Arkansas: NorthWest Arkansas Democrat Gazette endorses potential statewide recall law

Here's an editorial in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette discussing a push to expand recalls to the state legislatures -- though calling for a malfeasance standard recall. In 2009, the state allowed for recalls in Mayor-Council jurisdictions. In 2012, there were a spate of mayoral recalls, but we haven't seen any since.

Canada: British Columbia MLA facing recall effort

MLA Rich Coleman is facing a recall effort by an unknown group over a casino money laundering scandal. Coleman was responsible for gaming. $100 million were alleged to have "flowed through B.C. casinos." Coleman was previously targeted with a recall in 1998, but it went nowhere.

Ohio: Kent to vote on changes in recall law

Kent voters will be asked to change their recall law with a vote on Issue 16 -- the changes include upping the signature amount for recalls to 25% of turnout in the last presidential election and require a stated cause of action. Kent was the site of a 2009 recall against five councilmembers (all survived). Apparently, there are some debates on an Ohio Supreme Court decision which prevents signature requirements from being tied to registered voters. The City Council voted in favor of the change 8-1.

Texas: Rusk City Council member facing recall talk over inappropriate comments

Councilmember Ken Ferrara is facing recall threats over alleged "highly inappropriate comments to the city secretary" Rosalyn Brown. Ferrara has since apologized and was reprimanded by the council.

California: Group threatens Attorney General with recall if gas tax repeal fails

Conservative radio host Carl DeMaio is threatening to launch a recall of Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) if Proposition 6, the repeal of a gas tax increase, fails. DeMaio was a leader of the successful recall effort against State Senator Josh Newman. It is not clear how many signatures a recall of Becerra would take, but there is a great chance that it would be more than any recall has ever needed to get on the ballot in US history. (It would be 12% of turnout in the November election, which is likely to be higher than the 2002 Gubernatorial election that set the number for Gray Davis).

Colorado: Williamsburg Mayor resigns before recall vote

Mayor Jerry Farringer, who is facing a recall over embezzlement claims following a vote to vacate a dead-end alley owned by the town that was then given to neighboring property owners, resigned on October 18 before the vote.

Trustees Robert Busetti and Forrest Borre are still facing a recall effort. Farringer allegedly signed the document before he was sworn in. The recall is a two step (vote up or down on whether to remove the officials, then select a replacement). Busetti's replacement race is between Barbara Cameron and Michael Pearcey. Borre would be replaced by Vikki Covington.

Trustee Eva Mares is one of the leaders of the recall effort. Trustee Steven Ricotta, who is married to the town clerk who approved the petitions, is allegedly a potential beneficiary of the property vote, is up for a regular election that day. The elected officials had suggest that jealous over term length (Mares and Ricotta have only 2 year terms, the rest have 4 year terms) is a motivating factor for the recall.

Update: Busetti and Borre both survived the recall vote on November 6. Busetti 101-126, and Borre 102-127.

Michigan: Algonac Mayoral recall on Election Day ballot, facing two challengers

Mayor Eileen Tesch is facing Helen Meldrum and Lori Warner on the Election Day Recall. Meldrum previously served on the city council for 12 years. The recall is over a move to have signatures gatherers against two other councilmembers removed from a meeting. Those two councilmembers, Irene Bird and Joe Nugent, resigned before a November vote.

Michigan: Leoni Township recalls set to go on Election Day

Supervisor Howard Linnabary (R), Clerk Michele Manke (D) and Treasurer Lori Stack (D) will all be on the ballot over their vote that allowed for a percentage of the $5000 administrative fee for medical marijuana applications to go to directly to the seven board members for the extra work they did in approving the applications. The law has since been changed.

Two challengers, Steven Casselman (D) and Dan Gough (no party) are challenging Linabary; Manke is facing Mark Carpenter (R) and Izzy Medel (no party) and Patrick Clemente (R) is facing off against Stack.

Canada: British Columbia government to consider legislation banning corporate and union donations to recall campaigns

The current B.C. law has no spending restrictions on recalls, so this will put the same restrictions as exist for general elections ($1200 donation limit, not union or corporate donations). This ould take place just before the MLAs who won off in May 2017 can face recall efforts. Three of them, Rich Coleman, Darryl Piecas and Attorney General David Eby are all facing recall efforts.

