California: Some more coverage of the School Board recall

 Recall Fever having its moment

SF Chronicle's Joe Garofoli on whether District Attorney Chesa Boudin should be worried

LA Times Mark Barabak gives some thoughts on the impact of the vote

Michigan: Douglass Town Board members facing recall fight

Petitions have been taken out against Douglass Township Supervisor Terry Anderson, Clerk Rhonda Snyder, Treasurer Amy Laper and Trustee Tom Jeppesen. The issue was an appointment to the planning commission.

Update: The first petition language effort was rejected by the Election Commission on factualness/clarity grounds.

Vermont: Ousted Underhill Selectman running for office again

Former Underhill Selectman Peter Duval was ousted in what was likely Vermont's first recall, is running for the office again The recall was over charges of conflict of interest and failing to behave in a respectful manner. The conflict was asking the town's lawyer to let him know about litigation -- Duval had been in litigation against the town over a zoning issue. Petitioners handed in 415 signatures to get the recall on the ballot. 

Voters adopted the recall on Town Meeting Day (the drafting was only in July). 16 towns in Vermont have recall amendments, though the story claims that it was the first use in Vermont's history. The replacement is chosen by the board.

Minnesota: Robbinsdale City Council member facing recall after DUI/Fleeing police

Petitions are being taken out against Robbinsdale City Council member Tyler Kline, after he was charged with drunk driving and fleeing police. 

Former Mayor Regan Murphy is leading the petitions, which would need 650 signatures in 30 days. As Minnesota is a malfeasance state, they need approval to move forward. 

California: Signatures handed in against three Huntington Beach Council members

Signatures have been handed in for the recall effort against Huntington Beach Council members Kim Carr, Dan Kalmick, and Mike Posey. Petitioners handed in between 13,966-14,295 signatures. They need 13,352 valids for each, which would require an unusually low signature failure rate. 

Petitioners had previously failed in handing in signatures for Huntington Beach Councilmembers  Barbara Delgeize, and Natalie Moser, with petitioners not handing in the 13,252 signatures needed.  Councilman Erik Peterson, a conservative, is not facing recall threats and Rhoda Bolton was targeted earlier, but did not hit the end of her term's grace period to start the signature collection effort. 

The issue is claims that they surrendered "local zoning control to the state." One of the leaders of the petition effort is Gracey Van Der Mark, who lost the race for the seat in November 2020 (she came in fourth for the three seats).

New Jersey: Buena Mayor and Councilman facing petitions

Buena Mayor David Zappariello and Councilman Joseph D'Alessandro III are facing recall efforts over the disbanding of a volunteer fire company. Petitioners need 826 signatures in 160 days. 

New Jersey: Northern Burlington County School Board members facing petitions

Northern Burlington County School Board member Kerri Tillett is facing a recall effort, though so far no reason has been given, though it seems it the petitioners were previously complaining about Tillett's support for quarantine policy to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Tillett is a Democratic and the petitioners are Republicans. 

Petitioners are also threatening recalls against Board President Paul Narwid, and members Gerry Spence and Radiah Gamble.  

Petitioners need about 1916 signatures in 160 days. 

California: LA County Association of Deputy District Attorneys vote to support LA DA recall

The recall of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon got a boost as the Association of Deputy District Attorneys (with over 800 members) voted overwhelmingly to support the recall effort. 83.3% of members voted, with 97.9% in favor. 

Georgia: Newton County Commissioner facing recall threats

Recall petitions are being threatened against Newton County Commission Chairman Marcello Banes over his push to remove a sign naming a middle school bandroom for T.K. Adams, a local arts leader. Fellow Commissioner J.C. Henderson is leading the recall threats.

The issue is whether the Board of Commissioners actually voted to approve the naming and whether that is required to put up the sign.

Petitioners would need about 7200 signatures (30% of registered voters) to get on the ballot. Georgia is a malfeasance standard state and needs to show a statutorily delineated reason for the recall, the county charter seems to allow an individual board member to shortcut that part if the board majority votes in favor (or if a Superior Court Judge greenlights it).

