Umatilla County residents are trying to fire their sheriff at the ballot box, launching a recall petition to remove Sheriff Terry Rowan after his May 2025 DUI arrest. Organizers say they need roughly 4,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, but they are shooting for about 6,000 to cushion against invalid or unverifiable names, and they plan to file by June 29 to meet state deadlines.
Rowan was stopped on Interstate 84 in Gilliam County on May 16, 2025. Deputies reported that he failed a field sobriety test and blew a 0.19 blood alcohol content, more than twice Oregon's legal limit. According to court filings, he later pleaded no contest and agreed to a yearlong diversion program that includes treatment and other conditions and that could bring penalties if he does not comply. KPTV and Elkhorn Media Group have detailed the arrest and court proceedings.
The recall effort is being led by a three person committee headed by chief petitioner Chris Waine, who argues that a sheriff who breaks the law should not keep the badge. The group has spent months building English and Spanish language websites and setting up physical drop boxes around the county in hopes of gathering well over the legal minimum. In a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive, Waine put it bluntly: "A sheriff who has broken the law is unacceptable."
How the recall works
Under Oregon law, a recall petition must collect valid signatures equal to 15% of the votes cast in the electoral district for governor in the most recent full term gubernatorial election, a standard laid out in the Oregon Revised Statutes. Based on Umatilla County's turnout in that race, petitioners say their target works out to about 3,770 valid signatures. Organizers still plan to gather a much higher number to guard against signatures that could be rejected or challenged. NonStop Local/NBC Right Now has broken down the county's threshold and the steps that follow verification, including a short response period and then a recall ballot.
Earlier attempts and local reaction
This is not the first attempt to recall Rowan since his DUI arrest. Earlier petitions were either withdrawn or fell short of the needed signatures and were no longer active by early this year, county officials have said. That stop and start history has pushed the current committee to lean heavily on visibility, bilingual outreach and volunteer canvassing as the June 29 deadline looms. Local coverage has noted that the earlier drives fizzled, and organizers say they are determined not to repeat that outcome. Elkhorn Media Group reported on the lapse of the previous petitions.
Legal implications
The recall push and the criminal case are technically separate tracks, but both are shaping the way voters see the sheriff. The Gilliam County district attorney has said Rowan will be treated like any other defendant, and court records spell out the diversion terms he must complete. OPB has reported the DA's comments and the case schedule.
In the meantime, recall organizers say they will keep staffing drop boxes, managing the bilingual sign up pages and going door to door as they race toward June 29. The sheriff's office has not offered a specific comment on the recall to reporters. For more on who is behind the petition and how to sign it, see The Oregonian/OregonLive.
