Who Will Be the Next Victim of the Grand Bounce? A nonpartisan, nonjudgmental look at the “Hair-Trigger” Form of Government
MSP Graham Simpson (Tory) has put forward a recall bill for breaching rules, as well as a law which would give voters the power to remove an MSP who doesn't "take part in parliamentary proceedings for more than six months without a valid reason."
The former Finance Secretary Derek Mackay resigned from that job in February 2020 over allegations of inappropriate social media with a 16-year old boy, but stayed on as an MSP until May 2021 without showing up.
Here's a look at the extended fight over a recall vote against Alvo Board Members Larry Langer and Robin LaPage, which is now scheduled for February 15 Previously a lawsuit was filed against Alvo after the town board voted 5-0 against scheduling the election and a judge order the recall to be scheduled or the board to be held in contempt. The recall seems to be over a tire scrapeyard, which was previously owned by Langer.
The mid-term chance for a recall of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro appears guaranteed to fail, as the Government Election Board required the nearly 4.2 million signatures to all be gathered in a 12 hour time period at 1200 electoral centers. Petitioners gathered 42,421 signatures. Maduro previously killed a recall against him in 2017. His predecessor Hugo Chavez survived a recall vote in 2004.
Petitioners appear to have enough signatures to get a recall of Kennebunk School Board (RSU 21) Timothy Stentiford on the ballot. Former board member Norman Archer is one of the leaders of the recall effort. petitioners handed in 697 signatures and verified 668, though that was lowered to 665. They needed exactly that.
Petitions were also taken out against Chair Arthur LeBlanc, with petitioners missing by one signature (they got 664). The issue appears to be a recent teacher contract and claims of bullying.
The recall may be set for March 29.
After two failed recall effort, Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Bonin has announced that he won't run for a third term.
The latest recall effort, which failed this month as more than 13,000 signatures were tossed out. Petitioners handed in 39,188 signatures and needed 27,317. They got 25,965. Petitioners can still appeal.
This recall attempt was supposedly over the homeless issues, though petitioners were previously talking about his support for the shutdowns to prevent further damage from the coronavirus pandemic. Two other councilmembers faced recall attempts, though both failed to get the signatures.
Bonin previously faced a recall effort in 2017-2018 over his road diet plan -- the DOT's removal of 9.4 miles of traffic lanes to prevent pedestrian deaths.
Bonin is up for re-election in December, with a primary in June. If the recall got on the ballot, the vote would likely have taken place in April or May, though that would not effect the re-election vote in June. Bonin won his 2017 re-election run with 71% of the vote.
The last recall in Los Angeles was Councilman Art Snyder, who survived the vote in 1984. The last one to result in removal was Councilman Meade McClanahan in 1946.
A second recall effort has been approved against Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon. Gascon has faced recall efforts led by victims' rights groups and others over Gascon's criminal justice reform plans, including ending cash bail and other efforts. A previous effort failed to get 579,062 signatures (though this article says they need 566,857)
Petitioners failed to hand in any signatures against Scio Township Supervisor Will Hathaway for the May primary date. They can still gather signatures for November. Petitioners needed 2439 signatures. The recall seems to be about a vote to double Hathaway's salary.
There was also a recall effort against Trustees Alec Jerome, though no word on what happened to that one. Township Supervisor Jane Vogel resigning in the face of an approved recall petition. Vogel said the resignation is about "professional and family priorities."
Over 5000 votes have been cast in the recall of Shasta County Supervisor Leonard Moty, which has a February 8 deadline. The recall is over the Supervisors support for restrictions to fight the Covid pandemic, though it has seemed to morph into a other right wing political issues, including potential secession from the state.
Here's a vastly more detailed look at the fight. There is also a claim that the recall proponents have copied their logo from the QAnon logo. Supervisor Patrick Jones joined the petitioners in their handing in the signatures.
The cost for a recall election is estimated is between $200,000 and $400,000.
