Public commenter asks for ethics review of outgoing commissioner

During the public-comment period Jan. 13, Ellie Grimmie of District 5 asked the Lane County Board of Commissioners to initiate and be transparent about a formal review of the outgoing chair’s conduct, identifying Commissioner Lovell in her remarks and saying recent remarks at the state-of-the-county address were inappropriate and amounted to bullying.

Grimmie said she supported religious conviction but objected to what she described as “flagrant[ly] skirting the rules around separation of church and state” and “self‑aggrandizing promotion” during a recent public address. “It is bullying to use one’s position of power to make others feel unsafe at work or in their jobs,” she told the commissioners.

Her comments urged transparency about any review process and its outcome, but no formal board action or public response to initiate a review was recorded at the meeting.

Other public commenters during the meeting included a resident who spoke about local historical ties to Martin Luther King Jr. and Sarah Hunter of the Blue River Water District, who asked the board to fill a vacancy on her district’s board to restore quorum and allow the district to pay bills and conduct business.

The board did not take immediate action on the ethics request during the Jan. 13 meeting; Grimmie’s allegation therefore remains unresolved on the public record.