In a flurry of messages Monday morning after learning of a recall effort against him, Deschutes County Sheriff Kent van der Kamp officially declared he’d be retiring after less than a year on the job.

A group of county residents and government officials, including a Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office sergeant, have been planning a recall effort against the sheriff since last week. They published their plans early Monday, setting off a swift change of course for the sheriff.

OPB reached out to van der Kamp just after 8 a.m. Monday morning for a response to the recall campaign’s announcement. The sheriff said he was unaware of the effort. Minutes later, according to emails obtained by OPB, van der Kamp notified county administrators that he was resigning from office, effective July 31.

“It has been an honor to serve the people of Deschutes County,” van der Kamp wrote in the resignation email. “I look forward to working with the county and office to make a smooth transition.”

The email is the first sign that the sheriff plans to leave office earlier than the end of August, which he had previously given as a potential departure date.

Van der Kamp emailed his resignation from Florida, where he is attending the National Sheriffs Association Conference. According to Deschutes County Clerk Steve Dennison, the sheriff’s resignation will be binding as of Thursday.

The volunteers leading the recall effort said they will continue with the campaign despite van der Kamp moving up his retirement date. Dennison said a recall petition could still be filed as long as van der Kamp is in office, regardless of a stated resignation date.

The group plans to file its recall paperwork on July 7, the first business day van der Kamp is eligible to be recalled under state law.

“We deserve a person of integrity leading the sheriff’s office,” said Thomas Lilienthal, a sergeant in the sheriff’s office and one of the recall campaign leaders. “Until [van der Kamp’s retirement] is finalized and something he cannot back out of, we’re going to continue to work.”

Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang said he wasn’t surprised by van der Kamp’s announcement to retire sooner, and he hopes that the sheriff does not change his mind before Thursday.

“I am hopeful that it’s a really firm decision,” Chang said. “And I am very relieved. I’m particularly relieved for all of the staff at the sheriff’s office. They have been living under a cloud of fear and intimidation under [previous sheriff] Shane Nelson, and now they’ve been living under a cloud of uncertainty and mistrust basically for the last few months with Sheriff van der Kamp.”

If van der Kamp decides to rescind his resignation, Chang said he would support the recall campaign and also look into how the county commissioners might legally be able to incentivize the sheriff to leave.

County Commissioner Patti Adair said she is looking ahead to van der Kamp’s resignation and starting the process of finding an interim replacement.

“We want a really smooth transition, and I’m just incredibly relieved that he’s leaving a month early, Adair said.

Van der Kamp was elected to the county’s top law enforcement job in November. His brief term in office has been mired in conflict since it was revealed during the campaign that he omitted employment history when he joined the sheriff’s office in 2004.

An internal investigation from his time as a reserve officer in La Mesa, California, was accidentally released to the public in early October after van der Kamp sued the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and OPB to keep the records private. According to the La Mesa investigator’s findings, van der Kamp was dishonest about his certification to use a radar gun during traffic stops. He was also flagged for possible excessive force on the job.

Findings of dishonesty followed van der Kamp into office as sheriff. In April, Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels announced his office had uncovered multiple times when van der Kamp gave false testimony in criminal cases about his education and credentials.

These findings led Gunnels to place van der Kamp on a list of witnesses prosecutors cannot ethically call on to testify in criminal cases.

In May, a state police policy committee unanimously voted to revoke van der Kamp’s police certifications, effectively recommending a lifetime ban on the sheriff serving as a law enforcement officer in Oregon. Staff for the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training said they investigated decades of allegations of dishonesty against the sheriff, including his time at La Mesa.

Van der Kamp has maintained that he did not intentionally misrepresent his education under oath and it was a mistake made by people he paid to write his résumé. He has said he will appeal if Oregon law enforcement regulators revoke his certification.

Jennifer Stephens, an organizer in the recall effort said she sees the recall as a fail safe to ensure van der Kamp leaves office. Stephens was the campaign manager for Cpt. William Bailey, who ran against van der Kamp in the sheriff’s race. She said the recall is not politically motivated and Bailey is not a part of the effort.

“I keep wondering what Deschutes County Sheriff Les Stiles would think,” Stephens wrote in an email to OPB. Stiles served as Deschutes County’s sheriff from 2001 to 2007.

“Sheriff Stiles had a saying, ‘If you lie, cheat, or steal, you’re gone.’ Sheriff Les Stiles’ name is memorialized on the Sheriff’s Office entrance sign. I hope we can get back to expecting and demanding honesty and integrity from our sheriff,” Stephens said.

In addition to the findings from DA Gunnels and the likelihood of van der Kamp’s certifications being revoked, the recall group said they’re also concerned with the way the sheriff is spending his time in office.

In the last few months, Lilienthal claimed, he’s seen van der Kamp become more active in his side job as a real estate agent and broker. Van der Kamp owns Eagle Equity Services and Oracle Funding Corp. On Wednesday, June 11, van der Kamp hosted a live webinar for potential customers. Lilienthal said he attended the seminar anonymously.

In text messages and a voicemail reviewed by OPB, Van der Kamp sent follow up messages to Lilienthal, stating that he was available for free one-on-one consultations.

“Don’t forget — if you ever have any questions about real estate or homebuying, I’m always here to help,” van der Kamp sent in a text after the webinar.

The live seminar was happening as deputies were responding to a small fire in La Pine. Lilienthal said there was a heated response in a supervisor meeting the next day.

“There was a complete 100% revolt against him,” Lilienthal said. “Telling him to his face, ‘you need to leave yesterday, and yesterday is too late.’”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/06/23/deschutes-county-sheriff-kent-van-der-kamp-moves-up-retirement-recall-campaign/