Don Munsterman recall, Stevens County Commissioner, Washington, 2009
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A group of Stevens County residents is initiating a recall campaign against 5th District Commissioner Don Munsterman, according to a letter to the editor from resident Charlie Berg published in the Morris Sun-Tribune.[1]
Background
The move comes after growing tension over a $15 million construction project, which includes courthouse renovations, a law enforcement center, and most controversially, a new jail. Commissioners argue the project is necessary, as the county’s previous two-cell jail was deemed unfit for use in the 1970s, and the county has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars transporting and housing its prisoners in other county jails while securing them by shackling them to a wall or in chairs in the courthouse.[1]
The board of commissioners began researching jail and building options in 2004, and in summer 2008 voted 3-2 to move forward with the $15 million plan. Munsterman and fellow commissioners Larry Sayre and Paul Watzke voted for the plan, while retired commissioner Neal Hofland and current commissioner Herb Kloos voted against it. All three that voted for the plan have come under fire from citizens, and the move to recall Munsterman is an effort to fight the building project. Munsterman was voted onto the board in 2006.[1]
Opposition
Berg, acting as residents' most vocal representative, questioned the board’s insistence on moving ahead when the economy is in recession. A resident analysis of the plan concluded that the project is too costly and that the tax burden will end up on the owners of non-homestead farm land, which is horrible timing, as commodity prices are falling and input costs are rising.[1]
