By Kristine Thomas
Three women say they remained silent for several months while many Mt. Angel residents attacked their husbands – City Councilors Mike Donohue, Ray Eder and Rick Schiedler.
Jan Donohue, Patti Eder and Cindy Schiedler understand criticism comes with the territory.
The tipping point leading them to request an interview with Our Town came when the attacks were no longer professional but personal. Their husbands have been called “liars,” asked to resign and had their arms grabbed, they said.
“There are so many untruths out there and rumors about these three men that just aren’t true,” Cindy Schiedler said, adding she thinks people need to put the negativity aside and find out what’s happening with the Mt. Angel council and the city staff.
Hearing some people attack their husbands personally has caused a great deal of stress for their families, they said.
The women feel their husbands are “totally misunderstood.”
“All three men were asked by people in the community to run,” Cindy Schiedler said. “They didn’t come on to the city council with an agenda,” she said. “We are speaking up because we feel things need to get better.”
Jan Donohue said the three men ran for office because they wanted to change the way things were being done.
“I think so many people are busy with their lives that they don’t pay attention to what’s happening with the city council and assume things are being run smoothly,” Cindy Schiedler said.
Instead, council members have been dealing with conflicts between each other, city staff and the city administrator.
Jan Donohue said her involvement in some city issues might have hurt her husband. “I think I made things more difficult for Mike because I got involved with some issues.”
Patti Eder said her father served for 12 years on the Sweet Home City Council when she was a young girl. She remembers how her father received almost nightly phone calls from residents asking about this or that.
“Ray hasn’t received one phone call since he has been on the city council asking him what’s happening,” she said.
All three women said they are disappointed when someone disagrees with a councilor that it becomes a personal attack.
“It’s OK to disagree. We live in a democracy where people are allowed to have opinions that differ from someone else,” Cindy Schiedler said. What’s not OK, they said, is when people are saying untruths about the councilors.
The division in the city makes it hard to go to church or social events or see people at the store or post office, they said.
“This conflict doesn’t just divide the town, it divides families,” Patti Eder said.
“The number one reason people don’t get involved is because they don’t want the stress and some people don’t get involved because they are afraid it would hurt their business,” Patti Eder said.
Better communication, more public involvement and trust are needed to improve the situation, they said.
All three women said people assume their husbands are for this and against that.
“If people have a question, I encourage them to pick up the phone and call them and get it straight from the horse’s mouth rather than making assumptions,” Patti Eder said. “These are good, honest, hard-working men. Ray couldn’t tell a lie even if he wanted to. He would feel so guilty if he lied.”
Cindy Schiedler said Eder, Schiedler and Donohue have good intentions and “nothing to gain” by being on the city council.
“All we’ve done is tell the truth about our husbands,” she said.
