New mayor of Oakland 'humbled' by election.

Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

OAKLAND - Nanci Staples said she is "very, very humbled" at being elected this town's first mayor in nearly a year.

Staples, a two-year resident and Douglas County Veterans Services Office assistant, captured 51 percent of the vote in a four-way race for the city's top post. The position has been vacant since former Mayor Jim Baird was removed from office along with two city council members in a November 2005 recall election. That vote left just two councilors - Jackie McCarty and Myra Weber - in office.

The pair, who'd been on opposite sides of the recall effort, never could agree on filling the vacancies and ran the city as a tense, two-woman quorum that was unprecedented in state history.

McCarty was also a candidate for mayor, capturing 24 percent of the vote. Planning commission member Wayne Harger finished third with 16 percent, and former Mayor Frieda Smith had 8 percent. Final unofficial election results showed that 382 of Oakland's 580 registered voters cast their mail-in ballots - a turnout of 66 percent.

"With a situation like this, the best thing to do is dig in and start over," Staples said of the city's yearlong political standoff. "We need to evaluate basically everything."

The mayor-elect, who did not support the recall, said she hopes to involve three newly elected council members - as well as all interested Oakland residents - in the rebuilding effort.

"I don't think any idea could be discounted," she said.

To that end, she plans to hold monthly open houses at City Hall so city residents can "stop by, have a conversation, and bring up concerns."

Staples said she hopes a united council can find some solutions to problems such as rising water rates.

"We need to check out the contracts we have and see where we can correct, relieve or update," she said.

Two of the three councilors elected this week - Jana Cunningham and Linda Boddy West - were recall advocates. Both supported Staples for mayor. A third new candidate, Andrea Botwinick, is the daughter of recalled City Councilor Karen Copeland and supported McCarty for mayor.

Botwinick said this week, however, that she believes the new council can "work together and move forward."

"I think it's important for the city that we do that," she said. "I'm hoping that we all can listen to each other and be respectful and move forward in pulling the city back together."

Staples said she will lead an effort to update the Oakland City Charter, including changing provisions that prevent voters from holding a special election to choose a new mayor and replacement councilors when elected officials cannot agree on appointments. "Our charter is something we need to look at because it's our guiding light," she said.

She also wants to start a monthly newsletter to send city residents with their water bills, keeping them informed about council business and city issues.

Staples said she is reserving judgment on Oakland Police Chief Norm Counts, the subject of disciplinary action by the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. The panel seeks revocation of Counts' certification as a police officer.

According to court documents, the state cites Counts' firing for disobeying repeated orders to complete a physical required for a previous post as a corrections officer with the Warm Springs Police Department. Counts has filed an appeal disputing that allegation.

Staples said it would be inappropriate for her to comment on the case before her Jan. 2 inauguration and before Counts' appeal is resolved.

Staples said Oakland has "great potential" and pointed to the town's planning commission as a model of harmonious local government.

While new to Oakland, Staples had lived nearby in Douglas County for more than 25 years.

Since moving to the historic community in 2004, she has served on the city's budget committee and planning commission.

She graduated from Shasta College in Redding, Calif., where she earned degrees in business, general education and real estate. She has worked as an escrow secretary, title officer, loan officer, real estate broker, collections agent, insurance agent, meter reader and Mary Kay cosmetics saleswoman.