Wisconsin: Recalled Raymond Supervisor charged with Election Fraud

Former Raymond Supervisor Joe Pohlhammer, who was kicked out of office, getting only 9 votes, is facing election fraud charges for tearing up signature pages belonging to an opponent.

Pohlhammer and one of his opponents, Bob Silvon, had signatures dated a day after the verifying documents. The county clerk called them both in to sign affadavits declaring that they had collected the signatures themselves.

Pohlhammer came in to the Town Hall around 3 p.m. on June 19, and refused to sign the affidavit, the criminal complaint states. Then, he allegedly ripped up the three signatures that he had supposedly collected.

Colorado: Trinidad City Councilman ousted in recall vote

Trinidad City Councilman Alfredo Pando was voted out of office tonight, according to the twitter feed of the Pubelo Chieftan. He was replaced by Anthony Mattie.
Pando received 587 votes, with 1,210 votes to kick him out.

California: ex-Cotati City Councilman running for office after recall ouster in 2009

George Barich, who was ousted in a recall election in 2009, has announced that he will run for his old seat. Barich, apparently a fierce critic of the council at every meeting, also lost a race in 2010, coming in third for seats.

Michigan: Hearing on petitions against two Galesburg-Augusta Community school board member

Two Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools board members, President Karen Rutherford and Vice President Sandra Noteboom-Wood, are once again facing a hearing to approve petitions. Issue is the raise and contract extension granted to a Superintendent, as well as the firing of a principal and outsourcing custodial and transportation services.

Romania: President survives recall election

President Traian Basescu survived the attempted recall against him, using the particular rules to win. The vote would only be valid if more than 50 percent of eligible voters participated. According to the NYT, with 97.5 percent of the votes counted, the central election bureau said on Monday morning that the turnout was 46.13 per cent. About 87.5 percent voted for removal.

Basecu had previously beat back a removal vote in 2007. At that time, 74 percent voted for removal, though only 44 percent turned out.

Louisiana: Heflin mayor facing December 8 recall vote

 Heflin Mayor Judy Tilman is facing a December 8 recall. Petitioners needed 66 signatures (40% of registereds). They got 69 certified.


Petitioners claim that Tilman requires that anyone using the community ball parks must go through her and sign waivers that the village is not responsible if anyone is injured. 

Romania: Presidential Recall on Sunday

Here's my op-ed on the subject in Public Service Europe. I'm looking at the global boom in recalls. For a more focused story on the fight in Romania, here is the WSJ's coverage. What's particularly interesting is that the recall needs a majority of voters to come out. So the president may benefit if his supporters don't show (there are towns in the US with a similar provision),

Wisconsin: Wandering Democratic Senator returns to the fold

Tim Cullen quit the Democrats earlier this week. Now he's back.

Colorado: Election set for Tuesday in Trindad city council recall

Here

California: Petitions out against Santa Maria-Bonita School District board member

Petitioners are collecting signatures against Santa Maria-Bonita School District board member Will Smith, a former district teacher who resigned before his election and who was suspended 8 times. He also has repeatedly disreputed board meetings. 


Apparently petitioners are also claiming that Smith owes the district $30K in legal fees, though he clais they were dismissed in bankruptcy court.

Wisconsin: Group finishes audit of Rock County recall ballots, finds no major discrepancies

A group performing an audit of the election ballots in the Walker recall finished counting those in Rock County. They found no major discrepancies between the hand count and the electronic vote.


The group claims to be nonpartisan, though you wouldn't know it from the website. I would like to see a full breakdown on the differences, as regardless of the party goals, it seems to be a useful project.

Arizona: Yuma City Council recalls fail verification process

An attempted recall of Yuma City Councilmen Paul Johnson and Jerry Stuart both failed due to signature invalidation. Petitioners needed 1,856 valids. They handed in 2,117 signatures against Johnson, with 1,784 deemed valid. The numbers for Stuart were 2,083/1794.

Nebraska: Grand Island Mayor facing recall petitions

Grand Island Mayor Jay Vavricek is facing recall petitions for allowing the City Administrator to return to her job. Petitioners need 3,286 signatures (35% of turnout) in 30 days.
Former City Council candidate Jeb Wolsleben is leading the petition effort.

Arkansas: Bauxite Mayor facing November recall in epic personality clash

Bauxite Mayor Johnny McMahan is facing a recall vote on Election Day in November, and this article in  the Saline Courier is well worth the read. This is one of the personality clash recalls:

Lead petitioner was former Alderman Debbie Purifoy. They got over 100 signatures.

Purifoy and McMahan have a history of personal issues against each other, which has been documented in council meetings, campaign material and in Courier stories. Shortly after her arrest on Sept. 11, 2010 — for resisting arrest, filing a false police report, failure to obey police commands, obstructing government operations and disorderly conduct — Purifoy had a letter appear in the Letter To the Editor section of the Courier (Oct. 25, 2010). In that missive, she wrote, "Johnny McMahan and (Alderman) Allison Cain were swift to judge me before checking out all the facts regarding this case. I cringe knowing that is the type of leadership they want to bring to Bauxite. As for those two, who claim to be Christians, they show a poor example of the lifestyle. Apparently you weren’t aware I have family and friends in town when you all went out campaigning."

On Nov. 2, 2010, McMahan won office in Nov 2010. Three aldermen attempted multiple times (some using very questionable tactics) to appoint Purifoy to the vacant position of court clerk/recorder/treasurer position. McMahan mailed Bauxite residents a postcard with Purifoy's arrest mug shot plastered on it. 


And a great quote from Purifoy when she started the recall.

"The gloves are coming off and I'm putting on my Wonder Woman underwear," she said.

When McMahan started as mayor he found unopened IRS letters in a closet that resulted in a $40,000 fine.

"I think (Purifoy) wants to close public doors on closets with possible skeletons inside and if she stops me, she can stop those skeletons from coming out," McMahan said. "Purifoy and her gang have schemed for a long time now to throw me out of office and get her power back and things can go back to the way it used to be. This might have something to do with the IRS issues. Maybe people are afraid this issue may (personally) touch them."

California: Greenfield Mayor extends olive branch after surviving recalls

Greenfield Mayor John Huerta, who barely survived the recall vote, has agreed to retain Police Chief Eric Sills, at least for now.

California: Coastside Fire Protection recall petitioners claim intimidation

Here

Wisconsin: Recall boosts Journal Communications bottomline

Milwaukee-based Journal Communications, owner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, AM 620 WTMJ and Channel 4 TMJ4, saw a 24% increase in profits in 2Q -- thanks to the recall.

Louisiana: Vidalia Police Chief facing recall petitions

Police Chief Arthur Lewis is facing recall petitions, with petitioners needing 1174 signatures (33 1/3 of registered voters) to get on the ballot. The article doesn't list a clear reason for the recall, but it does mention that Lewis made some personnel moves upon his election.

California: Possible Pay to Play helped back ant-recall efforts in Montebello

Here and here

Wisconsin: Democrats Senate Majority in Jeopardy as one Senator quits caucus

Just after taking control of the state Senate, further trouble for the Democrats in Wisconsin. State Sen. Tim Cullen quit the Senate Democratic caucus due to being snubbed on the committee assignments. Cullen said he will be an independent but has not left the Democratic Party (and won't become a Republican).

Both parties suggest that there is no loss majority yet. Regardless, one Republican Senator is resigning to become Walker's deputy chief of staff, so the majority will be 16-15-1.