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This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the state.
A dispute over the May election for the Umpqua Public Transportation District board remains unresolved and will continue to be so through the board’s next scheduled meeting on July 21.
As the Oregon Journalism Project reported, Todd Vaughn, an incumbent member of the district, and CEO Ben Edtl are contesting Vaughn’s apparent loss to challenger Natasha Atkinson (“Bus Project,” OJP, July 9). Vaughn filed a petition in Douglas County Circuit Court on June 24 seeking judicial review of the result; Douglas County Clerk Dan Loomis filed a response July 2 defending the process and outcome of the election.
But any resolution may be a long way off: The court responded July 11 by saying it had trial dates available but not before January.
Edtl says it’s unclear whether Vaughn will be seated at the July 21 meeting or how the board will handle the disputed result. “We are trying to figure out what to do,” Edtl says. “But I know this: there are going to be fireworks.”
