Perennial Council Candidate Ron Boozell Joins Lawsuit Against Casey Roats and City of Bend

A lawsuit spearheaded by local attorney Charlie Ringo, seeking to prevent the certification of councilor-elect Casey Roats, has gained a new plaintiff—one of Roats' three opponents in the race for position 6, Ron "Rondo" Boozell.

Ringo says the move was made in response to court concerns that the original plaintiff, Foster Fell, did not have standing as a voter to challenge the election.

Boozell, who has previously called for city councilors who endorsed a candidate in the four-way race to recuse themselves from ruling on Roats' qualifications or appointing a replacement, says he is taking a stand for fairness. 

He tells the Source:

"It is my position that the City of Bend has not yet facilitated a fair election this year for the seat of position six on our Council. Most of our sitting Councilors actively involved themselves or publicly endorsed candidates in campaigns for a council candidate on the ballot in my race. The City of Bend has a simple residency requirement for filing for office. This is not how we define residency; Business Address, PO Office Box, Strange-neighbors, nor is residency defined by intent. The story has already been told. The confession has been heard. Lisa and Richard and I qualified. The residents and businesspeople of Bend have legitimate questions why the one candidate who did not qualify gets special closed-door consideration. The people of Bend wonder why one class gets special treatment by this Council...and why others always seem to get shut out."

City Council will hold a special session to deliberate and decide on whether Roats' is qualified to serve on City Council. If qualified, his election will be certified during the Dec. 3 City Council meeting. If he is not qualified, the Council will have 30 days from the date Jodie Barram vacates her seat to appoint a replacement. For more on this story, see this week's issue, on stands and online tomorrow.