New Jersey: Millville City Commissioner faces recall threat

City Commissioner David Vanaman is facing a recall threat, with the petitioners hoping to put it on the ballot for the November election (abandoning an earlier effort to hold a special election this summer, which would have cost $60K).

Petitioners claim that Vanaman, the city's public safety director,  has a conflict of interest because of his position as treasurer of the city’s volunteer firefighters organization and Vanaman’s performance overseeing the police department. Most interest is this complaint:

Commissioner Vanaman got a $314,917 grant for the Fire Department that cost the city $39,491 in matching grants from city taxpayers. This grant supposedly was to purchase a new ladder truck to replace the 10-year-old ladder truck already in use. 

Vanaman claims that the basis of the recall is a refusal to give one of the petitioners, a former City Commission candidate, a job as a special officer.

The committee has three members: Mark LoIacone, co-chairman; McQuade, treasurer, and a former City Commission candidate; and McQuade’s wife, Carol McQuade, co-chairwoman.

Petitioners need 4,501 signatures -- 25 percent of registered voters. They do have a relaxed time frame -- a 160-day period. Millville has a California-like recall, with a yes or no vote on removal.