The Recall Elections Blog

Colorado: More on the Morse recall effort

2013-05-17T19:22:00.004-07:00

CNN has another story on this. I'll have to write a larger piece on this.

Arizona: Arpaio recall pulls plug on paid signatures gatherers (again)

2013-05-17T19:20:00.002-07:00

Washington: Senators considering easing recall laws

2013-05-17T19:09:00.001-07:00

This is after the difficulty Pacific voters dealt with in getting their mayoral recall on the ballot. One of the suggestions is adding in DUI as a reason to recall.

Massachusetts: Hanson Board of Health Chair recall election tomorrow

2013-05-17T19:05:00.002-07:00

Tom Constantine is up for recall tomorrow. Here's the issues.

Nebraska: Omaha Mayor, who beat back recall campaign, loses reelection race

2013-05-17T00:50:00.000-07:00

Jim Suttle barely survived a recall race in 2011. While he got into the runoff, but was easily defeated in his reelection 57-42.

Alaska: Whittier mayor recall going to the ballot

2013-05-17T00:42:00.001-07:00

Whittier Mayor Lester Lunceford is facing a recall for open meeting violations. Petitioners handed 56 valid signatures, and needed 31.

Nebraska: Wayne County Commissioner loses recall in overwhelming fashion

2013-05-14T19:34:00.002-07:00

Kelvin Wurdeman was kicked out 370-77. His conviction for selling publicly owned scrap metal did not go over well.

California: San Bernardino City Clerk 10th official to face recall petitions

2013-05-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

San Bernardino City Clerk Gigi Hanna is the 10th city official to face a recall, though this is not being run by the same group that is launching a recall against the 10 other officials.

South Dakota: Rapid City Councilman recall needs 1,000 more signatures

2013-05-14T15:02:00.003-07:00

Petitioners claim that they need 1,000 more signatures to reach the 6,200 signatures needed to get the recall of Rapid City Councilman Bill Clayton on the ballot. Here's why:

Clayton reportedly asked the TV reporter, who is Jamaican-American, "Should we deport you back to Kenya with Obama?" and "Are you even American?"

Florida: Tamarac Commissioner recall moving to second round of signature gathering

2013-05-14T14:51:00.001-07:00

The ongoing recall campaign against Commissioner Patte Atkins-Grad got enough signatures to move to the second round. Petitioners will now need 15% of 12496 to get on the ballot.

Michigan: Columbia School Board Secretary hearing recall threats for fictitious newspaper letter to the editor

2013-05-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

Columbia School Board Secretary Amy Miller is facing recall threats after writing a letter to the editor under a fictitious name opposing the new high school football coach hiring. The same group calling for the recall had previously discussed recalling the entire school board.

Nebraska: Wayne County Commissioner facing recall today

2013-05-14T14:20:00.001-07:00

Wayne County Commissioner Kelvin Wurdeman is facing a recall vote today after being convicted of stealing a truckload of publicly owned scrap metal and fined $1,000.

North Dakota: Five Griggs County Commissioners facing recall threats over courthouse/emergency center building plans

2013-05-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

All five Griggs County commissioners, Ron and Dennis Halvorson, Keith Monson, Robert Johnson and Ronnie Edland, are facing recall threats over the plan to build a $3.5 million courthouse and emergency operations center. The county voters have shot down three separate bond issues on the subject.

(Petitioners need 25% of the turnout in the governor's race -- which is 60 to 75 signatures per).

Florida: North Miami voters looking to subject all elected officials to recalls

2013-05-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here

The last charter question deals with the recall of elected officials; the city’s current language follows state statute. Voters will be asked to decide whether the city should remove redundant language and subject all elected officers in the city to the possibility of a recall.

Nebraska: Recall backers still opposing Omaha Mayor in reelection race

2013-05-10T19:36:00.003-07:00

Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle survived a recall vote in 2011. He's running for reelection and, no surprise, the recall backers are spending on his opponent.

Washington: Two Clark County Commissioners facing recall threat

2013-05-10T00:17:00.001-07:00

Clark County Commissioners David Madore and Tom Mielke are facing recall threats over the decision to push out the environmental services director and put in place Republican state Senator Don Benton. A former mayor of Vancouver. Royce Pollard, is leading the recall charge. Petitoners would need 39,549 and 44.053 to get on the ballot (25% of turnout).

Petitioners need to show Malfeasance, but the state courts rejects violation of open meeting laws (a popular one in other states) as a reason for meeting the malfeasance standard.

In Clark County, it's been almost 30 years since a recall measure has landed on the ballot. In November 1983, Ridgefield voters narrowly approved a recall of Mayor John Roe. The year before, Washougal voters soundly rejected a recall of Mayor Mike Johnson.

Arizona: Sheriff Arpaio petitioners back using paid signature gatherers

2013-05-10T00:02:00.002-07:00

This is actually a good sign for the recall movement, as it means they have some money. They need 335,000 valid signatures by May 30.

Spirit Lake Tribal Council battling over recall

2013-05-09T23:56:00.001-07:00

Here

Washington: Pacific Mayor recall will be held June 25

2013-05-09T23:42:00.002-07:00

The recall of Pacific Mayor Cy Sun is going forward, and will be held June 25. 467 of the 539 signatures were held to be valid. Petitioners needed 415. Sun is facing a recall due to his alleged misuse of the police department (including forcing out the police chief and four officers) and refusing to file department heads, which caused issues with liability insurance.

Note that: The last successful recall election involved a Southwest Suburban Sewer District Commissioner who was recalled in 2004.

Op-ed on NY and the recall in the Albany Times Union

2013-05-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here's my op-ed on the subject

Texas: Lubbock Secretary details recall law

2013-05-08T15:43:00.002-07:00

Here it is -- the recall has been threatened against Councilman Victor Hernandez.

UK: Queen's speech leaves out recall law

2013-05-08T15:39:00.001-07:00

The Independent notes that leaving out the potential for a recall law "has been ditched -- for this year at least."

Michigan: Troy mayor wins election in recall replacement vote

2013-05-08T14:59:00.002-07:00

Dane Slater, who was appointed to replace Janice Daniels after Daniels was kicked out of office in November, won the replacement vote. 50.4.%-45.9%.

Michigan:All three incumbents lost in Charlevoix City Council recall

2013-05-08T14:55:00.001-07:00

All three incumbents were swept out of office in the Charlevoix City Council recall election, Denis Kusina lost to Jeff Porter 135-193; Bryan Vollmer lost to Gene Campbell 54-116, and Jill Picha lost to Shirley Gibson 76-119 (with a third party garnering 22 votes). This recall was based about the approval of a community fireplace.

New York: Op-ed by Republican Assembly members on their proposed recall law

2013-05-08T14:19:00.002-07:00

Right here in the Albany Times Union.