Facts not Rumors regarding John West | Season 2, Episode 27

 This episode came together after I kept seeing the same rumors floating around online about John West. 

See the video here : https://youtu.be/kNO-RmNPvoI

People were saying he was behind lawsuits, others were bringing up the recall, and I realized I didn’t have an answer because I hadn’t been following it at the time. So I started digging into it myself and went directly to the sources. In this episode I go through what actually led to the recall, and what’s happened since. That includes the lawsuits, the ethics complaints people have talked about, and a flyer I came across. The goal here is simple. Lay out what’s documented, separate fact from rumor, and give you something solid to work with so you can decide for yourself. If you’re in Josephine County or just want a clearer picture of what’s been going on locally, this one’s worth a listen. 

#grantspass #josephinecounty #localpolitics #oregon #JohnWest #election2026 #southernoregon 

Transcript

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Mike Will.

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Josephine County Republican. It is May the 4th, 2026. I just was looking online. I did the interview with John West the other day, and I saw a lot of interesting comments. Um, so you know, back when John was was being recalled, uh, I really wasn't paying attention to local politics like I am now, honestly. I didn't even want anything to do with it. To me, back then it was just a bunch of noise, people arguing, drama all over the place, everyone mad at each other, and I was pretty good at staying out of it, honestly. So I cared about the community. I just wasn't trying to jump into politics. I was doing my own thing, working, helping where I could, and not getting pulled into all of that madness. Fast forward, now I'm here sitting doing a political podcast. What? So yeah, things changed. The reason I'm doing this episode is I was looking at this stuff online, people that were saying John West was responsible for or somehow involved in a bunch of these lawsuits that we talked about in the interview. I kept hearing people bring up uh the recall as well, and I realized that I didn't really have anything to say about it. Um, I I didn't I haven't actually looked into it myself. So instead of repeating stuff I saw online or listening to anybody else, I went directly to the source and went and talked to John about it. He uh sent me this thing, it's uh a flyer, and I also went and researched these court cases. There was a list of court cases that I was able to obtain, which uh if anybody is wanting to see that stuff, I can uh definitely give that to you. I have multiple documents. Um so but anyway, we're gonna pull up this flyer, and uh it's it's something with John West's campaign, and it basically lays out his side of all of this. So what I'm doing here is just gonna walk through what I found and seeing what actually lines up. On the front side of the flyer, it's pretty straightforward. Lower taxes, stop government waste, oppose the gas tax, support law enforcement, standard campaign stuff. He lists endorsement from the Republican Party, United Conservatives, and the taxpayers pack. Nothing unusual there. The backside is where it gets into the actual meat of the accusations that happened when he was recalled. He's got a section there called Truth Matters. And it's basically his response to what has been said about him. So, first is the pipe fork situation. According to him, the county didn't lose money, no water source was lost or put at risk, and the property and the timber were worth more than what he was being offered. Then the the budget and law enforcement issue, he says he pushed for accountability and spending. And that was uh he wasn't the only vote. That's what a lot of people are kind of trips me out. People go after a single commissioner when it's the board of commissioners. So that is one thing I was paying attention to recently. You know, they were all blaming one commissioner, and yet the whole board voted on it. So, you know, he was the only vote against cutting law enforcement and public health. John uh, you know, voted against that. So then there's the ethics complaints. We all heard about that. He says multiple complaints were filed, but all of them were dismissed. He also says there was no labor law violations, no public meeting violations. Next is the special district withdrawals. He says those are actually illegal under Oregon law. And what people are pointing to was basically a paperwork issue and not wrongdoing. And it didn't turn into some big expensive lawsuit either. The firewise programs and grants, he says he supported expending extending those programs and worked to bring additional funding. So the hiring, he says everyone had hired and had met qualifications, and then his part uh, you know, was it's just again, it's all run by three commissioners, not just one. So one person doesn't decide or make decisions on their own, it takes a majority vote. So, anyway, this is his side of it, folks, straight from his campaign. And I I've like I said, I've talked to him, and I encourage all of you to go out and reach out to John and talk to him yourself. Now, the lawsuits. Uh so people are online are saying, well, you know, there's a bunch of lawsuits, and uh John was involved in them. That's where things getting thrown around online. It's just very typical. I see that a lot. Accusations and stuff like that come online. And and you hear and so the 4042 lawsuits we talked about in that in the interview, and in immediately that sounds bad. But, you know, it really the bad part about that is taxpayers are funding uh insurance to defend those cases, and it's a great deal of money. So I I went and tracked down what that number actually came from, the 42. There was uh a West law list showing 42 federal court cases uh tied to Josephine County or Josephine County related defendants over a certain period of time. But here's the key point, and this is where a lot of the confusion is coming from. John West is not listed as a defendant in any of those cases, not a single one. In fact, John West in some of these wasn't even the commissioner at that time. When you actually look through the case names and what they involve, this isn't 42 lawsuits against one person. It's a collection of lawsuits where Josephine County or departments within the county show up as part of the case. You've got inmate and jail-related cases, you've got civil rights claims, unemployment issues, property disputes, forfeiture cases, appeals involving the sheriff's office. There's even another list here that I found tied specifically to the sheriff's office, where a lot of those appear to be um appeals. In some cases, things like gun permit denials. There's a separate list for jail-related cases, habeas corpus filings, and general court cases and circuit courts. So depending on how you you search it, you can get different groups of cases, but they all have one thing in common. They involve the county as a government entity. So when people throw around that, you know, 42 lawsuits are all they're all John's fault. You know, you gotta you gotta look into this stuff before saying stuff online and making it personal. Like it's tied directly to John West. It's not. But when you actually look at the records um and what it shows, it shows, you know, a range of legal cases over 10 years, actually more. Um again, it's based on everything I went through. John West is not even named as a defendant in any of those cases that I saw. So for me, looking at this now, um, that was a bigger thing to clear up for me. Because that number, it you know, gets repeated. It the 42, like we talked about in the in the interview. But actually looking into it gives me a completely different impression on what's really there. And like I said earlier, I was uh in the middle of all this when it I wasn't in the middle of all this when it happened. I was probably avoiding it like the plague, like some people. But going back through it now, what I'm seeing is a mix of claims, counterclaims, and actual records that don't always match how things are being talked about online. And there's a lot of that online. At the end of the day, I'm just trying to go through this stuff, looking at what's actually there and trying to make sense of it. That's it. Anyway, folks, Josephine County Republican. You all have a great rest of your night. Talk to you next time.