Though results won't be known for a month, the latest reports have Newberg School Board member Brian Shannon and Dave Brown beating back the recall with about 52% in their favor. The recall was over a vote to fire the Superintendent and a vote to ban political flags (such as LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter).
Petitioners targeting Nevada County Supervisors allegedly forced themselves into the clerk's office, resulting in a temporary closure. The petitioners refused to follow the mask mandate designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Petitions were taken out against five Nevada County Board of Supervisors, Dan Miller, Hardy Bullock, Heidi Hall, Ed Scofield and Susan Hoek over votes to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. There is also a complaint about using drones to inspect property. Petitioners need between 2600-3200 signatures per supervisor.
Some more thoughts are here
Recall petitions have been taken out against Dudley-Charlton School Board members Pauline Aucoin, Catherine Kabala, Jeanne Costello, Jordan Evans and Kenneth Laferriere. Petitioners need about 800 signatures each. The issue seems to be Critical Race Theory and teaching about transgendered issues.
Following the Loudon County School Board recall effort, there is a move to change the recall laws to increase the amount of signatures, from the very low 10% of turnout to a higher number. The push includes getting rid of Virginia's odd recall trial law and replacing it with a normal recall election.
Petitions language has been approved against Marshall School Board members Matt Davis and Shawna Gamble. The recall is over a failed bond measure. A recall against School Board Members Richard Lindsey was rejected and will need to be resubmitted. Petitioners need 2457 signatures to get on the ballot.
The petitions were taken out by former Albion Mayor David Atchison, who faced recall petitions during his term.
Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat introduced a bill allowing school board recalls. Petitioners would need 10% of turnout.
Following his overwhelming recall victory in November, Nixa Mayor Brian Steele is running for state Representative as a Republican.
Steele survived his recall election with 75% in his favor (808-2458). Turnout was much higher than Steele's original victory (he won 648-19). The recall was over Steele's support for the city's mask mandate to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Petitioners handed in 97 signatures, with 73 valid. They needed 67. The recall cost was estimated to be $10,000-$15,000.
Belchertown Schoolboard members Michael Knapp and Diane Brown survived recall votes, 661-1845 for Knapp and 591-1925 for Brown. Turnout was 21.7%.
The recall was over their support for provisions to combat the coronavirus pandemic, specifically a vaccine requirement to participate in extracurricular activities.
Signatures have been handed in for the recall effort against Maple Valley Township Supervisor John Schwandt. Petitioners handed in 370 signatures and need 274.
The recall is over two votes regarding wind farms. One was a vote in favor of a six month moratorium and the other was the cancellation of a ballot question on wind farms. Presumably, the recalls are from opponents of wind farms. There is also a recall effort against Sidney Township Board member Jed Welder over wind farm issues.
Thurston County Commissioner Tye Menser is facing a recall petition over complaints about meetings and opposition to the purchase of a complex. Washington is a malfeasance standard/judicial recall state, so a judge must approve the petitions for the recall to move forward. The lead petitioner previously filed recall efforts against Menser, as well against Olympia councilmembers in 2018 that were tossed out by judges. Menser says that the petitioner treats actions against officials as a "full-time hobby."
The recall effort against language Anchorage Assembly Member Jamie Allard has failed, with petitioners supposedly getting less than a fifth of the 2530 signatures needed.
The recall efforts was over the same reasons that the recall elections against Assembly member Meg Zaletel and Assembly Chair Felix Rivera got on the ballot (both of them easily beat back the recalls): a meeting which, due to the size of the audience, violated the emergency order limiting crowds during the coronavirus pandemic (there may have been 17 people at the meeting, which had a limit of 15). Petitioners seem to be opposed to masking requirements. There was a fourth reason based on an odd open meeting violation (Allard replied to all Assembly members in an email).
Allard actually voted against the requirements but was still being targeted by the same group.
Petitioners needed 2530 signatures.
