Letter: Camas Voters – Keep your strong mayor

🎧 Camas Letter: Keep the Strong Mayor, Reject Insiders

Gary Perman prefers direct accountability over insider entrenchment

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and may not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

Camas runs on a mayor-council system, sometimes called a “strong mayor” setup. Voters directly elect the mayor as chief executive to manage daily operations, while the seven-member council sets policy. That structure delivers something rare in local government: real accountability. Unhappy with taxes, growth decisions, budgets, or city services? Vote the mayor out. Simple as that.

Gary Perman

So I was surprised when Mayor Steve Hogan formed a “Form of Government Citizen Committee” to explore switching to a council-manager system – one where the council hires and fires an unelected city manager to run the city, reducing the mayor to a ceremonial role. This whole process feels more like political cover than genuine reform.

Stacked with insiders, not citizens

Take a look at who’s sitting on this advisory group: former Mayor Nan Henriksen, former councilors Greg Anderson, Ellen Burton, and Don Chaney. These are longtime insiders – and some of the same people who were chief architects of the 2019 $78 million Field Pool/community center bond that voters rejected by nearly 90%. That wasn’t a close call. Nearly 90% of Camas voters said no. And yet here they are again, shaping the future of how our city runs.

Henriksen and Anderson also endorsed John Svilarich’s at-large campaign before his legal troubles surfaced. Their recommendations aren’t going to favor residents. They’re going to favor insulating the people who’ve always been in the room.

Ken Fisher’s clear warning

Ken Fisher, founder of Fisher Investments and once Camas’ largest employer with around 1,800 local jobs, strongly opposed this kind of shift back in 2018. His warning was straightforward: diluting voter control for bureaucratic insulation destroys accountability and economic vitality. After Washington Democrats pushed through a capital gains tax, Fisher moved his headquarters to Texas. That’s not a coincidence. Progressive policy overreach has real consequences, and businesses vote with their feet.

Why reward problematic leaders?

This brings me to John Svilarich. Why would we give more power to a system that people like him operate within? He pleaded guilty in December 2025 to fourth-degree assault after allegedly throwing a rock at a fisherman and brandishing a handgun on a public trail. That’s not a minor lapse in judgment – that’s contempt for the people he’s supposed to serve.

Similar concerns surround Mahsa Eshghi, whose ties to major city contractor MacKay Sposito raise legitimate conflict-of-interest questions. Too many on this council have been prioritizing institutions over residents for a long time.

Suspicious backroom moves

There are also rumors that Mayor Hogan may resign early and install Council Member Tim Hein as interim mayor – bypassing voters entirely and creating what amounts to an institutional line of succession. When a council is dysfunctional, this kind of structure is a gift to insiders. Blame shifts to an unelected manager, power flows to bureaucrats, and the people who’ve always run things keep running things – just with less accountability than before.

I’ve lived in Camas long enough to know that this city has done well under strong-mayor leadership with direct electoral accountability. That’s worth protecting.

Reject this shift. Demand results from the leaders we elect – not more insulation for insiders and unelected officials. Your vote is our best defense. Speak up now.

Gary Perman
Camas