Contentious.

That was the feeling inside the room that hosted the Aberdeen City Council meeting on Wednesday night.

In the crowded, temporary council chambers on the third floor at Grays Harbor College’s tulalW Student Center, private residents and at least a couple city council members voiced their anger toward Aberdeen Mayor Doug Orr.

They addressed multiple issues they have with Orr and with the city. One of those problems was his social media post on the night of July 13 that was screenshot and spread around by multiple Aberdeen city councilors and private residents.

The mayor’s post questioned the assassination attempt against Donald J. Trump, former U.S. president and Republican presidential candidate. Two people died and two were seriously injured that day at the rally where Trump was speaking.

Once the post was disseminated through social media, it went “viral.” A conservative talk show in Seattle spoke to Orr about it. KOMO News spoke to Orr about it. And now, it’s a story that has gone international.

Orr removed the post the same night that he sent it out, and then apologized about a day-and-a-half later. But, a lot of people aren’t satisfied by Orr’s apology, or that he’s the mayor, and now those people want him gone.

And it’s not just Orr’s post that was the center of the meeting’s contention.

Fire near State Street encampment

The state of the unhoused encampments near State and River streets brought a lot of contempt the mayor’s way, too.

The most recent issue is the fire that broke out a little before 5:30 p.m., on Monday evening underneath the Chehalis River Bridge. While no people died, two dogs did. In addition to those deaths, fuel cans and live ammunition in the fire “complicated” the emergency response to it, The Daily World previously reported.

Councilor Riley Carter held up a small, plastic bag with what he said were bullets, from guns of different calibers, that were found at the scene.

“Talking about the bullets yesterday, if anyone wants to see them I’ve got ‘em right here,” Carter said. “Just a little, small collection. We’ve got .40s, .45s, 9mm and .22 calibers just sitting there blowing up in the fire.”

Carter referred to “numerous, numerous, dangerous, scary things going on constantly,” and then read an attempted resolution of “no confidence in the mayor and the Homelessness Response Committee.” Orr heads that committee.

Carter tried to continue reading his resolution, but Councilor Liz Ellis called to stop the resolution reading in order to declare a point of order. Roberts Rules of Order — the rules that dictate how official meetings must run — did not allow for a resolution to be read for this item since it wasn’t on the agenda. Councilors Stan Sidor and Sydney Swor backed up Ellis. Kacey Ann Morrison, Aberdeen City Council president, recommended to Carter that he read it as an opinion and part of his council report.

Carter started talking about the bullets again and then started to read his opinion in its entirety.

People jeered Carter, they wanted him to move on. Carter didn’t move on. And then after some booing, someone yelled “Everyone! Shut the f—- up!” which momentarily quieted the room.

After the brief interruption, Carter read his attempted resolution again, but this time as his opinion. Morrison backed him up and said how Carter was “reading it as his council report.”

And then Morrison read her own opinion that called to censure Orr, which means to levy an official reprimand. She said she intends to bring it as a resolution for the next council meeting. The following quote is not in-full, it’s to show the action Morrison wants to see happen and why. It’s shortened with ellipses for brevity.

“This was originally intended to be a resolution of censure for Mayor Orr …” Morrison said. “Whereas it is customary and appropriate for officials in elected office to comport themselves in such situations with decorum and dignity by offering condolences to the victims, and whereas all leaders and community members rightfully condemn and disavow any and all political violence, and whereas on July 13, 2024, Mayor Douglas Orr failed to uphold the standards of decorum expected of those in a position of power during such tragedies and failed to condemn the political violence that took place that day …”

But, in the initial post, Orr did say “anyway you look at it, it was a horrific act,” in reference to what happened at the Trump rally.

Morrison said Orr also “further disparaged” members of the city council as “dysfunctional” and “demeaned outraged citizens with a different perspective” and how the situation “has brought great harm and embarrassment to our community and caused discord and rightful indignation among community members.”

Morrison said she wants to censure Orr for “conduct unbecoming of the high office he holds.”

While there were a lot more public comments against Orr, there were a few people who defended the embattled mayor. They addressed how he has free speech. They rhetorically asked whether anyone in the room was “innocent” of making a bad post before realizing it was the wrong move and then deleting it. One person pointed out Trump’s false claims — as many news outlets have called them — and that person seemed to at least partially agree with Orr’s initial post.

Concerns aren’t just about the encampment fire

People are concerned about the fire hazards at and near the camp, they’re concerned with the garbage around the camp and throughout the city’s streets. They are, and have been, concerned about the camp existing and asked questions about why it exists. They’re concerned with why the unhoused population is still in Aberdeen. And they’re concerned about the taxpayer money going to cleaning the camps, as well as how much time and effort is spent by local emergency medical services to address issues there.

And then on Tuesday morning, Morrison, who was removed from the Homelessness Response Committee months ago, was on a local radio station for a discussion about the fire. According to a listener, Morrison said there is “zero tolerance” for illegal activity by the unhoused population.

The unhoused residents who showed up are worried about what they’ll do once the encampment closes. On July 3, Aberdeen City Council voted to give the population who lives at the State and River street encampments 30 days to move. The countdown started that night, after council approval. Thursday, Aug. 2, marks 30 days.

But the fire took center stage

Orr made a statement about the fire in his mayor’s report. It also included what the city has done to deal with the fire, clean up the area, and to stop people from moving back there:

“I was gonna comment on the fire down at the homeless camp,” Orr said. “I just feel for the folks who lost their homes, their tents, but it’s their home. And the folks who lost their dogs, it was horrific to see that down there. I’m sad to see the bullets and all the propane tanks and stuff down there, but we don’t live in a country where we have the authority to go into people’s homes and just take their (things) from them, so there’s not much we can do about that right now. I do want to thank our police and our fire for their work down there. They took care of the problem. And then we had public works down there cleaning it up, they installed rocks down there so they won’t be moving back into that area again, under that infrastructure. (And) we still have a few days left, I hope we can get most of those folks rehoused, or find some path for them to move on.”

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.