Allard previously faced a recall effort that failed after she posted on Facebook defending vanity license plates with the words "fuhrer" and "3reich." Allard also alleged wrote that the words "are simply German words with no offensive connotation." She also said alleged wrote that "progressives have put a spin on it and created their own definition."
Governor Mike Dunleavy has since removed Allard from the state's Human Rights Commission.
San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin has proposed changes to the recall law, giving enormous grace periods for elected officials. Under Peskin's plan, petitioners could not start a recall until the official has been in office a year and could not file one during the last year in office. So, there would be a two year window for a recall in a four year term.
Recall efforts against Culver City Mayor Daniel Lee and Councilmember Alex Fisch failed, with petitioners not submitting. The recall was over attempts to modernize the housing code as well as police reform and the transportation project issues.
Petitioners claim to have over 4100 signatures for the recall of Davison School Board Member Matthew Smith Jr. (he is also the chairman of the Genesee County Republican Party). Petitioners need 3698 signatures to get on the ballot.
Smith is charged with malicious use of telecommunication services (he is accused of harassing the Houghton County Clerk by calling her and threatening to kill her dogs).
State Representative Chuck Basye (R) has cut down the amount of signatures needed in his proposed law adding school boards to the list of officials available to face a recall vote in Missouri. Bayse's earlier version went with 25% of turnout. He now is looking for 10% of turnout. He has also proposed allowing lawsuits against school boards for willful neglect or refusing to perform certain duties.
Currently, the recall is limited to third-class cities, fire districts and ambulance districts (here's a long post from 2015 on Missouri's recall law). Bayse is promoting the idea due to complaints about the school boards' efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic with distance learning.
There are two bills that would extend the recall to county commissioners, one by State Representative Doug Richey (R) that would require a 60 percent supermajority to vote out and a second one by State Representative Mark Ellebracht (D), which would need just a straight majority voting for an ouster.
https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/16/missouri-lawmaker-wants-implement-school-board-recall-process-willful-neglect-lawsuits/9175389002/
The recall effort against Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Bonin has failed, as more than 13,000 signatures were tossed out. Petitioners handed in 39,188 signatures and needed 27,317. They got 25,965. Petitioners can still appeal.
This recall attempt was supposedly over the homeless issues, though petitioners were previously talking about his support for the shutdowns to prevent further damage from the coronavirus pandemic. Two other councilmembers faced recall attempts, though both failed to get the signatures.
Bonin previously faced a recall effort in 2017-2018 over his road diet plan -- the DOT's removal of 9.4 miles of traffic lanes to prevent pedestrian deaths.
Bonin is up for re-election in December, with a primary in June. If the recall got on the ballot, the vote would likely have taken place in April or May, though that would not effect the re-election vote in June. Bonin won his 2017 re-election run with 71% of the vote.
The last recall in Los Angeles was Councilman Art Snyder, who survived the vote in 1984. The last one to result in removal was Councilman Meade McClanahan in 1946.
Westminster Councilmember Kimberly Ho, who survived a recall vote in 2020, is facing another potential vote, as petitioners have handed in 4045 signatures. They need 2666 valids.
Ho, along with Mayor Tri Ta and Councilmember Chi Charlie Nguyen, survived an April 7, 2020 vote, with 57% opposing the recall (Ta and Ngyuen also survived by similar margins).
Ho seems to have switched her regular vote to join with two other councilmembers (Tai Do and Carlos Manzo, who opposed Ta, Ngyuen and Ho.
In the last recall, the claims were of ethical violations, such as limiting debate and participation.
Here's some discussion of the fact that San Francisco non-citizens have the right to vote in local elections -- 74 new voters have signed up -- which (I'll bravely predict) won't impact this race.
The recall election against Leyton School Board President Suzy Ernest and Secretary Roland Rushman failed, with the vote for Ernest 196-246 and Rushman, 179-264.
