Over the past four years, the Estacada City Council has appointed four community members to its ranks to fill vacancies, and three of them have been convicted of crimes in Oregon, according to court records reviewed by OPB.

OPB discovered the pattern while reporting on nearly two dozen counts related to child abuse filed against City Councilor Matthew Blevens last month. It raises questions about the amount of scrutiny given by Estacada to its political appointees and also what information candidates should disclose when seeking public office.

While the issue has come up among political organizers in Nevada, in Oregon, there is no law that requires appointed officials or candidates for office to submit to background checks or divulge past criminal history.

Only one member of the city council returned OPB’s requests for comment. Neither Blevens nor his attorney responded.

A recent arrest

Blevens’ arrest last month made headlines around the state. The Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office charged him with 23 counts for abusing a child in his care several times between 2023 and 2025. After his arrest, only one of the six other Estacada City Councilors, Jerry Tenbush, called on him to resign.

At a March city council meeting, Councilor Jon Dolezal said he was “saddened” by the news and “sorry for all the people involved,” but did not call for Blevens to step down. Councilor Melissa Hill said she “concurred” with Dolezal’s comments and wanted “us all to embrace that humanity exists and we are all flawed.”

Mayor Sean Drinkwine said at the meeting he would not comment on Blevens’ arrest. But to those who questioned his leadership for appointing Blevens, the mayor said, “The proof is in the leadership around you.” Drinkwine cited a new city sewer plant and “a good police service” as examples.

Estacada is a city of about 5,000 people in rural Clackamas County. Its nonpartisan city council approves local policies and ordinances, including those enforced by police.

City Manager Melanie Wagner said background checks are not included in the process for appointing new city councilors. The position application does not ask about criminal history. A growing movement in Nevada encourages political candidates to publish their own background checks in the interest of transparency.

In Oregon, employers are not allowed to require applicants to disclose their criminal history on a job application or any time before an initial interview. City councilors aren’t employees — they are elected or appointed, rather than hired — and in most smaller Oregon cities, they don’t earn salaries for their positions.

Blevens’ time in office lasted just over a year. He was appointed to the council in February 2025 to take the place of an elected councilor who suffered life-altering injuries in a work accident. Blevens lost his council seat on April 13 when the council declared his seat vacant due to his absence of 30 days or more without the consent of the rest of the council. The council did so without discussing the matter.

Last month’s indictment was not the first time Blevens was charged for assaulting a family member. According to a letter from Blevens’ wife read by a prosecutor in court April 17, Blevens “has a prior history of domestic violence involving a former partner.”

Court records associated with Blevens’ divorce from his first wife include a judgment document that states Blevens was convicted after pleading guilty to fourth-degree assault in 2017. That document also notes that the imposition of Blevens’ sentence was suspended. A search of the Clackamas County Criminal Court’s records does not list the 2017 conviction.

State and federal law do not prohibit residents with a criminal record from holding public office. Additionally, Estacada’s City Charter and City Council rules include no mention of criminal history impacting a city council candidate’s eligibility for office.

Identity theft, forgery ’14 years behind me’

Two–and-a-half years before Blevens joined the city council, the council appointed Michael McElroy to join the body. The project manager and salesman at a local building company applied for a position on council in August 2022 following the resignation of Councilor Justin Gates. The council selected McElroy after a brief interview with him and three other applicants. In November 2022, Estacada residents elected McElroy to serve four more years in the seat.

At the time he was appointed, McElroy’s criminal history included seven separate cases in four counties of identity theft, theft, forgery, and drug possession. Between 2003 and 2013, those seven cases resulted in McElroy’s conviction on eight counts of identity theft, four counts of forgery, two counts of theft, two counts of fleeing a police officer and one count of possession of a controlled substance. Prosecutors initially brought more charges in each of the cases but reduced them through plea deals. He’ll be up for re-election in November.

“At the time I applied and later ran for the position, my focus was on how I could serve the community and contribute positively,” McElroy said in an emailed statement to OPB. “My past is part of the public record, and I’ve never denied it. In hindsight, I understand why some people feel that more explicit disclosure would have been appropriate, and I respect that perspective.”

McElroy said he’s never run from his past but noted, “It’s also 14 years behind me.” As he puts that past behind him, he said he’s also sought to help others in recovery and prevent prison recidivism.

Court records show McElroy was sentenced to state prison. He declined to tell OPB how long he was in custody and it wasn’t clear from court documents.

“If the standard is that someone can never move forward no matter what they do, that’s a different conversation,” he said. “I believe people should be judged on who they are today and the impact they’re having now.”

Councilor appointed while on probation

A year after McElroy’s appointment, the council selected Jonathan Metcalf to join its ranks to replace Joel Litkie, who had recently resigned. Estacada voters elected Metcalf to the position in November 2024. His term on council ends in 2028.

At the time of his appointment, Metcalf was four months into a two-year probation for a Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants charge out of Umatilla County.

Melissa Hill was the fourth city councilor to be named to fill a recent vacancy. She doesn’t have a criminal record.

In order to be named to city council, McElroy and Metcalf had to submit applications, answer a few questions about their relevant experience and why they wanted to serve on council, and give brief interviews at a council meeting. During Blevens’ appointment process, applicants submitted their applications and answered questions but did not have to do interviews.

Other than McElroy, no member of the council responded to OPB’s inquiries about whether they felt Blevens, Metcalf and McElroy should have disclosed their criminal history before applying for council.

Now, the council is once again taking applications to fill Blevens’ vacant seat. Qualified voters who have lived within Estacada city limits for the past year are eligible to apply. Applicants must agree to the city’s code of conduct for boards and committees, which states that members should uphold the values of respect, integrity and service to the community. Applications are due by 1 p.m. May 5 and interviews will take place at the May 11 City Council meeting.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/29/estacada-councilor-charges-vacancy-appointment-criminal-histories/