Ohio: Brookville Mayor and Vice Mayor survive recall vote

Brookville Mayor Chuck Letner (371-407) and Vice Mayor James Zimmerlin (370-406) survived their January 7th recall effort.

Interest that the wording of the ballot question is the opposite of the ones we usually see, with it reading "Should Chuck Letner be allowed to continue as a member of the Council and Municipality of Brookville?" Therefore a yes vote is a no against the recall. 

The group is called Brookville Citizens for Keep it Rural, so pretty clear what's coming next -- development is the issue here, though they are also complaining about transparency. 

The recall will cost $16,000

Colorado: Loveland City Council member resigns, recall vote still to be held

Loveland City Council member Troy Krenning has resigned rather than face the March 4 recall election vote. The election will still take place as a replacement vote.

The recall appears to be over votes to remove the City Manager and City Attorney, as well as a rescission, that Krenning claims avoided litigation.

Petitioners needed 1615 signatures to get on the ballot.

Krenning served on the council from 2013-2017 with one of the recall leaders, former Councilmember Dave Clark. 

California: List of 15 candidates to replace Alameda County District Attorney

15 candidates have applied for the job of Alameda County District Attorney, and the council will start holding interviews, with a plan to name a successor by February 4. 

California: Ex-Congresswoman announces run for Oakland mayor

Former Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D), who left the House after 27 years following a failed run for the Senate, has announced she is running for Mayor in the upcoming replacement race. Lee replaced Ron Dellums in Congress, who himself went on to serve as Oakland's Mayor. There are currently 15 candidates in the running. 

In the meantime, the council had to select a new mayor to replace Nikki Fortunato-Bas. They chose Kevin Jenkins -- doesn't sound like he's running for mayor (which I think he would be allowed to, as he was first elected Council President. Under the law, the Council President can run, but if the President declines to serve as mayor, the candidate selected by the council cannot run for the position). 

Massachusetts: Granby once again looking for recall law

Granby is once again looking for a home rule provision to adopt a recall law. They looked for such a law in 2015.

Illinois: New recall law proposed

Illinois Representative Brad Halbrook (R) has signed on to a proposed recall law that, among the requirements, appears to place replacement candidates on the same ballot, 10-30% of registered voter signatures in 90 days, and a 10 year ban on holding public office (which I've never seen before). It would also seem to require a 60% majority for the recall to be successful.

Illinois has a recall for Governor, though extremely difficult, and does allow it for local officials. Dalton has had a good deal of problems with a proposed recall. The only recall that we can be sure happened in the state was in Buffalo Grove.

Michigan: Warren Mayor recall petition language approved

Petition language has been approved against Warren Mayor Lori Stone after being rejected for clarity issues in November. Petitioners need about 13,000 signatures. 

The language approval is over a failure to sign a land bank agreement approved by the council, though earlier discussion noted that the recall was about social media posts by a member of the Historical Commission about Islam.