The recall seems to be about placing a Superintendent on paid leave without board approval (the superintendent is now back in office), offering an interim superintendent a contract (that person is now facing child abuse charges) and signing an asbestos removal bid before a board vote.
Here's another article claiming that the recall, which is pushed by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador against himself, is for his own benefit.
Looks like we got the denouncement to the crazy fraud case of the recall of Aichi Governor Hidekai Omura, as Akira Yamaguchi, the former president for a company that recruited people to forge signatures received a 16 month sentence (suspended for four years). Two other defendants are facing sentencing as well.
A criminal complaint had been filed over the use of fraudulent signatures. Hundreds of thousands of signatures thrown out because they look to be forgeries (83% of 435,000) and 48% were not listed on voter roles. Petitioners needed 860,000 signatures. According to reports, an advertising company contractor hired people to copy names and addresses onto the petitions.
The recall effort is led by a Holocaust-denier and denier of the Nanking Massacre, Katsuya Takasu, a cosmetic surgeon (who for some reason is on an arts festival committee). The event was an arts festival which included, among other art, a statue of a girl representing Korean comfort women, who were forced into sexual slavery in WWII. Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura, who was the organizing committee's acting chairman, also promoted the recall drive.
Petitions have been taken out against Marshall School Board Members Richard Lindsey, Matt Davis and Shawna Gamble. The language is currently being reviewed by the Election Commission, though the story doesn't go into the reasons for the recall.
The petitions were taken out by former Albion Mayor David Atchison, who faced recall petitions during his term.
Josephine County Commissioners Dan DeYoung and Herman Baertschiger are facing recall efforts over their votes on the COVID-19 pandemic response, wildlife preparation and "illegal marijuana policies." From the article it is not clear what angle the complaint is taking. Petitioners need about 6300 signatures by March 2.
Avon Mayor Sarah Smith Hymes and Councilmember Tamra Underwood have been given reimbursement for their recall expenses of between $5500 and $6000 apiece. Both officials easily survived the vote on Election Day, November 2, with more than 70% in favor of their retaining the office.
Here's some earlier detailed coverage of the fight. I'm not sure what happened to the recall of Councilmembers Amy Phillips.
Continuing the trend of officials surviving recalls over their support for measures to combat the spread of the pandemic, Waverly School Board President Andy Grosshans overwhelmingly survived his January 11 (mail-in ballot) recall vote, 116-548. Petitioners got the 88 signatures they needed (notably, Grosshans ran as a write-in candidate, which may have depressed his turnout) Grosshans has actually been on the board since 2008. The recall was over his support for measures to stop the coronavirus pandemic.
The January 18 recall against Newberg School Board member Brian Shannon and Dave Brown is expected to cost between $65,000-$80,000. The recall is over a vote to fire the Superintendent and a vote to ban political flags (such as LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter). Petitioners needed over 2500 valids, they gave in over 4000, and got about 3300.
The recall against Newberg School Board member Brian Shannon and Dave Brown got to the ballot and will be held on January 18. The recall was over a vote to fire the Superintendent and a vote to ban political flags (such as LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter). Petitioners needed over 2500 valids, they gave in over 4000, and got about 3300.
Here's Ballotpedia's take and their numbers (slightly different than mine, we always have that discrepancy). They have 535 recall attempts, though they list some additional results that I'll have to check (42 survivals, 25 removals and 19 resignations). Here's CNN's Chris Cillizza's take on it.
Here -- am I going to pass up an editorial that cites my book?
After seeing 14 recalls votes in two years (some so-called "Revenge Recalls"), and with three major removals (Mayor, Legislator, City Council member), the Democratic Progressive Party is proposing rules to curb recall use. It sounds like these changes include increasing thresholds for removal.
It what was seen as a double-loss for the KMT (including the Lim recall), DPP's Lin Ching-yi won the replacement race for the seat previously held by Chen Po-Wei (pro-independence Taiwan Statebuilding Party). Chen Po-Wei was ousted in a recall election on October 23 vote, 77,899-73,433 looking for removal.
