Astoria City Council Meeting: Resolution 25-41 and Ward 4 Appointment – 2025-12-02
Astoria City Council Meeting: Resolution 25-41 and Ward 4 Appointment – 2025-12-02
The Astoria City Council met on 2025-12-02 (noting that the agenda and transcript identify the meeting as Monday, December 1, 2025) at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. The council unanimously approved the consent calendar and Resolution 25-41, interviewed five candidates for the vacant Ward 4 seat, and appointed Joshua Conklin after a tie in the first-round star vote. The meeting was extended to 9:00 p.m. and adjourned at 8:58 p.m.
Councilor Reports and Opening Remarks
- Councilors largely waived formal reports, thanking residents for the many emails, voicemails, and phone calls about the Ward 4 vacancy, and thanking all candidates. Mayor Fitzpatrick also noted the veterans dinner and downtown lighting festivities.
Consent Calendar
- The council approved, 4-0, the routine consent calendar, including a new Limited On-Premises Commercial Sales liquor license application from Josephson's LLC, doing business as Josephson's Smokehouse, 106 Marine Drive, Astoria.
Resolution 25-41 – Condemning Federal Enforcement Tactics
- Police Chief Stacey Keller reported that an ICE enforcement action occurred that day at the Warrenton Walmart around 11:00 a.m. Agents used unmarked vehicles with emergency lights, wore marked vests, and had masks; two people were taken into custody. No windows were broken, and local law enforcement, the sheriff, and dispatch were not notified before or after.
- Councilor Adams encouraged continued dialogue with the county sheriff and state officials.
- Public comment: Norma Hernandez (Consejo Hispano) said the community had two detentions that day and that those detained were working DoorDash; she expressed support for the resolution and asked that all community members be equally respected and protected. Another speaker, Mike Brochus, described significant indirect impacts on schools, students, and bus drivers, urging the council to consider broader community effects.
- The council passed Resolution 25-41 unanimously (4-0). The resolution reaffirms Resolutions 17-03 and 20-22, condemns aggressive and unwarranted federal enforcement tactics such as unmarked vehicles, masked agents, and unidentifiable personnel, and directs city personnel and resources to prioritize city ordinances and Oregon law while protecting constitutional rights.
Ward 4 Vacancy – Candidate Interviews and Appointment
- Five candidates were interviewed: Joshua Conklin, Colin Cummings, Lisa Morley, Mike Brochus, and CJ Bell. The mayor set a two-minute public comment limit for this item, asked speakers to state their first and second choices and any tiebreaker preference, and outlined possible tiebreaker options including a star-system runoff, point totals, a coin toss, or a special election.
- Candidate Q&A highlights:
- On decision-making, most candidates described balancing Ward 4 feedback, citywide impact, staff expertise, and personal judgment. Lisa Morley said she would vote with Ward 4 when her judgment differed from the ward majority; Mike Brochus emphasized seeking diverse and dissenting perspectives.
- On a hypothetical $1 million grant, proposals included staff wages, a procurement director, and an innovation center (Colin Cummings); sewer improvements, business grants, and veterans' wellness services (CJ Bell); forgivable loans for ADU and multifamily conversions (Joshua Conklin); matching funds, living-wage career pathways, and a community assessment (Mike Brochus); and $900,000 for an Astoria for All Astorians annuity plus $100,000 for a Ward 4 home-safety repair fund (Lisa Morley).
- On time commitment, expectations ranged from approximately 15-20 hours per week to full-time; CJ Bell said she expected the role to be effectively full-time.
- Thirteen people signed up in person to testify; no online sign-ups were initially listed, though one online Ward 4 voter later testified.
- Public testimony expressed support for:
- Joshua Conklin: Megan Armstrong, Jim Summers, a resident at 3678 Grand Avenue, Mary Ng, and online Ward 4 voter Temesh Sali. Speakers cited his community ties, youth, listening approach, and housing perspective.
- Mike Brochus: Daryl Moore, Chris Holland, Judith Huck, Trudy Van Duzen Chitovich, and Ryan Blum (letter read by Judith Huck). They cited his executive experience, community board service, budgets of up to $20 billion, and workforce partnerships.
- Lisa Morley: Randy Harris, Doris Queener, and Chris Ferrar cited her hard work, extensive community contact, and near-election performance.
- CJ Bell: Chanel Bell cited accessibility and her commitment to connecting people with resources.
- Norma Hernandez, not a Ward 4 resident, urged the council to choose someone who genuinely asks underserved Latino residents what they need rather than checking a box. Doris Queener expressed discomfort with the appointment process and said she would prefer an elected representative.
