Camas City Council to formally reprimand Svilarich for violating code of conduct

The Camas City Council has decided to issue Councilor John Svilarich a formal reprimand for violating the council’s code of conduct.

Svilarich pleaded guilty Dec. 18 in Clark County Superior Court to one count of fourth-degree assault after being accused of pointing a gun at a fisherman and throwing a rock over an argument about a littered cigarette butt on Aug. 31, 2024.

“This isn’t subjective,” Councilor Jennifer Senescu said during the council’s March 2 meeting. “We have a criminal violation. We have a guilty plea. This isn’t like, ‘Do we think this council member violated our code of conduct?’ He did. It happened, and he pled guilty to it, so to me, there’s no way around that it’s a violation of our code.”

Councilors unanimously approved a motion to issue Svilarich a reprimand during their March 2 meeting after Svilarich apologized for the publicity that the incident caused.

“I also want to express my gratitude to those on the council, those on staff, in the community, who reached out and offered support,” Svilarich said. “Your candor and honesty have been helpful as I continue to learn and to work for better outcomes for our community. I hope now that we can all move forward, focus on the important work that needs to be done for our community and why the citizens elected us to these offices.”

The council adopted the Camas City Council Professional Code of Conduct in September to establish guidelines for professional behavior, accountability and public interactions. The document emphasizes integrity, respect and proper use of city resources, and features a progressive discipline system ranging from nonpublic warnings to censure.

“I think it is very important that we have an agreement about how we will behave,” Councilor Marilyn Boerke told The Columbian in September.

Councilor Tim Hein submitted a complaint on Jan. 5 alleging that Svilarich violated the code of conduct with his actions. The city then hired attorney Ted Gathe to conduct an independent investigation to determine if Svilarich’s conduct, the criminal complaint and its resolution constituted sufficient grounds to charge the councilor with a violation.

Gathe’s report found that while the city’s civility resolution applied only to conduct during official city business and therefore did not cover the 2024 incident, Svilarich’s actions appeared to conflict with broader code provisions requiring integrity and personal accountability, and constituted a potential code violation.

Senescu moved to censure Svilarich during the March 2 meeting, stating that his actions “affected our credibility as a council.”

“The council member in question was dishonest with a law enforcement officer when he was carrying a weapon and did not disclose that,” Senescu said. “These are serious things that happened that are not disputed. … This was a big deal. I think that what this council has been through, and what citizens have been through, this needs to be addressed.”

The council failed to approve Senescu’s motion, but later in the meeting OK’d Councilor Martin Elzingre’s motion to issue Svilarich a less-severe reprimand.

“A letter of reprimand essentially has the same effect as a censure and acts as a formal rebuke to the councilmember’s behavior outside of the city council duties,” Councilor John Nohr said.