Illinois: Plainfield Township Park District accused of using ballot propositions to avoid recall question

The district is only allowed three ballot questions per election -- and some are asking whether the district filled up all three to avoid recall questions.

Idaho: Recall against Gooding School Board Trustee scheduled for May 20 vote

Gooding school board trustee David Reeves is facing a recall on May 20. after petitioners handed in 33 signatures, and needed 16 (50% of turnout). Idaho law states that the signers could not also sign the pre-recall petition. Prosecutors are looking into the recall petition, though the story doesn't explain why.

New Jersey: Trenton Mayor ousted from office by judge following conviction

Trenton Mayor Tony Mack was kicked out of office due to his  corruption conviction. Mack faced recall petitions in 2011, but the petitioners couldn't get the signatures.

Wisconsin: Kenosha Unified School Board member facing recall threats

Kenosha Unified School Board Member Kyle Flood is receiving recall threats (and calls for resignation) after he received a ticket for possessing marijuana pipes and was cited for vandalism for hosting a party in his University apartment.

Petitioners would need 9,129 signatures (25% of turnout).

New Jersey: Rumblings of recall effort against State Senate President over gun control law

State Senate President Steve Sweeney is now hearing noises (There's a Facebook page and Twitter hashtag) of a recall campaign for his push to lower the number of rounds a magazine can legally hold from 15 to 10.

Petitioners have to wait on this one -- Sweeney just started his term, and they can't get a recall until he serves a year. And that's not to mention all the other reasons that recalls are tough to get on the ballot in Jersey.

California: Recall threats in Centinela ValleySchool Board over Superintendent's large pay package

A huge pay package for Centinela Valley Union High School District Superintendent Jose Fernandez is leading to recall threats against all five board members.

Fernandez’s total compensation in 2013 was $663,000 for running a district of three high schools with about 6,500 students in the working-class suburbs of Hawthorne and Lawndale. Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy, who oversees the nation’s second-largest school district, had a nearly $390,000 compensation package.

Oregon: Coburg Mayor, City Councilmen easily survive recall vote

Coburg Mayor Mayor Jae Pudewell and two Council members easily survived a recall vote. Pudewll won 236-124, City Councilor Jerry Behney, prevailed 241-119 and Councilor Brian Pech triumphed 234-126. Turnout was more than half the 689 registered voters.

The issue was complained over a $26.5 million wastewater management plant. Pudewell is the second mayor to survive a recall over this issue (Judy Volta beat a recall back in 2011).

The recall is estimated to cost $1,300-$1,500 dollars.

Colorado: Colorado Springs' Chart School Board President recall attempt thwarted by lack of quorum

An attempt to recall the STAR Academy (Space, Technology and Arts) school board president Al Loma failed because only half the members of the board showed up -- and no follow up meeting was rescheduled.  

Petitioners claim they have 138 valid signatures (30% of eligible parents) -- petitioners need 115 (25%). 

Lots of details on the problems, starting with the fact that Loma, two months prior to losing his seat on the local school board.

The STAR board has been riddled with conflict ever since. One bone of contention is the school's contract for janitorial services. Clients from an addiction recovery program that Loma runs clean both STAR Academy locations, but parents and some board members say the work isn't sufficient and want the contract put up for bid again.

Another issue is that Loma wants the board to amend its bylaws to have members appointed by the board, not elected by the school community.

Tennessee: Crossville approves charter amendment to vote on recall that petitioners would have to pay for

Crossville City Council has approved a charter amendment, to be voted on in November, putting in a recall for City Council members. The Tennessee General Assembly has to approve the law (as with other charter changes).

The recall is a tough one: Petitioners would need 33% (my guess would be that it is probably 33 1/3%) of registered voters simply to get on the ballot, and then the recall would have to win with 66% of the vote (again, guessing that it is 2/3rds, or 66 2/3%). The petitioners apparently have to pay for the recall:

The original proposal was for the petitioner to post a cash bond for the estimated cost of the recall ballot measure and, if the vote was successful, the petitioner would have their cash bond returned. Based on the vote by council, the petitioner will be charged for the ballot measure no matter which way the vote turns out.