Wisconsin's recall law had a similar disparity between regular campaign finance laws and those affecting recalls. Washington State has a similar law going the other - a much tighter restriction on donations.

The piece also mentions that there have been 26 recall petitions in B.C. history. Six submitted signatures and five of those failed. A recall effort against MLA Paul Reitsma (NDP) in 1999 had enough signatures, but he resigned before verification.

Wisconsin: Paris Board member who survived 2016 recall vote not running for reelection

Supervisor Ron Kammerzelt, who survived a 2016 recall vote and then won again in 2017, has announced that he won't run for reelection.

California: Former Santa Clara Judge ordered to pay opponents attorneys' fees in recall fight

Judge Aaron Persky, who was kicked out in the June recall, was ordered to pay $161,825 in attorneys's fees over his lawsuit over who should handle the recall effort (Persky argued that the Secretary of State rather than the local county Registrar of Voters was responsible to handle the recall, and that his replacement should be appointed rather than elected. He lost both arguments). The fee payment is part of a statute calling for reimbursement if the case enforces 'an important right affecting the public interest.'"

Maine: Ogunquit Selectmen facing petitions

Selectmen Madeline Mooney, Charles Waite III and Robert Winn are facing recall petitions for their support of the town manager's decision to fire the Fire Chief. Petitioners had to submit 50 signatures, which they seem to have done. They are now looking as to what the full signature amount needs to be -- will it be based on the voter totals for the district from the 2014 gubernatorial election or the 2018 one. The reason for the questions are because the petitions will be circulating after election day.

Update: The Fire Chief has since filed a lawsuit.

Ohio: Huber Heights Councilwoman hit with censure motion before Election Day recall vote

Councilwoman Janell Smith, who is facing a recall vote on Election Day , has now been hit with a censure measure which the Council approved (one abstention and Smith voting no. The issue was is about information that Smith alleged to have not given the council about a city water pressure project.

California: Westmoreland Clerk and Councilwoman facing recall vote on November 6

City Clerk Sally Traylor and City Councilwoman Mary Ann Monte Smith will be facing a recall vote over issues with the police department. Petitioners needed 214 signatures to get on the ballot.

Update: Both Traylor and Monte-Smith lost the recall vote, with about 75% voting for removal.

Louisiana: St. Martinville Councilman recall misses by 10 signatures

The petition against Councilman Dennis Paul Williams failed by 10 signatures. The recall was over claims that he is not available enough and has his own personal agenda. Petitioners need 347 signatures by October 1. They handed in 428 signatures buy had 91 kicked off.

Michigan: Arcadia Township Treasurer facing November 6 vote

Treasurer Debbra Eckhout is facing a recall vote over an audit that found deficiencies or material weakness in the township's internal controls. Melanie Cedarholm is running against her in the recall race.

Michigan: Three Ross Township officials on the ballot on Election Day over medical marijuana zoning vote

The recalls of Treasurer Cynthia Genung and Trustees Sidney Durham and Diana Langshaw are on the ballot in November over their votes in favor of an ordinance that would allow medical marijuana processors and growers in an industrial district. The bill was later reversed.

Washington: Judge approves Kennewick Council recall effort

The recall effort against Council member/former Mayor Steve Young has been approved by a Benton County Superior Court Judge for over the charge of violating Washington's Fair Campaign Practices Act (6 other claims were tossed).  Young has said that he will be appealing to the Supreme Court.

The language of the ballot would read "forwarding an email that can be interpreted as soliciting from a city of Kennewick employee a contribution on behalf of Dan Newhouse." Newhouse is Congressman Dan Newhouse (R).

Washington is a malfeasance standard/Judicial recall state, so the courts needed to way in on whether the recall meets the for cause requirement.

Petitioners need about 2675 signatures to get on the ballot.

Oregon: Lake County DA resigns after signatures are handed in

District Attorney Sharon Forster resigned after 732 signatures were handed in for her recall. Petitioners needed 480 valids. Petitioners claimed that Forster was out of the office too often and that she has blocked Lake County's only elected judge from presiding over criminal cases. The replacement will be appointed.

Nevada: Audit claims that recall petitions against State Senators would have failed under more effective sampling methodology

A new State Audit report claims that the petitions against state Senators Nicole Cannizzaro and Joyce Woodhouse would have failed earlier if the state had used a different sampling methodology that is used in Oregon.