Lin won 88,752-80,912 for Yen Kuan-heng.
The KMT is supporting the recall and has made it an issue in the ongoing difficulties with China. This is also seen as part of a "revenge recalls" over the ouster of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-Yuto.
The recall election against Taiwan Independent Legislator Freddy Lim, the former lead vocalist for heavy-metal band Chtonic, failed due to an inability to get a high enough turnout (what I call an absentee veto law). 54,813 voters supported the recall, versus 43,340 who voted against. Petitioners needed 58,756 votes in favor in order to remove Lim.
The recall seemed to be a debate of who was to blame for a Covid outbreak. Petitioners handed in 38,286 signatures and got 27,362 valids. They needed 24,475.
Lim was previously part of the New Power Party and an activist for independence. This may be part of the wave of recalls hitting Taiwan.
Following a judge ruling that a petition Lansing City Councilman Brandon Betz could move forward with minor changes, Betz resigned the seat. The first petition filed against Betz had been rejected by the Election Commission due to clarity issues.
The recall effort was over vulgar text messages he sent to a Black activist. Betz has been stripped of committee assignments and "asked to consider resigning by the Ingham County Democratic Party." Petitioner needed about 2500 signatures to get on the ballot.
Conservative radio host Larry Elder, the top performer on the replacement race in the California Gubernatorial recall (well, outside of the people who left the replacement blank -- a much higher total), will not run in 2022 against Gavin Newsom.
Whitmer was able to raise funds in unlimited amounts, rather than the $7,150 usual limit. Anyone paying attention to the California and Wisconsin recalls will be well familiar with this result. Petitioners would need 1,062,647 signatures to get on the ballot and here's a bill that is being proposed to get the recall law in-line with other campaign finance rules.
I'm not clear why this was a federal court case rather than in state court.
Petitioners handed in 4,016 signatures for the recall of Downey Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez. They need 3454 valids to get on the ballot. The recall is reputed to be over Alvarez's failure to disclose her criminal history, where she was arrested for welfare fraud and shoplifting. It would just be a one question vote, with a replacement selected at a later date.
In an ending to one of the strange stories of the recall, the man who was found with 300 unopened recall ballots was not engaging in election fraud, according to the police investigation. It seems that it was more of a traditional theft/bank fraud activity.
Nebraska State Senator Tom Briese has introduced a Constitutional Amendment allowing for the recall of the Governor and State Senators -- note that Nebraska is the only unicameral legislature in the country.
Petitions have been taken out against Desert Sands School Board Trustees Tricia Pearce and Wendy Jonathan over their support of restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic (though Jonathan has apparently since said she would oppose vaccine and mask mandates). There are also complaints over ethnic studies curriculum. There are also recall attempts against Trustees Ana Conover, Don Griffith and Linda Porras, but the paperwork was incorrect.
Petitioners need about 4000 signatures in 120 days.
The recall effort against Alma Vice Mayor Roxann Herrington and Commissioners Nick Piccolo and Audra Stahl failed, with petitioners not handing in the 745 signatures by December 31. It took numerous recall petitions before approval as a judge overturned an Election Commission ruling that the language was not factually accurate (and the Election Commission rejected another). The recall was over a vote that will allow a former nursing home to be converted into a temporary shelter for young male refugees.
The recall effort against Los Alamitos Unified School District board members Megan Cutuli, Chris Forehan and Scott Fayette missed a deadline for its fourth draft of petitions, requiring a restart. Petitions were over the board's support for restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic, as well as an adoption of an ethnic studies elective.
The recall effort against Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board members Laurie Lieberman, Maria Leon-Vasquez and Jon Kean has failed, with no signatures handed in. There was a previous failed attempt against member Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein as well. The recall threat was over a kitchen sink group of complaints about performance.