Timber Unity Concedes the Failure of Effort to Recall State Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell

Today was the deadline for critics of the rookie North Coast lawmaker to turn in signatures.

#Timber Unity sponsored the Vernonia Friendship Jamboree and Logging Show last weekend in Columbia County, Ore. (Courtesy of Timber Unity)
By Nigel Jaquiss

Organizers of the effort to recall state Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell (D-Astoria) conceded today their effort had failed.

Timber Unity, the populist uprising against House Bill 2020, the cap-and-trade climate legislation that failed earlier this year led an effort to recall Mitchell, a rookie lawmaker whose district includes prime logging on the North Coast.

Recall proponents needed 4,883 signatures in the 90 days ending Dec. 4, were no more successful than two failed efforts to recall Gov. Kate Brown earlier this year.

In a brief conversation Dec. 3, Darren Mead, chief petitioner for the recall, declined to say how many signatures his group had gathered or whether it had enough. "I've been kind of busy with work and the holiday," Mead told WW.

In a lengthy statement, Timber Unity blamed Mitchell and her supporters for thwarting their effort.

Mitchell said in she's happy the recall failed.

"I'm pleased to be able to continue working on the issues that matter here on the North Coast," Mitchell said in a statement. "Families in this district know that I'm fighting every day to listen to them, and to help protect their future. I appreciate that they know I'll always stand up for what's right."

Mitchell will be on the ballot again in 2020.

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