The Gearhart firehouse on Pacific Way.

GEARHART — Three residents who were critical of a $14.5 million bond measure for a new firehouse in the May election have filed a lawsuit against the city and several city leaders, claiming they were targeted by the city after the measure was rejected by voters.

Kathleen Zimmerman, her husband, Jack, and Beth Cameron filed the lawsuit Thursday in Clatsop County Circuit Court alleging defamation, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent retention. They are asking for $950,000 in damages.

The lawsuit names the city, Mayor Kerry Smith, Police Chief Jeff Bowman, City Administrator Chad Sweet and City Councilor Brent Warren.

The lawsuit was filed by Mitchell Cogen, an attorney and resident who has also been critical of city leaders.

“It is a very sad day when a local government resorts to unlawfully targeting and attacking its residents rather than reasonably responding to legitimate concerns,” Cogen said in an email. “The failed leadership and wrongful, despicable actions by the city have seriously harmed the plaintiffs, created chaos and division amongst the residents, and tainted the once-great city with a distasteful stain.

“Plaintiffs must be made whole and leaders not driven by ego and vengeance elected and appointed in order for Gearhart to begin to regain its former greatness.”

City Attorney Peter Watts said “it is the city’s practice not to comment on pending litigation.”

The lawsuit is an extension of a bitter divide in Gearhart over replacing the aging fire station on Pacific Way.

Jack Zimmerman, a retiree who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2018 and 2020, was among the leading voices in opposition to the city’s different plans to replace the firehouse. Last year, Zimmerman and another resident filed a lawsuit challenging the ballot language for a November 2021 bond measure that would have financed a project off Highlands Lane. The lawsuit failed in Circuit Court, but caused a delay that pushed the bond measure to the May election.

Before the election, the Zimmermans and Cameron made frequent comments on the Zimmermans’ Facebook forum — The Pacific Way Group — condemning the project off Highlands Lane and disparaging city leaders who favored the bond measure to finance the plan.

In the weeks after the bond measure was rejected by voters, Paulina Cockrum resigned as mayor and was replaced by Smith, a city councilor.

City leaders also took security precautions at City Hall after an anonymous letter urged City Administrator Sweet to step down as “the head of the snake” and what turned out to be a false gun threat at public meetings. Sheriff Matt Phillips determined that the discussion had been distorted via word-of-mouth and social media and that the reports of threats were unfounded.

Cameron and Jack Zimmerman had reached out to the sheriff about the gun threat, linking it to Sweet.

According to the lawsuit, the Zimmermans allege that city leaders formulated an attack against them for their opposition to the firehouse bond measure. “Defendants were desperate to distract from the horrific beating they had taken at the ballot box and wanted revenge against the Zimmermans,” the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit points to memos by Police Chief Bowman posted on an official blog on the city’s website in late June that discuss the security precautions at City Hall and concerns that Cameron and Jack Zimmerman made false reports to the sheriff about the gun threat.

The lawsuit also alleges city leaders seized on an old picture from Kathleen Zimmerman’s Instagram account that depicted two pistols, a bottle of scotch and a Bible and posted the picture to the city’s blog.

Mayor Smith said at a City Council meeting in early July that he decided the anonymous letter to the city administrator and the Zimmerman photo should be taken off the city’s website. “And finally, whether these circumstances occurred as a result of information or misinformation,” he said, “it is disruptive to the health of Gearhart and its ability to conduct normal business.”

Even though the items were removed, the lawsuit notes that residents can sign up to receive notifications of blog posts via email, and “the city has no mechanism to retract those emails and they remain in the public domain, free to be forwarded or otherwise transferred without limitation.”

The negligent retention claim in the lawsuit involves the city retaining Sweet as city administrator after his 2020 drunken-driving case and other incidents.

The Zimmermans and Cameron — a part-time resident — claim they have suffered damage to their reputations, severe emotional distress and other injuries. The lawsuit asks for $450,000 in damages for Kathleen Zimmerman, $250,000 in damages for Jack Zimmerman and $250,000 in damages for Cameron.

Bowman has announced that he will retire as police chief in April. City Councilor Warren lost his reelection campaign in November.