Ashland City Council meets again to fill vital city positions, amid council drama

ASHLAND, Ore. —The Ashland City Council met Tuesday to discuss filling major holes in the city administration. But in the process, the energy quickly shifted from the initial conversation to a back and forth about the city’s leadership.

The city attorney is retiring, and the acting city manager announced he is also leaving the city after decades of service. Last week the finance director also announced she’s leaving the city.

In Tuesday’s meeting, some councilors read personal derogatory emails, and social media posts directed towards Mayor Julie Akins.

“No counselor should be expected to remain silent in the face of the repeated dishonest and abusive actions in part on other elected officials,” said Stephen Jensen, Ashland City Councilor.

“I’m not vindictive because I don’t come to meetings and do 20-minute speeches about how somebody doesn’t have a right to be there who has been lawfully elected by the people,” said Julie Akins, Ashland Mayor.

Councilor Tonya Graham says nothing was decided in terms of the next steps to hire the vital open positions in the city administration.

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Jenna King is the 6pm and 11pm anchor for NBC5 News. Jenna is a Burbank, CA native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Business. During her time at Oregon she was part of the student-run television station, Duck TV. She also grew her passion for sports through her internship with the PAC 12 Network. When Jenna is not in the newsroom you can find her rooting for her hometown Dodgers, exploring the outdoors or binging on the latest Netflix release.
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