Pennsylvania: New Bill moves out of committee providing recall for Philadelphia

The Pennsylvania House State Government Committee has passed allowing recalls in Philadelphia. A previous version of the bill had previously allowed recalls against state executive officers, though not against the Republican-dominated legislature (Rhode Island also has a recall law that leaves out the legislature). The vote was on a party-line.  Philadelphia's previous recall law was struck down in a 1976 State Supreme Court case. 

Minnesota: Red Wing City Council refuses to schedule recall elections against two council members, citing malfeasance standard

The Red Wing City Council has refused to set a recall election date against council members Erin Buss and Evan Brown. There has been recall efforts against six City Council members, Buss, Brown, Dean Hove, Andy Klitzke, Becky Norton, and Laurel Stinson. Five of them have got enough signatures (they are still counting for Hove). The recall effort follows the firing of the Police Chief (the vote was 6-1). The City Council vote was 6-1.

Minnesota is a malfeasance standard state, so petitioners will need to show a statutorily specific reason for the recall. The council is claiming that the recall does not meet the standard. There has been only one recall that I've seen in Minnesota since 2011, and it is likely there hasn't been another one since the state-wide adoption of a recall law in 1996. 

Arizona: Recall Effort against State Representative fails

The recall effort against State Representative Mark Finchem (R) has ended, with petitioners claiming that they collected more than 18,000 signatures and needed 24,774 to get on the ballot. 

The recall was over Finchem support for the Capitol Hill riots on January 6th and the attempted overthrow of the presidential election. Finchem alleged that the group is defaming him, presumably by running a recall effort. Finchem is running for Secretary of State, where he would be in charge of elections. 

The effort had been facing questions after the Chair of the Casa Grande Democrats, Ralph Atchue stepped back from the effort to let professionals run it. Representative Athena Salman (D) has also introduced a resolution to expel Finchem. Finchem accepted more than $6000 from Trump in Recount legal consulting. After facing an ethics complaint, Finchem filed ethic complaints against nearly all Democrats in the state legislature, which went nowhere. 

California: Replacement candidates must disclose five years of tax returns to run

Secretary of State Shirley Weber has said that a law that requires candidates to release five years of tax information will apply to recall replacement candidates. The law was struck down for presidential candidates but  does require disclosure for gubernatorial ones. There's a debate whether recalls should count (as it is a special election, the law specifies primaries), but Weber is claiming that they can use the primary election requirements based on the 2003 precedent. Good chance that this sees a lawsuit. 

Ballotpedia's mid-year recall report out

The good folks at Ballotpedia have released their mid-year report for the recall -- noting 262 recalls (in 164 different jurisdictions), which they cite as the most since 2016. School board members are the big jump here -- which is directly related to the coronavirus. We're still waiting to see how many recalls actually get to the ballot.

Here's some more thoughts on it at the Hill.

Colorado: Lawsuit seeks to throw out new law limiting donations to Loveland Councilmember recall effort

There is now a lawsuit seeking to stop a new law requiring a $130 maximum on contributions to local campaigns, with the Committee to Recall Don Overcash arguing that the new position targets them.

The recall against Loveland City Council member Don Overcash is  over his revelation of not-yet- public information for a In-N-Out Burger drive-thru. Overcash is also allegedly hostile to the mayor and two other councilors. 

Overcash is running for mayor (so far unopposed). The lead petitioner is former city council member Troy Krenning. 

Petitioners need 1254 signatures in 90 days. 

Massachusetts: Cheshire Town meeting to vote on moving potential recall laws forward

An upcoming Cheshire Town Meeting will vote on allowing Selectmen to ask for legislation to provide for recalls for town officials (presumably this is asking for the state legislators and governor to approve such a law). Petitions would require 3% of registered voters or 100 voters, whichever is less, though they only have 20 days to gather the signatures. The official can run in the replacement race. 

California: Are recalls increasing -- a look at the local recall efforts

Here's an article in the LA Times (which quotes me) looking at the phenomena of increased recalls. I'm not sure if there is an increase or if it is simply the fact that one or two national issues (Covid and police/BLM protests) have dominated recall fights this year (as opposed to the usual, say a firing of a city manager), allowing people to notice the issue. We'll see how it plays out. 

California: New law allows waiving part of extended time frame for recall

In the continued push for an earlier recall timeframe, the legislatures are passing a law (A.152) that will waive the 30-day cost review process, allowing them to speed up the recall. The law goes into affect only if the money covering the recall is already approved by the legislature. 

Colorado: Three Pioneer Park School Board Members facing petitions

Pioneer Park School Board Members Jodene Boerner, Jill Brownell and Jennifer Ogley are facing petitions over claims about a hostile work environment causing employees to leave. No word on how many signatures are needed.

California: Kingsburg City Council member facing recall threats

Kingsburg City Councilmember Jewell Hurtado is facing petitions over what opponents call a "socialist agenda." Unfortunately, I can't open the document to get more details.

Massachusetts: Boston City Council adopts law allowing removal of City Council President

Not a recall exactly, but the Boston City Council has passed a law allowing it to remove the City Council President (though they would still serve as council member). The current City Council President Kim Janey is now serving as acting Mayor and is running for a full term. Also running -- three other city council members. 

