BG mayor will not resign

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In a press release sent to The Reflector Aug. 15, Battle Ground Mayor Lisa Walters announced her intention to maintain her role as mayor as well as her position on the Battle Ground City Council. Walters said she will also continue her bid for re-election to the council.

On Mon., Aug. 12, Walters had announced her intent to resign as mayor, citing “personal changes” as the reason.

“I’ve received a tremendous outpouring of support this week,” Walters said. “I’ve decided not to resign.”

Walters said she was amazed by how many people called her and offered her support after she announced her intention to resign, and she said it “overwhelmed her.”

Walters said, however, that she will take a leave of absence for a few city council meetings in order to sort out and work through some personal issues.

In an email sent to fellow members of the Battle Ground City Council the evening of Aug. 12, Walters announced her intent to resign as mayor as well as from her council position, effective Sept. 1.

In her email to council members Mike Ciraulo, Adrian Cortes, Shane Bowman, Philip Johnson, Alex Reinhold and Bill Ganley, Walters wrote: “I have informed (city manager) John Williams that I will resign from council on September 1, 2013. It has come time for me to move on and make some personal changes in my life, one big one will be moving out of the area. Thank you for all you have done to help me along the way and I appreciate each and every one of you.”

Walters said in the Aug. 15 press release that Battle Ground is her home and she cares too deeply about the issues facing the city to leave. She said she and many of her supporters believe maintaining a woman’s perspective on city council is important to the city.

“I am thankful for the support and will continue to perform the duties of mayor and city council woman,” Walters said. “I look forward to campaigning for my re-election and what’s ahead for the city of Battle Ground.”

After Walters’ initial announcement that she intended to resign from the council, some of her fellow council members expressed surprise and then confusion after she announced that she will not resign.



“I think when she stated she had some personal issues and needed to step away, that’s fair, we all have personal issues,” said Council Member Adrian Cortes. “But when you state that you want to leave the community and go somewhere where no one knows your name on Monday and then on Thursday you change your mind, but don’t even tell your council mates, your commitment comes into question. There is nothing wrong with stepping away to deal with personal issues, but when you say you’re going to resign, then you’re not, it leaves a lot of questions in the air. These things that are happening are not only confusing, but I think they are also unfortunate distractions from the real priorities.”

Cortes said he and at least one other council member were informed of Walters’ decision not to resign by Deputy Mayor Shane Bowman, not from Walters directly.

Council Member Alex Reinhold said he was glad Walters changed her mind and decided to maintain her position on the council.

“I don’t think she realized the amount of support and love that she has from this community,” Reinhold said. “I also think that it gives people a very clear choice in the upcoming election. I know she’s a lot stronger person than she thinks she is, and I think after taking a little bit of time, she’ll be back and better than ever.”

Council Member Bill Ganley said he is glad that Walters will continue to serve in her role as mayor.

“I’m also glad to see her seek re-election,” Ganley said. “By staying in the race, it will give people a choice.”

Deputy Mayor Shane Bowman said he is glad Walters has decided to stay on the council and continue to serve the citizens of Battle Ground. He said he and Walters talked several times over the past couple weeks about “how valuable she is and the perspective she brings to the council.”

“I understand there are things she needs time to deal with in her personal life and I support her 100 percent while she deals with it,” Bowman said. “She has spent the last year and a half doing a great job as our mayor and getting involved with many issues that have been tough for our community to deal with such as the youth suicides. I know she has taken some heat for not doing town halls, but she has spent countless hours serving the community where it has been needed instead of wasting city resources doing town halls that no one shows up to. It has been a pleasure working with her while I have been on council and I look forward to continuing working together.”

Walters was first elected to the city council in 2001 and was elected to a two-year term as mayor in January 2012. In May, she filed for re-election to council Position No. 5 against opponent Mike Dalesandro. When Walters first announced her intention to resign, Dalesandro said that since her reasons for resigning were personal in nature, he wished to respect her privacy. After hearing that she will not be resigning, Dalesandro said he’s confused and has been confused about her intentions for many months now.

“After I announced my candidacy in March, Ms. Walters contacted me and was supportive, and even said she may not run for re-election,” Dalesandro said. “During candidate filing week, Ms. Walters filed for her current position No. 4, then suddenly at the last possible minute she jumped and filed against me at position No. 5. This week, Ms. Walters announces she will resign, tells everyone she is moving out of the city and is ready to go someplace where no one knows her name. Three days later she has decided to stay. It’s all very confusing for the voters.”