Louisiana: Republican State Representative facing recall petitions over votes to uphold Gov. veto

State Representative Joe Stagni (R), representing Kenner, is facing petitions after voting to uphold Governor Edwards (D) veto of a bill that targeted transgender children. The petition also goes after Stagni for opposing concealed armed carry (without any permit or training) legislation and for not signing a petition to limit Edwards' ability to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Petitioners need somewhere in the neighborhood of 6750 signatures (25% of registered voters) in 180 days. 

Washington: Thurston County Commissioner recall tossed out by judge

The recall effort against Thurston County Commissioner Tye Menser has been tossed out by a judge. The petition was 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." 

California: Chico Mayor recall effort fails

The recall effort against Chico Mayor Andrew Coolidge has apparently failed, as petitioners turned in 2052 signatures and 747 were tossed out. They needed 1519 and got 1305.

No word on what happened to the recall effort against council member Sean Morgan. The issues seems to be a hodgepodge of complaints about spending and behavior, though Morgan suggests that the petitioners are in favor of widespread cannabis dispensaries and needle distribution.

Michigan: Lee Township Trustee and Supervisor recall election scheduled for May 3

The recall election against Lee Township Supervisor Kristy Gustafson and Trustee Darla Rippee is scheduled for May 3. The recall is apparently over the closure of the town dump. Rippee attended the meeting on the petition language and was found to have an active case of COVID, ending the meeting 

California: Three San Francisco School Board Members ousted in recall vote

There's been an enormous amount of coverage on the San Francisco School Board recall, to the degree that it is challenging to summarize here (waiting to see about an op-ed).

Board President Gabriela Lopez lost with 75% against (94,692-31,575) former Vice President Alison Collins had 78.6% against (99,555-27,061) and member Faauuga Moliga had 72.1% against (90,977-35,131). These numbers will likely change on the margins. Note that more voters cast ballots in the recall voted to originally elect these officials. 

This is the first successful recall in San Francisco that I can find since 1921, when two municipal judges, John Sullivan and Morris Oppenheim, were kicked out. There may have been others. Also removed in recalls is my man Senator E.E. Grant in 1914 and Police Judge Charles Weller in 1913. 

And, of course, there's plenty on the funding issues and the role of Asian-Americans in the recall effort. 

Nevada: Washoe County Commissioner and School Board member facing petitions

Petitions have been taken out against Washoe County Commissioner Vaughn Hartung (R), though no reason has been given. Petitioners need 14,345 signatures to get on the ballot. 

The same petitioner, who claims to be Robert Beadles and said he is an "avid believer in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology" filed petitions against School Board Member Angie Taylor.

Two Washoe Republican Board members (Cindy Martinez and Sandra Linares) are listed as supporters of the petition (though I'm unclear if it is the Hartung or Taylor one).

California: Deep look at the Shasta County Recall

 Here

California: Signature verification process to cost $3896 in Downey Councilwoman recall effort

The signature verification process for the Downey Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez is $3896. Petitioners handed in 4,016 signatures and 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.  

Michigan: Sidney Township Board member facing May 3 recall vote

The recall election for Sidney Township Board member Jed Welder (R) is set for May 3.  Petitioners handed in 370 signatures, they got 306 and needed 274. It took three tries to get the language approved. 

The issue was a vote in favor of a wind farm. 

California: San Francisco Board of Supervisors proposes radical changes to recall law

San Francisco Board of Supervisors has proposed a measure to create a 6-12 month grace period at the start of the term and a full one year grace period at the end of the term (potential longer than a year, as it seems to go to Election Day, which is about two months before a term is up). This may be the longest grace period in the country. 

Additionally, it would ban anyone appointed as a replacement from running in the next election, which I've never seen before. 

Here's an op-ed from John Trasvina, former SF Elections Commission member and former USF Law School Dean, pointing out the radical nature of the reform and how it will effectively stop the recall from being used. 

Oregon: Newberg School Board member resigns after failed recall of two other members

Following the failed recall of two Newberg School Board members (both of whom survived the vote), board member Ines Pena resigned her seat due to what she called a "toxic work environment. Pena opposed the actions of Brian Shannon and Dave Brown, the two members who faced a recall vote over their decision to fire the Superintendent and to ban political flags (seemingly targeting LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter). The other board members will choose a replacement.