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Alisha Ames and Judy Saunders recall, Maine School Administrative District 46, Maine (2025)
| Maine School Administrative District 46 recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Judy Saunders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| June 10, 2025 |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Maine Maine recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
Recall elections against Alisha Ames and Judy Saunders, members of the Maine School Administrative District 46 school board, were held on June 10, 2025.[1] A majority of voters cast ballots in favor of recalling the two members, removing them from office.[2]
Ames was elected to the board in November 2023, and Saunders was elected to the board in November 2024.[1]
Recall vote
Alisha Ames recall, 2025
Alisha Ames lost the Maine School Administrative District 46 school board Dexter recall election on June 10, 2025.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✖ | Yes |
74.7
|
387 | ||
No |
25.3
|
131 | |||
Total Votes |
518 | ||||
|
|
Judy Saunders recall, 2025
Judy Saunders lost the Maine School Administrative District 46 school board Dexter recall election on June 10, 2025.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✖ | Yes |
73.7
|
382 | ||
No |
26.3
|
136 | |||
Total Votes |
518 | ||||
|
|
Recall supporters
The recall effort was started by a group called Stop the Power Trip. The group includes five members, one of whom—Tiffany Grover—previously served on the board. Grover lost her re-election bid in 2024. Two other members of the group ran for election to the board in 2024 but lost against Saunders.[1]
The recall affidavit against Ames said that she had a conflict of interest due to co-owning and operating a homeschooling co-op. The group said that the homeschooling co-op competed with the school district. The affidavit said Ames' position on the board "is detrimental to the school district and community of Dexter.”[1]
Ames was removed from school board committees as part of a reprimand from school board Chair Michael Burton. Burton said the reprimand was for Ames' "continual inability to follow direction from our legal counsel to not destroy our code of ethics on a regular basis."[1]
The recall affidavit against Saunders said her membership on the board violated the school district's nepotism policy because her daughter worked for the district.[1] The nepotism policy states: "It shall be the SAD #46 Board policy not to employ as District staff and Administration, any person who is a member of the immediate family of a Board member or of the Superintendent."[3]
"This situation puts our students at risk for possibly losing an educator," Grover said about Saunders' election to the board. "It also puts Judy’s child at risk for possibly losing their job and it’s unfair."[1]
The MSAD #46 Education Association announced its support of the recall in May 2025.[4]
Recall opponents
In reaction to the recall effort against her, Ames said, "I want what is best for the children of Dexter, and for public schools to be open and transparent and welcoming to every child, and to provide the best possible education to our kids."[1]
Saunders said that when she was elected to the board, her daughter was already working for the district. She said her daughter was protected by a contract. Saunders said she was told in December 2024 that her daughter would be fired if she took her position on the board. “I viewed this as an attempt to coerce me into giving up my civil rights,” Saunders said.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Maine
No specific grounds are required for recall in Maine. The recall of local officials in Maine is governed by local charters. Because of this, recall laws regarding signature requirements and circulation time vary by locality.[5]
To get the recalls on the ballot, recall supporters had to submit 296 petition signatures per board member. Recall supporters submitted 363 signatures against Ames and 350 signatures against Saunders. The Dexter Town Clerk verified enough signatures to put the recalls on the ballot for June 10, 2025.[1]
2025 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia has tracked 21 school board recall efforts against 39 board members in 2025. Recall elections against three board members were approved by voters on April 22, 2025, and June 10, 2025, removing all three from office. Recall elections against three other members are also being held on November 4, 2025.
The chart below details the status of 2025 recall efforts by individual school board member.
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Maine School Administrative District 46, Maine
- Maine School Administrative District 46, Maine, elections
- Recall campaigns in Maine
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 The Piscataquis Observer, "SAD 46 School Board fight escalates to a town vote," May 12, 2025
- ↑ Bangor Daily News, "Dexter voters oust 2 school board members in recall," June 10, 2025
- ↑ SAD #46, "Nepotism," accessed June 2, 2025
- ↑ Facebook, "Dexter Maine post from May 30, 2025," accessed June 2, 2025
- ↑ Maine Municipal Association, "Local Government in Maine," August 1, 2016
