This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the state.

John Day, Ore. — Who is Nick Green?

For nearly a decade, citizens of John Day, the largest but steadily shrinking town in Grant County, have disagreed.

Is Green, whom the John Day City Council hired as city manager in 2016, a savior who could be the last chance for the resource-rich but economically struggling town? Or is he a self-promoter who set out to exploit the city’s vulnerability?

John Day (pop. 1,617) is so divided over Green that the city’s few bars and restaurants are segregated according to their customers’ views of him: Green’s supporters favor the 1188 Brewing Company on East Main Street. His critics favor the Snaffle Bit Dinner House.

A walk through some of the projects he

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