You would have to go back to the presidential election in 1936 to find a bigger
landslide. It would make Mahmoud Ahmadinejad jangle with jealousy.

Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Alf Landon by a 523-8 electoral vote margin
that year. In a frontal assault against that record, community members, at a
hastily organized Sept. 23 Villages Town Hall meeting, threw their
considerable weight in support of bookstore proprietor Sandra Palmer in her
attempt to be compensated for visitor information services, which she has
been providing for two years.

The vote was convincing, 110-6, for the Villages board to re-send a letter
(from Aug. 4, 2009) to the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners. In
that letter, to then-director Linda Bell, the board stated: “We believe the
Wy’east Information Center merits Clackamas County tourism dollar support
from room tax dollars that are locally generated. We ask for your support in
funding this center.”

After the meeting, Palmer reflected on the overwhelming support she
received.

“I was not surprised,” Palmer said. “I was confident that if we had a strong
turnout, the vote would go the way it did. I just hoped that the number of
voters would be sufficient to send a message ... We did that, I believe.”

Villages Board Chair Doug Saldivar – who was instrumental in providing the
community vote on the issue – was rewarded by the packed house at the
Lions Club.

“It was a pretty strong statement,” Saldivar said. “I hope the passion showed
here tonight carries over to other important issues in our community.”

Since the Villages board often outnumbers attendees at its meetings, the 116
people who filed in to cast their ballots – and offer spirited comments – was a
sight seldom seen. But the absence of a single person, one who attends all
the meetings fulfilling her job requirement, was conspicuous.

Christine Roth, the county’s liaison to the Villages, was a no-show.

“I have decided not to attend the Thursday’s (Sept. 23) special Town Hall
meeting given the tenor of the last board meeting (Sept. 7), and the
extremely negative sentiments expressed,” Roth wrote in a Sept. 20 e-mail to
the Villages board of directors.

Roth’s sentiments were not well received by a few members of the board.
Saldivar, George Wilson, Pat Buckley and Bob Reeves all agreed they were
“disappointed” there was no county presence at the Town Hall.

The special Town Hall meeting was prompted by events that unfolded at the
Sept. 7 board of directors meeting that attracted an impressive crowd of 33 at
the Hoodland Fire Station – all but one in support of the board re-sending the
letter on Palmer’s behalf.

But prior to that meeting, Roth had e-mailed the board warning them against
making any comments, stating that as “agents of the county” they would not
be supported by county counsel in case of a law suit. At that time, an attorney
for Palmer had threatened legal action against the county for back
compensation.

Roth’s warning got the attention of three members of the board when the vote
came up to re-send the letter at the Sept. 7 meeting. Pat Sharp, Shirley
Deuber and Reeves abstained on the issue. Saldivar, Buckley and Wilson
voted in favor. According to the Villages by-laws, it takes five votes to carry a
motion, despite the fact that the original nine-person board has dwindled to
six because of an unfilled open position and two recent resignations.

Saldivar followed up by pressing a vote to call the special Town Hall to allow
the community to let its feelings known. After much discussion, and with
Palmer’s supporters ringing the room at the fire station, the board voted 6-0
in favor of holding the special meeting.

The result at the Town Hall meeting was a clarion call from the community:
110-6.

Palmer’s reactions to the vote ranged from the personal to the professional.
“I’m a bit humbled and emotionally overwhelmed by the support,” she said. “I
have a lot to live up to. I won’t ever forget the way this community has rallied
around me. I also know this isn’t just about me. This whole process has
brought up many issues that resonate in our community.

“It (also) means so much to know that my business has touched so many. I’m
not sure I have words to express my gratitude for the many friends and
customers who have supported me through this time.”

It’s quite possible FDR had similar feelings, many decades ago.