Almost surprised someone hasn't tried to recall Granholm...

     No, I'm not recommending it (despite her faults); just almost surprised someone hasn't pulled that trick...

Not much of a point recalling her now, as we're so close to the next election, anyhow. Dick DeVos can start measuring for the drapes, because she is "done." Hopefully we can also score a two-fer by deposing "Dangerously Incompetent" Stabenow. ;-D

Michigan law doesn't allow recall petitions to be filed in the first or last six months of an official's term.

In theory, recall petitions could be filed by June 30 against any official whose term ends December 31, but it's too late to make the August ballot, so the recall election would be in November when they're running for re-election. Seems pointless to me.

Moreover, there's an automatic 10 to 20 day delay in the process of getting the text of the reasons for recall approved for clarity.

Edited by author 06-29-2006 07:36 PM
I have been active in the Pittsfield recall campaign. Some might charge that recall campaigns have spun out of control beginning with the California Governor's office. I also understand the emotional and financial burden elected officials face defending themselves against such attacks.

I can't speak for recall campaigns in other locales, but, the recall effort in Pittsfield is about poor leadership. Many believe the recall effort is really about the pending Wal-Mart at State Road and Michigan Ave. The Wal-Mart itself is not the issue, but rather the officials' actions regarding the Wal-Mart were merely the last straw. These officials, have a long and well-documented history of self-serving agendas that have burdened the residents for far too long. We recently compiled a list of examples of self-serving behavior of these officials for a lit drop in the community. We found that one page wasn't enough to capture all of our examples.

Before we conclude that recalls are spinning out of control, perhaps we should take a look at the performance of those recall targets. The efforts to put a recall vote on a ballot is no easy task. It takes lots of hard work by many people. I can only assume that citizens in other parts of the country are also fed up with poor leadership.

Edited by author 07-01-2006 11:38 AM
I live in a township in Monroe County and have gathered petition signatures for more than one recall over the last 10 years. Some of our recalls have been successful, some haven't.

Some people say we should not recall because, obviously, the majority elected these people. The problem is that the majority do not come to the monthly meetings or get involved in the day to day business of the township. A lot of times people are elected just because voters recognize their names or heard about them. People are not always elected by voters who have educated themselves on the issues.

Only a handful of citizens really get involved and become the watchdogs, so only a handful really know what's happening. That handful are the ones who usually do the recalls because of the wrongdoings of the officials.

I do think the law should require that the reasoning on the top of the petitions be truthful and not just clear. One has to go to court for the clarity hearing, so why not make the petitioner prove his allegations.

In the recalls I was involved in, all the facts were truthful and provable. That was not true in our most recent recall of the clerk and treasurer where false allegations were used, yet the wording was clear so it passed. Two officials got recalled based on lies that the wording was easy to understand but not truthful.

Requiring the allegations to be true would not violate a citizens right to recall but it might make it more fair.

Now from someone who has used recalls as a last resort. Our officials were breaking the FOIA laws, the Open Meetings Act over and over with secret meetings, spending money without prior approval, entering into contracts without prior approval and without bidding them out, violated tons of elections laws. The list could go on and on.

We went to the Attorney General several times and was told we have to go through the county prosecuting attorney. We went to the county PA and he said we had to file police reports in order to get to his office.

But he warned us that we may think our complaints are valid but "there are entirely too many rapes, robberies and murders in Monroe County for US to give it the attention YOU think it deserves."

Citizens did a lawsuit that cost thousands but the judge said Yes they violated OMA.....but oops, they didn't do it on purpose. He said you can't expect local townships to "follow the law as well as Grand Rapids, Lansing and Kalamazoo." Hmm, I think I'll try that the next time a cop stops me for speeding and say "I'm from that stupid little rural township. You can't expect me to follow the same laws the city slickers do :)" Do you think that cop is going to let me off because I'm not as smart and slick as the city folk? But the judge did in the lawsuit even after admitting they broke the law.

The last resort was recall. It took 2 attempts but we finally got the supervisor out.

We haven't won the war in our township but we've won some skirmishes. The crooked assessor resigned. The insufficient clerk resigned. All the Board of review resigned.