- After comments, the council voted to extend the meeting to 9:00 p.m. (4-0).
- First-round star-vote point totals were: Mike Brochus 17, Joshua Conklin 17, Colin Cummings 16, Lisa Morley 11, and CJ Bell 3. Councillors then discussed their processes; Mayor Fitzpatrick said his first-round ranking was based on correspondence and comments from Ward 4 residents, while Councilor Davis said the final decision should consider the whole city and should not be a public-comment headcount.
- Councilor Davis moved to appoint Joshua Conklin. The motion was seconded and passed 4-0. Joshua Conklin was sworn in by the finance director/city recorder, taking the oath of office.
New Business, Miscellaneous, and Non-Agenda Public Comment
- Staff announced upcoming meetings: a December 8 work session on the city's camping ordinance and enforcement; a December 15 discussion of housing development responses for the Dairy Gold and Customs House sites, the Pacific Power franchise agreement, and the community organization grant program; and a December 22 work session on tribal collaboration/communication policy and a parking plan.
- Staff also announced the December 10 volunteer board/commission appreciation event and the fire department's holiday food parade on December 9-11 at 6:00 p.m.
- Councilor Davis requested a coordinated meeting with the city attorney to discuss legal options and protections related to immigration enforcement and protected-class language.
- In non-agenda public comment, Mary Ng discussed the aid-and-assist docket, mental-health and homelessness-related court cases, a young homeless man with six pending charges over 2.5 years, and asked the council to review county funding and support more inclusive service models.
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar approved 4-0.
- Resolution 25-41 approved 4-0.
- Ward 4 vacancy filled by appointment of Joshua Conklin; motion passed 4-0 and he was sworn in.
- Meeting extended to 9:00 p.m. and adjourned at 8:58 p.m.
- Council directed staff to arrange a city attorney discussion on potential immigration-related actions.
Meeting Transcript
December 1st, 2025 meeting of the Astoria City Council. For the record, the time is 6 p.m. Director Dart McClain, if you could lead us in the pledge, please. We would ask that you please rise if you're willing and able. Pledge allegiance, the United States. Underground. Indivisible with the Liberty of Justice for all our thank you, Director Dart McLean. If we could have a roll call, please. Counselor Davis? Here. Counselor Mozzarella. Here. Counselor Adams. Here. Mayor Fitzpatrick. Here. So I appreciate everyone showing up this evening. I've been told by someone who has worked several years in the restaurant industry that owning a restaurant is like throwing a party every night and never knowing how many people are going to show up. And so for us, um, at least in a restaurant, you have some historical um data to go on. Uh the last time that we had an appointment like this was seven years ago. It was standing room only. Uh I was out in the hall. I did not come in. Uh I was not able to get my hearing assistance device because there were so many people here. So we didn't know how many we might have. Do we have any idea how might be how many people might be at the library this evening? Uh I don't believe that anybody has taken us up on the library overflow space, and I do see some empty seats in council. Okay, great. Great, good to know. So it looks like everybody that wanted to get into chambers is in chambers. So this is a good sign. Um so we're gonna start with uh reports of counselors, and tonight we would start with counselor Davis. Mayor, uh, given uh we've got an important agenda item uh or two tonight, and I think we're going to have more items in new business. Um plus we've had some requests from the public for more public comment time. I don't know if that's going to be appropriate, but um I'm willing to mostly forego my council my council report. Uh I would say I I appreciate the feedback uh from residents of Ward 4 and the rest of uh the city. We've gotten lots of emails. Uh people have reached out and left voicemails, have talked to folks on the phone, I've had coffee with people uh talking about this appointment. Uh so I am very appreciative of the folks who made their desires known and let us know uh you know why they think about uh which candidate we should pick. And so just thanks to the citizens for that residents too. Um that's all thank you. Thank you, Counselor Davis. And to address the thing about timing. Um we've suggested a limit of 45 minutes, but if there are people in Ward 4 residents of Ward 4 that will still want to speak, um, and we've used up the 45 minutes, we're gonna keep going. Um, but but once the people from Ward 4, residents of Ward 4 have spoken. Um, I think that's what we need up here to make our decision. So we'll see how many people want to speak and how long that takes. Counselor Mozzarella. Thank you. Um, I was gonna keep it short as well for the same reasons that Councillor Davis mentioned, and again echoing um appreciation for all the people that have reached out, lots and lots of correspondents, and um, it's been great to hear feedback and for all the candidates that showed up and signed up for this wild ride and are participating beautifully.
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