement Team because he refused to participate in the removal of the Justice Court from its 125-year location in Gold Hill. His allegation is flatly denied by Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters. King pleaded not guilty to possession of less than one-eighth of an ounce of marijuana and has completed his diversion program. But soon after King’s citation, Winters pulled his cases from King’s docket, and the court was later moved to Central Point. Although there is no statute requiring King to resign, Gilmour says King’s drug use terminates his right to retain his seat. "It’s not his place to violate the law and still be a judge," says Gilmour. "He was caught and nobody forced him (to purchase the marijuana). I don’t feel too sorry for him." King says buying and using marijuana to alleviate anxiety was "dumb." "I shot myself in the foot," says King. "But (the justice court restructuring) tripled my caseload three years from my retirement." King denies commissioners’ allegations that he failed to collect $200,000 in fines, adding he has "never had a complaint and very few appeals." Beckett says though King’s court was in Gold Hill, he did not work for the city. King was the county’s sole justice of the peace for years. As an elected county official, King could face recall initiated from anywhere in the county, she says. "But it would be better if it were in the northern part (of the county)," she says. Recall statutes allow signature collectors 90 days to gather a certain number of signatures, says Beckett. The Elections Office then has 10 days to verify them. If the recall qualifies for the ballot, King would have 10 days to resign or write a 200-word statement as to why he should not be recalled, which would be placed on the ballot, she says. Commissioner C.W. Smith also believes King should resign. But Smith says the commissioners can only voice their opinions. King is an "independently elected official" and the commissioners cannot fire him or force a recall. "The people are speaking by their silence," says Smith. Gilmour says paying King’s salary and benefits will cost the county $245,000 by the end of King’s term in 2009, he says. Gilmour is not backing off, he says. "All we can do is apply pressure," he says. Mayor Young says the situation is "all about political maneuvering." The removal of the Justice Court from Gold Hill cost the community $10,000 in rental income from which it is struggling to recover, she added. "The county and Judge King have a problem going on and (the county) wants us to settle it — and pay for it," says Young. "It’s not our position to recall him. Personally, I think a recall is a waste of time and money." Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s