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Ashland Parks Recall Fails

City of Ashland

A recall election against three members of the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission failed at the polls Tuesday.  A long and bitter campaign failed to turn out commissioners Jim Lewis, Mike Gardiner, and Rick Landt. The first round of ballot counting showed little support for recall, with slightly less than 30 percent of the electorate voting yes. 

The recall campaign focused on the running of the Ashland Senior Center in Hunter Park.  Members of Ashland SOS (Support Our Seniors) objected to layoffs of center staff and the firing of the center manager. 

Gardiner, Landt, and Lewis said they saw problems with operations, and a need to reorganize Senior Center programs.  Each refused to resign from the Parks Commission, and each will now stay in office. 

Geoffrey Riley is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has hosted the Jefferson Exchange on JPR since 2009. He's been a broadcaster in the Rogue Valley for more than 35 years, working in both television and radio.