New Mexico: Petitions handed in for Five Raton City Commissioners

Very good write up here. Petitions have been handed in against five Raton city commissioners. The reason may have to be thought out a little bit more for campaigning purposes:

 Ward Shrake, who told The Range he is seeking the recall not because of “any one specific thing that any one specific commissioner had done, or not done,” but rather “the slow realization that I couldn’t come up with any specific positive things that any of them had actually done, individually or as a group...”

An interesting factoid here:

While state law specifically includes the recall option in the manager-commissioner form of government under which Raton operates, the law makes no reference to allowing for recall in a mayor-council form of government.

Mayor Charles Starkovich, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Candelario and Commissioners Neil Segotta, Sandy Mantz and Jimmy Fanelli are the targeted officials.

State law sets the required number of registered city voter signatures for a recall petition — in order to bring about a recall election — at the greater of the following: more than 20 percent of the average number of voters who voted in the last four regular municipal elections or more than 20 percent of the number of voters who voted in the last regular municipal election. 

In Raton, the average number of voters who voted in the last four regular municipal elections is 967.3, producing a 20-percent mark of 193.5, giving a rounded number of 194 signatures necessary on the petition against any individual commissioner. A total of 939 voters — 20 percent of which is 187.8 — voted in the last regular municipal election in March.

The recall requires not only a majority of votes, but that the votes equal in favor of the recall equal or top the recalled officials winning total in the last election.

Raton removed three commissioners by recall in 2010.