Then the opposition decided "Hey, you don't have to tell the truth on the recall petitions, you only have to be clear." So after two attempts at wording,they managed to take out two of the good guys left in office (the clerk and treasurer) by telling lie after lie. But it worked. They convinced the uninformed citizens of our township that these guys were bad so they voted to recall. In our township, dishonesty pays.

The laws governing governmental bodies should have some teeth and penalties that are enforced on the law breaking officials. Then there wouldn't be as many recalls.

It's too easy to use false claims and (in the case of Pittsfield) out and out lies by the petition signature gatherers to get a recall approved. While some recalls are justified, many others are just based on sour grapes. In the case of the one in Pittsfield Twp, it appears just to be a attempt to keep "those people" out of Saline, MI. The people who are calling for the recall all love Wallmart -- they just don't want one, and the crowd it brings, in their back yard.

Fortunatly, the final vote is by the people... unfortunatly it wastes a lot of money getting there.

G

Greg,
I can only assume that you don't live in Pittsfield or are a friend of one of the triumvirate. As a petition gatherer, not once did I make any false statements to my fellow citizens. I urged each person to read the petition language. Oftentimes they had questions about the officials and I provided more examples of what I deemed poor leadership of the township. The petitions were certified by the county and a judge threw out the lawsuit by the officials regarding the certification.

I agree the language should be truthful moreso than simply clear, but that in itself I imagine would require an investigation, evidence gathering, hearings, and the like at additional taxpayer expense and time.

Hey Kirk (and all),
I do live in Pittsfield and have so for more than 10 years. When I first moved here I learned that a huge housing development was planned for the land just to the south of my home, in the central area of the township. There were neither water, sewer or roads to support that development so I joined in fighting against it. Now the township has saved that land to help keep the "feel" of open/ruralness that we all moved here for (except those who moved here to dodge Ann Arbor taxes).

I also know that the land that the Walmart is planned for is zoned for commercial buildings and has been so for the last several versions of the master plan. Saline chose to build it's new schools across the road from that planned zoning, so it should have been no surprise that a major "big box" store was sited there. The township can only do so much to stop a landowner from using his/her land for the zoned purpose. The township did that. Any more and they'd just waste our tax money getting sued.

I know that the board is filled with people who are pretty low on the political savvy scale (heck that's why they're on a township board and not running for state government). But they are not breaking any laws or doing anything that endangers the people of our township and therefore merit recall. If they are just bad officials, do the american thing and vote them out in a regular election rather than a poorly attended August 8th primary (where only the Republicans have candidates).

In any case, no one came knocking on my door to get my signature. I live on a dirt road, with only 3 neighbors - not in a densely packed sub or condo. So why don't you post what you told people while gathering there signatures. We'll compare that to the facts and see.

I just find it very annoying when people use loopholes, backdoors or try to win baseball games by stealing bases and not getting honest runs.

Greg

Greg,
Since no one knocked on your door to ask for your signature on the recall petition, then how do you know what the facts are regarding the manner in which the signatures were gathered?

I, too, have lived in Pittsfield for some time and I am aware of the failed Newmarket development and 535-acre park that resulted from the efforts of you, 'Tina and a few other neighbors to oppose it. It is pointless to debate the issues that Newmarket may have created, but the fact remains that the township spent more than $11M of our money to protect land adjacent to her property from being developed. I salute her efforts in winning her personal struggle...and you in yours, but that move was not in the best interests of the township. Let's not discuss why because that is an entirely new thread.

Suffice to say that ANewPittsfield.org contains documented proof of the wrongdoing and self-protectionist actions by the triumvirate. For example, Tina complained about the salaries of township officials in her "watchdog" newsletter, but has since approved raises of her salary of approximately 25% since she gained office. Thanks to them and our $11M park, we now have a bond when the township was previously bond-free. Our cash balance has decreased from $14M to the legal minimum of $8M under Tina's watch. Our water, sewer and garbage rates have experienced double-digit increases since Tina took office. Now, we even get to pay a monthly charge for our water meters...and we already own them.

This is but a mere sample. I haven't even gone into the specific language on the recall, the current investigation by the Secretary of State, or any of the brow-beating techniques employed by the triumvirate and Tina's psychotic husband.

If you want to know more, then I encourage you to visit ANewPittsfield.org and see for yourself.