Bend City Council moves toward Boddie censure vote

The Bend City Council once again discussed the topic of censuring one of its members at Wednesday night’s meeting but will wait two weeks to take any formal action.

This topic was first brought to light after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against one of the council members, Nathan Boddie, who was not present at Wednesday night’s meeting.

It was preceded by a rally outside City Hall of more than 50 people, saying “Bend Deserves Better” and calling on Boddie to step down, also backing councilors in a call to censure him — a somewhat symbolic step that carries no official impact.

According to his campaign’s Facebook page, Boddie said he decided not to attend after a “potential credible threat” was made toward him, in the wake of allegations he denied in a manner that cost him broader support due to the way he criticized his accuser.

Several councilors have stated Boddie’s behavior is something that should not be condoned.

This issue was brought to the floor again by Councilor Barb Campbell, who believes ultimately the voters are the ones who should decide who gets to be on the council.

But because there’s no real system in place to deal with these kinds of issues once a councilor is elected, she said it should fall to the other council members to hold each other accountable.

“I do believe that there is conduct there that does absolutely meet our bar for censure,” Campbell said. “I had hoped that we might be able to get done with this this evening. I had thought of this problem as a good of the order thing. I just feel like it’s affecting our ability to do business. It’s certainly affecting my own relationship with the council.”

Mayor Casey Roats said he’d like for Councilor Boddie to be at the next meeting, so the matter can be discussed further in his presence.

“And I for one would expect him to be here at the next one, to make his case — or offer an apology. So that’s what I throw down for Nathan,” Roats said

Council members will bring this issue up at the next meeting, in two weeks, as all of them were in favor of doing so. There will be a motion prepared for councilors to vote.

On another topic, the council also tackled the issue of creating a sustainable future for the city.

Bend’s working to create a greener future for the city by reducing emissions.

The Climate Action Steering Committee spoke to councilors about a goal to cut down on greenhouse emissions.

The council passed a resolution in 2016 to find a way to reduce greenhouse gasses across the community.

Cassie Lacy, the city’s sustainability coordinator, said the idea really came from the public and its love of the outdoors.

“In Central Oregon, we’re all so connected to the outdoors that the people in the community, especially the youth, are really connected to that. So that was really the driver,” Lacy said.

The committee conducted a survey to determine where emissions are coming from across the community.

Now it’s turning to the public to come up with ways to cut down on emissions.

The hope is the community will be able to come up with unique ideas to help meet the city’s goal.