The recall came from a proposal from Councilman Pete Souza's to have a “confidence vote” put on the May ballot.

California: Pleasant Hill City Clerk facing petitions over failure to produce City Council minutes

Pleasant Hill City Clerk Kim Lehmkuhl is facing petitions for her failure to produce City Council meeting minutes for an entire year. Petitioners need 3,800 signatures in 120 days.

Wisconsin: Union membership plummets since Act 10 passed

Here -- down 60% for public sector employees, and the union's budget went from $6M to $2M.

Massachusetts: Hillsdale voters approve recall home rule provision

Hillsdale voters passed a motion to request a home-rule recall law (seemingly of a malfeasance standard variety) 202-95. Only 21% of voters showed up. The law now goes up to the state legislature. This article is opposed to the recall. It does cite a claim on how widely the recall has spread in Massachusetts:

Town Counsel Joel Bard of the Boston law firm Kopelman and Paige -- which represents one out of three cities and towns across the state -- has pointed out that 30 to 40 percent of Massachusetts communities have approved various recall procedures. 

Wisconsin: More on the Scott Walker investigation

Here, Here's Christian Schneider writing for the National Review and here's Andy Kroll in Mother Jones' take

Arizona: Maricopa Councilman facing recall threat over DUI

Maricopa councilman Bridger Kimball is facing a recall threat launched by another councilman over a DUI in December 2012 of .285 (which he pled guilty). Councilman Leon Potter is the leader of the recall effort.

Colorado: Petition handed in for rehearing on Center recall

Here

Arizona: Op-ed opposing Benson recall

Op-ed on Benson recall, focused on costs.

Massachusetts: Hinsdale voting on Wednesday on adopting recall

Hinsdale will be voting on adopting a recall in a special meeting on Wednesday. 

If the plan is given the go-ahead, 100 registered voters would be able to initiate recall measures at any given time for reasons of “lack of fitness, incompetence, neglect of duties, corruption, malfeasance, or violation of oath.” From there, 20 percent of the town’s roughly 1,400 registered voters would have to sign a recall petition. If the elected official facing removal does not resign within five days of receiving written notice, a recall election would be held at least 64 days after but no more than 90 days after. 

More than 300 townspeople signed a citizen petition requesting the special meeting.  

The article would also bar any elected official who was removed via recall election or resigned after a recall petition was filed from serving in a town office for two years. Also, a recall petition could not be brought against a person within the first six months of being in office. If the recall article passes, it will need to be brought to the state Legislature and the governor to be signed into law

The recall idea started after the current Select Board placed former police chief Nancy Daniels on paid administrative leave (Daniels failed to complete Municipal Police Training Academy). The current Select Chair Bonnie Conner and Selectman Bill Goddard are facing recall threats. The key backer of the recall lost to Goddard in the last election.

New Mexico: Almost 90% of signatures tossed out in Clovis City Commissioner recall

The recall against Clovis City Commissioner Robert Sandoval failed, with the city clerk knocking off almost 90% of signatures. Petitioners handed in 89 signatures, and needed 88. Only nine survived the review stage (three were removed by the signers). Amazingly, and unsurprisingly, the lead petitioner's name was one of those tossed out. 

Arizona: Election Law bill slated for repeal

Interesting development in Arizona -- an election bill that was enacted in 2013 is now looking like it will be repealed. The law had created a strict compliance, rather than a substantial compliance, requirement for recalls -- this was in reaction to a Supreme Court decision against state Senate President Russell Pearce.

This legislation should not be confused with the law mandating elections only every other year -- that seems to still be on the books.

Oregon: Tulelake Mayor recall set for June 3

The recall against Tulelake Mayor Randy Darrow has been set for June 3 -- petitioners handed in 101 signatures, they needed 74.  Darrow is accused of failing to provide for public meetings, failing to follow procedures for hiring and firing city employees and failing to protect residents from a conflict of interest in legal representation.

The petition charges Darrow with: Failure to follow the Brown Act, which provides for public meetings; failure to protect city residents from conflict of interest for legal representation; failure to follow city procedures for hiring and dismissal of city employees. All city council members are opposing the recall.