By James Day Silverton installed a new mayor and four new councilors on Monday, Jan. 9, signaling the beginning of a new political era in town. Jason Freilinger, who had served as council president, was sworn in as mayor, replacing Kyle Palmer, whose elected office experience dates to 2004. In addition, outgoing councilors Jim Sears, Dana Smith and Crystal Neideigh […]
By James Day Ten-year Silverton City Council member Jason Freilinger appears to be on his way to being elected the town’s mayor. Freilinger, a financial services officer and this term’s council president, was leading corporate executive Morry Jones by nearly 450 votes, according to unofficial results released Tuesday night by Marion County. Freilinger had 1,896 votes (56.66%), with Jones at […]
By James Day Silverton will have a new mayor come January, but the town still will be led by a Silverton native. Outgoing mayor Kyle Palmer, who has served in the position since 2017, is a lifelong resident, as are the two individuals running to replace him, Morry Jones and Jason Freilinger. Jones is a corporate executive who has served […]
By James Day Kyle Palmer, who has been a fixture in Silverton community affairs for most of this century, is retiring from the political arena. Palmer, who is midway through his second full term as mayor, announced Jan. 30 via social media that he is retiring from elected office at the end of this term. Palmer also answered questions from […]
By Kyle Palmer It’s hard to believe, but as I write this, our state and our community are, for the most part, exiting the COVID-19 restrictions that we’ve all been under since March of last year. It remains to be seen if this move is permanent.There are still many people hospitalized. We will undoubtedly still lose some people with the illness and many people will […]
Editor’s Note: This story on 2008 Mayor-elect Stu Rasmussen ran in the January 2005 edition of Our Town Monthly.
In the November 2004 presidential election Silverton voters favored Republican incumbent George W. Bush over Democrat challenger John Kerry 1,987 to 1,797. They supported Measure 36, the initiative amending the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, 2,294 to 1,529. They also elected an openly cross-dressing man to the city council. He was the second highest vote-getter in the seven-way race, garnering 1,603.
