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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Madore fails to stop county ordinance from taking effect

Contracts for HR investigations don’t have to be publicized

By , Columbian political reporter
Published:

An ordinance that eliminates a requirement for Clark County to publicize contracts for human resources investigations has gone into effect after former county Councilor David Madore failed to collect 19,351 valid signatures needed to refer the measure to a public vote.

The ordinance, approved in November on a 3-2 vote, was crafted after County Manager Mark McCauley entered into contracts with outside investigators to look into human resources complaints. McCauley had been hesitant to post these documents online, and the ordinance eliminated the requirement that such contracts be posted to its website going forward.

The ordinance was opposed by then-councilors Tom Mielke and Madore, who had both been subjects of these investigations and frequently clashed with the rest of the council.

Madore responded by using a provision of the county’s home rule charter that allows an ordinance to be temporarily suspended if at least 100 Clark County voters sign a petition seeking a referendum on it.

The day after the ordinance was passed, Madore turned in 256 valid signatures, preventing the measure from going into effect. After fulfilling this initial requirement, the charter gave him 180 days to gather 19,351 valid signatures, 10 percent of the county’s votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, to advance the referendum process.

The deadline for Madore to gather and deliver these signatures was 5 p.m. Wednesday.

“Five o’clock came and went and there were no signatures,” county elections supervisor Cathie Garber said Wednesday evening.

Madore, who lost his bid for re-election in the August primary, didn’t respond to a call for comment. Calls to McCauley and Council Chair Marc Boldt were not returned.

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Columbian political reporter