Why Shady Cove Matters Is Recalling Mayor Lena Richardson

Shady Cove Matters has watched for months as Residents of the City have brought concerns before the Council, only to be ignored.   In our opinion, Mayor Lena Richardson has forgotten that she leads a City Council that works for the taxpayers.  Mayor Richardson's actions demonstrate a lack of integrity and accountability to the Residents of Shady Cove. 

Mayor  Richardson failed to support Resident's requests for elections during the May 2026 Primary, despite clear language in the City  Charter allowing appointed Councilors to serve only until the "next available election". The May 19th, 2026 election would have been COMPLETELY FREE  OF CHARGE to the City, Richardson characterized the election as a "distraction".   Link: Read more about our efforts to discuss Elections with Council. 

We allege that Mayor Richardson deliberately delayed Council's appointments to vacant positions for almost three months.  Numerous qualified applicants were bypassed, and Richardson operated without integrity by voting to re-appoint Councilor Kathy Nuckles, who previously resigned twice from her elected position.  Link:  Read more on how Mayor Richardson delayed appointments. 

We allege that as a result of Richardson's maneuvering, sixty percent of Council (including Richardson) will be unelected appointees for a full year, with the power to hire an Administrator, set budgets, allocate over $2M in City funds, and approve upcoming labor and public safety contracts that are up for renewal in 2026. 

Since Mayor Richardson's appointment on July 10th, 2025, we allege that personal biases have taken priority over City Business.  The City's Bills Paid reports show tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, and Shady Cove Matters estimates over $140,000 has been spent to dismiss the former City Administrator without cause.  Link:   Read more about the detailed costs of City spending. 

Mayor Richardson and her cronies on Council led an effort to censure a fellow Councilor (Paige Winfrey), costing the City over $11,800 in unnecessary legal fees, without ever taking a public vote to authorize spending.  Richardson's council then decided to punish Winfrey further, by preventing her from participating in any interviews or hiring discussions for a new City Administrator, claiming she had caused "irreparable financial harm" to the City.  As a result of these and other questionable choices, the City of Shady Cove has spent over $110,000 in attorney fees (so far) in this fiscal year, contributing to significant budget overruns.    Link:  Read more on how Mayor Richardson & her Council spent an additional $6,700 AFTER COMPLETING the censure action to release a redacted letter concerning Councilor Winfrey.