Nebraska: Senator puts forward bill to eliminate recalls

State Senator Curt Friesen (R) has proposed a bill to eliminate recall elections following the removal of Hamilton Commissioner Gregg Kremer this week.

The article notes that Nebraska has had at least 45 recalls since 2008 -- a number I'll have to check myself.

There have been other attempts to change recall laws in other states, though they rarely succeed. I don't know of a single case where recall laws were dropped entirely. Michigan changed its recall in 2012, though it is still a political recall state. Las Cruces, New Mexico and College Station, Texas both moved from political recall to judicial recall/malfeasance standard requirements.

Idaho: Elk River Mayor recall on the March 12 ballot

Mayor Dave Brown is facing a recall vote on March 12. So far. I haven't seen why the recall was launched or any other details.

Update: Petitioners handed in 18 signatures to get on the ballot. The issue is accusations of public drunkeness, misuse of city equipment and failing to respond to public safety issues. The need at least 32 votes (a larger majority than the last election victory) to have the recall count.

Nebraska: Hamilton Commissioner kicked out in recall

Commissioner Gregg Kremer was kicked out by a vote of 176-167 over claims by a former member of the County Ambulance Department that he represents private interests. Turnout was 29% of voters.

Nebraska: York Mayor removed in recall vote

Mayor Orval Stahr was removed with a vote of 1358-915 over claims of intimidation and misbehavior. The vote was an all mail ballot.

Petitioners submitted 1326 signatures and got 1214 verified. They needed 1149 signatures. Any replacement would be appointed by the council.

Council member Diane Wolfe led the recall effort.

California: Pasadena Councilman facing recall effort

Councilman Victor Gordo is facing a recall effort over a kitchen sink of complaints -- though Gordo claims that unsanctioned marijuana dispensaries are targeting him after a string of arrests.

Michigan: Kawkawlin Township Supervisor up for May 7 recall vote

Kawkawlin Township Supervisor Dennis Bragiel will be up for a May 5 recall over a no vote on a moratorium on wind turbines. The recall previously faced claims that the County Clerk failed in allowing Braigel to challenge an earlier version of the recall. Petitioners handed in 530 valids and needed 455

California: 2016 Tulare Regional Medical Center Recall apparently a test run for other social media focused campaigns by Psy-Ops group

The recall of Dr. Parmod Kumar -- a seemingly small event that got very little attention -- is now very much in the news. The New Yorker has a big piece on an international effort to support Kumar and defeat Senovia Gutierrez, who won the July 11 recall. There was some evidence of how unusual the race was in just the fundraising.

Colorado: Fort Morgan Councilmember recall gets the signatures

Petitioners seem to have the signatures for the recall of Councilmembers Dan Marler -- they handed in 36 and 34 were valids. The issue was a vote to allow the City Manager to return to work after he was charged with third degree assault (which was over slamming the brakes while the manager was in the car with his daughter). The Manager was found not guilty in the trial. One of the recall leaders is a former council member.

No word on the recall efforts against Councilmembers Kevin Lindell and Lisa Northrup.

Idaho: Dalton Mayor and Councilmembers facing recall efforts

Mayor Steve Roberge and Councilmembers Joe Myers, Denise Lundy, Jamie Smith and Scott Jordan are facing recall efforts over a proposal to build homes on back area land.  Petitioners need between 110-418 signatures to get on the ballot.

Colorado: Three Cripple Creek-Victory School District Board Members facing recall effort

Board President Timothy Braun, Treasurer Dennis Jones and Secretary Tonya Martin are facing a recall effort over claims of violation of the open record act and possibly a suspension of the superintendent. Petitioners claim to have about half the signatures. Petitioners need 400 signatures by March 11. One of the leader was a former Head Start director who lost to Jones by 30 votes in November 2017. A recall would cost about $8500.

Michigan: Leoni Township Supervisor who survived recall vote now facing ouster attempt in court due to failure to re-swear in

Supervisor Howard Linnabary (R), who survived a recall vote on election day while two other board members went down to defeat, is now being threatened with an ouster lawsuit after Linnabary did not reswear in following the recall vote.

Township Clerk Mark Carpenter (who won office in the recall) filed the lawsuit, with the township attorney representing Carpenter.

The issue was 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.

Update: The suit has since been dropped.

Arizona: Former House member running in Phoenix City Councilman recall

Former Arizona House Member Mark Cardenas (D) has entered the May recall against Phoenix City Council Michael Nowakowski (D) is facing a recall vote over a vote to study and potentially delay a light rail expansion. Nowakowski was previously threatened with a recall over same-sex marriage and transgender bathroom issues. Petitioners handed in 2361 signatures and needed 1331.

Massachusetts: No Early Voting in Fall River Mayoral Recall

Here

Arizona: Petitions filed against State Representative over racial comments and past arrest

Petitions have been taken out against State Representative David Stringer (R) following a Prescott City Council 6-1 vote asking for his resignation over racially charged comments. This is not the first time that Stringer has been criticized for his racial comments -- the Governor and both parties have called for his resignation. Stringer is also facing a new disclosure that "he was arrested in 1983 in Baltimore on charges including child pornography."

A recall cannot begin until the summer -- Stringer was just reelected and there is a six month grace period before a recall can begin.

Petitioners would need 24,990 signatures to get on the ballot.

