#1 2011-09-04 14:01:29
Good afternoon.
I have tried here to give a sort of template, in overview fashion, of the requirements for a Recall election as delineated in the Town Charter in Section 7 - 10.
1. Time Frame: subsections (a) and (g) define the time frame for a Recall as being after three (3) months of taking office or having at least six (6) months remaining in the term of office. Clearly, a Recall now will fall within those limits.
2. Recall Petitions:
a. "Twenty-five or more voters may file with the town clerk an affidavit containing the name of the officer whose recall is sought and a statement of the grounds upon which the petition is based." Care will be needed on the statement of the grounds.
b.[u][i][b] "The town clerk shall deliver to the said voters petition blanks demanding said recall, printed forms of which he shall keep available. The blanks may be completed by writing or typewriting; they shall be addressed to the board of selectmen; they shall contain the names of the persons who filed the affidavit and the grounds for recall as stated in the affidavit; they shall demand the election of a successor to the office; and they shall be dated and signed by the town clerk." Pretty straightforward.
c. "..., recall petitions shall be returned and filed in the office of the town clerk within fourteen days following the date the petitions were issued, signed by at least ten percent of the total number of registered voters duly recorded on the registration list of the town clerk as of the preceding town election. The town clerk shall, within twenty-five hours following such filing, submit said petitions to the registrars of voters who shall forthwith certify thereon the number of signatures which are names of voters."
OK, now here is a problem. the Town's website states that there are 14, 724 Registered Voters. Let me round that up to 15,000. that means that the recall petitions will need 1500 +/- signatures. That's a lot of signatures.
But wait, it gets worse. The registrar of voters, i.e. the town clerk, will have to CERTIFY the signatures. How much time will that take? The rule of thumb that I have always heard is to collect about 10% above minimum to allow for disqualifications. Now, you are up to 1,600-1,700 signatures. Whew!
Now, here is a question regarding a point on which the Town Charter seems to be silent: Is there some distribution requirement for the 1,600-1,700 signatures. There are 6 precincts, can all of the signatures come from just one of the precincts (not likely, I know)? a minimum from each of the six? Need to know this in advance.
2. Recall Election - " If the petition shall be certified by the registrars of voters to be sufficient, the town clerk shall forthwith submit the same to the board of selectmen. Upon its receipt of the certified petition, the board of selectmen shall forthwith give written notice of said petition and certificate to the person whose recall is sought. If said officer does not resign his office within five days following delivery of the said notice, the board of selectmen shall order an election to be held not less than thirty-five nor more than sixty days after the date of the registrars' certificate of the sufficiency of the petition." Wow! lotsa stuff to chew on here!
a. "the town clerk shall forthwith..." what a great word, forthwith. Meaningless. the town Clerk/Registrar can find, no doubt, ways & means to dither & stall.
b. "..the BoS shall forthwith give written notice of said petition and certificate to the person whose recall is being sought." There's that forthwith again. But the bigger question here is: How do you give written notice if you cannot locate the person? Hmmm?
c. So the officer does not resign within five days, and the BoS orders an election. right? Even if the BoS cannot find him to notify him? Or, if they cannot find him to notify him, does that render the Recall process moot?
d. But suppose the BoS does find him and he resigns. Is the recall process now moot? Does that leave any call for an election in the hands of the BoS, which could simply leave the seat vacant? or, could they time the election to suit political whims rather than citizens' needs? the town Charter is silent on these questions. But it is quite specific in the case where notification is made and the officer declines to resign: an election within 35-60 days, etc. The town's attorney is going to love this; you don't mind paying for his winter vacation, do you?.
and last: "Officeholder - The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of his office until the recall election." Thought you might like a chuckle.
So there it is. Cumbersome. Unclear on key points that may be issues in this case. Will no doubt run up attorney's fees.
But the reality is: there is no viable alternative, it seems. So once again:
ORGANIZATION
MONEY
CANDIDATE(S)
Let me know what you think.
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#2 2011-09-04 14:57:30
A very helpful analysis Stewie. Gives us a lot to think about.