Washington: Key union supports recall effort against Seattle City Council member

 A key union, the Seattle Building and Constructions Trade Council, has come out in favor of a recall effort against Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant (the first socialist elected to Seattle's council in 100 years). Petitioners are gathering signature after the State Supreme Court upheld a lower court judge ruling approving the recall effort against Two of the six charges were dismissed sat the lower level. Sawant would be the first councilmember to face a recall in Seattle's history (though two Mayors were kicked out).

The recall effort was over a kitchen sink of complaints, including revealing the mayor's home address, giving decision-making authority to Socialist Alternative (which has been a complaint against her before, though it was dismissed by the Ethics and Election Commission), promoting a ballot initiative, letting protesters in City Hall after hours and helping to create a criminal environment.

Petitioners would need 10,739 signatures to get on the ballot. Washington is also a "malfeasance standard/judicial recall state", so a recall effort needed to get approval to get on the ballot.

Both sides have raised about $500,000.

California: $215 Million cost analysis for the Newsom recall

A new analysis projected that the cost of the recall would be $215 million, which is less than the $400 million first proposed, but much higher than the 2003 recall costs. Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon seem to be looking to get the recall on the ballot early. They said:

"By providing counties with the funding they need, we can waive the required period for the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to review the election costs."

It is not clear that a court will uphold this legal argument.

As I noted earlier, I would expect that the Democrats want to tout a very high number, so they can argue the recall is a waste of money, and Republicans want a low one. Dianne Feinstein used the "waste of money" argument to great effect in her 1983 San Francisco Mayoral recall and I would expect that it will be one of the pillars of the Newsom campaign (the other pillar being a straight D v. R argument that helped Newsom get a 24% margin in 2018).

California: Petitions target newly elected Los Angeles Councilwoman

Petitions are being taken out against Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman over complaints of inexperience, unresponsiveness and being a political radical. Among the issues are policing, homeless and Raman's opposition to height limits on buildings in several neighborhoods.

Raman, who was elected in November after being the first official to defeat an incumbent in 17 years, says she has a "broad progressive agenda." Raman had the support of the Democratic Socialists of America.  Petitioners need more than 27,000 signatures to get on the ballot. 

California: Newsom Recall Roundup -- Judge who gave signature gathering more time worked at same firm as lead attorney; Power outages and more on timing

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge James P. Arguelles, who granted the Newsom Recall campaign extra time to collect signatures was a former law partner of the attorney who argued the case. Both Arguelles and Bradley Benbrook were at Stevens, O'Connell & Jacobs. Somewhat surprised the judge didn't just recuse himself. 

67 candidates are in the recall effort and social media shooting stars are prominent among them

Throwback Thursday -- Does Newsom have to worry about power outages (and droughts)?

When will the recall take place? I'm quoted in here saying that Newsom may have a big benefit from a late recall effort

Newsom's raised over $15 million

Mexico: Will Morena's poor result in elections lead to a rethinking of AMLO recall?

Here -- if AMLO goes through with the recall (which is a liberal use of the term "recall"), it may be the first time someone launched a recall against themselves.

Oregon: Interview with campaign manager of Portland Mayor recall effort

Here's the interview focused on the fact that Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler got 46% of the vote in his reelection run (the second place candidate got 23%). 

Colorado: 99 rounds of voting fails to find a replacement in Westminster city council after recall leads to resignation

A new record has been set in Westminster, as the city council failed to fill a vacant council seat after 99 rounds of voting. This was after it took 78 rounds of voting to choose a replacement for Westminster Mayor Pro Tem following the resignation of Mayor Herb Atchison. Atchison resigned after signatures were verified in the recall effort against him and the previous Mayor Pro Temp (Councilor Anita Seitz) moved up to the position. No word yet on a replacement for Atchison in his councilor position. Councilor David DeMott was selected for the Mayor Pro Tem position.

The recall vote against Atchison is off, but there is still one set to take place in July against Councilor Jon Voelz.

The Westminster recall has taken a number of twists and turns. Petitioners got enough signatures for Atchison and Voelz to get to the ballot, but petitions against Councilors Anita Seitz and Kathryn Skulley failed to clear the bar. 

A state judge ruled that a city clerk was wrong in tossing out signatures due to petitioners unstapling the cover sheets of the petitions. The judge ruled that the stapling issue was unintentional. The recall is over water bills. Petitioners needed 25% of turnout, which is 5009 signatures for Atchison and 6,098 for the three council members. Skulley's signatures missed by 61; Atchison by 282; Voelz by 635 and Seitz by 757. Atchison's effort got more than a 1000 over the limit and Voelz just got 9. Seitz missed by 35 signatures and Skulley by 23.

New Mexico: Las Cruces School Board member resigns -- Supreme Court sitting on a recall effort against three members since 2019

Las Cruces School Board member Terrie Dallman resigned as she complained of harassment and mismanagement of a superintendent search. Dallman, Maria Flores and Ray Jaramillo are all facing a years-long recall threat over claims of violating open meeting laws and adding central office jobs during a hiring freeze. 

A State Court Judge green lit the recall effort, but the state Supreme Court has been sitting on the case since 2019. As a malfeasance state, a judge needed to first rule if the ground are valid.

If a recall would be allowed, petitioners would need 33 1/3rd of turnout, which is 424 for Flores, 252 for Dallman and 83 for Jaramillo. Any empty seat is filled by appointment.