New Jersey: Second recall attempt against Phillipsburg Mayor fails

A second attempt to get a recall against Mayor Stephen Ellis (D) on the ballot failed. The recall is over vague claims of incompetence and misuse of office. In August, Ellis claimed the recall is started by "mercenaries" who have accused him of assault (the charges were dropped). Ellis won in 2015, beating a Republican incumbent looking for a fifth term.

One of the lead petitioners, Blaine Fehley, accused the mayor of assault for yelling at him over "crudely manipulated photos."

Petitioners needed 1725 signatures in 160 days (25% of registered voters).

Maine: Judge issues temporary injunction stopping recall vote of three Ogunquit Selectmen

A judge issued a temporary injunction stopping the selectmen from scheduling the recall of Selectmen Madeline Mooney, Charles Waite III and Robert Winn.

The injunction is based on a claim that the petitions and signatures are invalid because one of the petitioners isn't a resident. The recall is for the three selectmen's support of the town manager's decision to fire the Fire Chief.  Petitioners handed in over 300 signatures. They needed 215 valids and got 253-257.

Louisiana: St. Tammany Parish School Board member facing recall threats over shoplifting arrest

School Board member Sharon Lo Drucker is facing threats for a recall after the revelations of her July shoplifting arrest. She was relected to a second term after the arrest (for items worth $58.25)

Crow Agency Chairman kicked out in January 19 recall

Chairman Alvin "A.J." Not Afraid was kicked out of office in a January 19 recall. Carlson "Dukes" Goes Ahead replaced him. The recall was over accusation

Virginia: Can the Governor be recalled? And what is Virginia's unique Recall Trial law?

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has been under a deluge of calls for his resignation since the revelation that his medical school yearbook has a picture of a man in blackface and another in a KKK outfit. Despite a poorly received press conference, Northam has so far refused to resign. So, let's ask the question that naturally would come to this blog -- In the (frankly unlikely) case Northam does not resign, can he be removed by a recall vote? Due to two factors, the evidence would suggest that a Virginia Governor can't be recalled, though there is some slight room for uncertainty. Let's look at some of the strange issues regarding the recall in Virginia:

1) Virginia has an unusual recall provision called a "recall trial." No state has this provision -- it is not clear any place in the world has it. The recall trial is a modification of what we call the judicial recall/malfeasance standard, with a very big twist.

Under the recall trial standard, voters would have to gather signatures equal to 10% of turnout in the last election. Then, instead of a vote, a judge would hold a trial to determine if the elected official violated a specified list of statutory rules. The list includes neglect of duty, misuse of office, incompetence and conviction on a number of misdemeanors (one of the specified misdemeanors is a "hate crime" -- though I can't imagine any criminal charges).

Having a specified "for cause" list of actions required for removal is not unusual. Among the states that have recalls on the state level, seven have this judicial recall/malfeasance standard criteria (Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island, Washington). This greatly limits the amount of recalls -- such recalls attempts are generally thrown out very early in the process.

What is unusual is having a trial rather than an election. I'm not sure how this provision came about, but no one else seems to have it.

Would Northam be found guilty and removed in a recall trial? It seems extremely unlikely -- it is not clear what charges could be filed. However, there are very few recall trials in Virginia history (see below), so we can't read much into past practices.

2) Does the Governor even fall under this provision? The applicability portion of the code states that the law: "shall apply to all elected .... officers.... except officers for whose removal the Constitution of Virginia specifically provides." This may mean that the recall may not cover Governors, who face impeachment under the Constitution. Again, this would need to be tested in court for a final answer.

3) Who replaces the elected official? The provision doesn't specify any replacement mechanism, which itself is unusual. Presumably, a recalled official would be replaced in the same fashion as an impeached one -- by the Lieutenant Governor. But if Republicans wanted to test one provision to capture the Governor's mansion, this would certainly be it. In some recalls in Virginia, the position has been filled by an appointment (though that is under local recall laws). If the legislature could select a replacement (and the GOP controls both house of the legislature), this would presumably be the only way to do it.

4) So how often does a recall trial happen? That is unclear. I'm not sure any has actually occurred. In one of the attempts that I've documented since 2011, the judge threw out the recall of Loudon County Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R) before it got to a trial stage. In another, against Norfolk County Treasurer Anthony Burfoot (D), petitioners seemed to get enough signatures, but the recall trial was held up until he was convicted of a crime and then automatically removed from office. In the Burfoot case, the prosecutor claimed that he would not try the recall trial because the criminal action took place when Burfoot was a councilman, not as treasurer. The article on Delgaudio notes another case that was thrown out -- that one involved a Supervisor in 1997, though it is not clear if it went to an actual recall trial or not.

Virginia has had a number of recall elections, which are allowed at the local level. One official, former Portsmouth Mayor James Holley III, was even recalled and removed twice.

5) While not on point, it is interesting to compare this to Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, who resigned after facing ethical questions in 2015. Oregon did not have an impeachment provision, but it did have a recall law. The fact that he was threatened with recalls may have hastened the Kitzhaber resignation. While I wouldn't expect Northam to stay in office, a clear recall law may make the resignation a more likely and quicker occurrence.

Virginia: Recall Trial of Norfolk Treasurer called off due to conviction

Not sure why this didn't get posted when I wrote, but the recall trial against Norfolk Treasurer Anthony Burfoot was found to be moot after his conviction for selling his votes when he was a councilman and lying under oath. The recall trial was delayed for a year after he was indicted (he was sentenced to six years). The prosecutor claimed he would not have pushed for a trial, as the actions did not occur when he was a treasurer.

Petitioners handed in almost 6500 signatures, 4670 were valid. They needed 4656.