I must say it amazes me that he has lasted this long without resigning. I believe six months after the election is when a recall can be initiated, so we could actively begin pursuing this in October.
Will he resign by then? Surely he knows if he waits till October he's in danger of being recalled and the disgrace that comes with it. To be labeled as such a bad politician that the people could not wait for your term to end to remove you from office isn't a good thing.
It will be hard but I think there will be volunteers and I think it will be a tough hill to climb but the signatures will be obtained. Will he resign once faced with a recall petition? I don't know.
This is a public relations disaster for the Hypocrite Elite. I've heard from so many people duped into voting for Mikey who are disappointed in his behavior. If they hold the seat open, they're just showing they care more about politics than what is good for the town, i.e. having 5 selectmen instead of 4.
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#3 2011-09-04 14:59:32
Just a thought - perhaps its time to start putting the pressure on our government to do something. Maybe some citizens could get together and circulate a petition demanding Mike's resignation and present it to the BOS? It would be a good exercise to begin recruiting volunteers and to make contacts with people who would eventually sign the recall petition if he does not resign.
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#4 2011-09-04 15:06:52
I do think it is obvious that the Hypocrite Elite have committed themselves to avoiding any attempt to fill the seat before the next general election. They'd rather let the town go without a selectman for a year than let the seat go to someone they don't like. A bit selfish of them, don't you think?
They will try to exploit loopholes to keep a recall from happening wherever they can. They don't want an election before next April's general election and they'll do what they can to stop it. They'd leave the seat open for 3 years if they could.
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#5 2011-09-04 15:16:00
Guy is right.
Time to think of two candidates to run for the general election.
By the way, I have not seen Mikey in Florida.
Yet.
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#6 2011-09-04 15:19:41
GuyIncognito wrote:
I believe six months after the election is when a recall can be initiated, so we could actively begin pursuing this in October.
(g) Repeat of Recall Petition - No recall petition shall be filed against an officer within three months after he takes office, or in the case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not recalled thereby, until at least six months after the election at which his recall was submitted to the voters.
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#7 2011-09-04 15:33:47
Thanks for posting that, Dave. Right on the point.
Guy, what DD has posted tells me that an elected official is fair game for a recall after three (3) months in office. In the Schneider case, that means that after the first week in July, he was eligible for a recall. No need to wait 'til October.
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#8 2011-09-04 15:36:57
Holy shit DD! I didn't know that. What the hell are we waiting for? Let's pull those recall papers like we're yanking on the rip cord to start a leaf blower!
Last edited by GuyIncognito (2011-09-04 15:37:14)
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#9 2011-09-04 15:38:59
Guy, to a different point you made regarding current, direct pressure. Absolutely!
At the next Citizens Participation, the BoS should be presented with a petition signed by many, demanding that the BoS declare the seat vacant and call for a special election at the earliest possible date. This petition, of course, would carry no legal weight. BUT, it would send a strong message, and that can be every bit as effective as legal mumbo-jumbo.
There is nothing to lose with this gambit.
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#10 2011-09-04 15:54:10
I was under the mistaken impression that it was 6 months after the election to start a recall. I think many others may have been thinking that as well.
I say let's pull the recall papers first thing Tuesday morning. This is probably the best chance we'll ever get at recalling one of these bums. Talk to even the people that voted for Mikey. They're livid.
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#11 2011-09-04 23:07:21
Stewie, I notice that the time between the certification of the papers and the election is short - between 35-60 days. I think this is one reason why the tin hats are trying to drag this out.
That would not leave much time for the hypocrites to get behind a candidate. The best they can offer right now is Sweet Brucey, and no amount of polish in the world is going to shine up that turd.
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#12 2011-09-04 23:09:38
The sad thing is - imagine how much easier this would all be if the hypocrites would just do the right thing?
Mike could resign, then the selectmen could call a special election or if they don't, the citizens could with 200 signatures.
Instead, it looks like they're leaving the people in such a lurch that the only way they can make the board whole again is to go through the painstaking process of getting 1700 signatures.
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