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Board of County Councilors recalls, Clark County, Washington (2016)
| Clark County Board of Councilors recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Julie Olson Marc Boldt |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Washington Washington recall laws County commission recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Jeanne Stewart, Julie Olson, and Council Chair Marc Boldt from their positions on the Clark County Board of Councilors in Washington was launched on June 28, 2016. Fellow councilor Tom Mielke filed three separate petitions for Stewart, Olson, and Boldt, who are the majority voting bloc of the council. Mielki and David Madore have been the minority in several 3-2 votes since Boldt and Olson took office in January 2016. Mielke's letters said that the three targets "committed acts of malfeasance, misfeasance and violated (their) oath of office."[1]
On July 6, the council voted to use county funds to pay for the legal defense of the three councilors facing recall. Stewart, Olson, and Boldt voted in favor of this decision, while Mielke and Madore voted against it. The vote was followed by a heated exchange among the councilors. Mielke questioned the legitimacy of such an action, but Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Jane Veto said the councilor's decision was justified by state law.[2]
The recall did not go to a vote because it was dismissed by the superior court on July 29.[3]
Recall supporters
Statement of charges
Mielke gave four examples of the three councilors' wrongdoing. The following quotes come from the petition for Boldt, although The Columbian reported that the three petitions were almost identical.[4]
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Recall opponents
Response from recall targets
"This is the depth they’ll go to try to pressure and intimidate people that disagree with them," said Olson. She called the recall attempt "meritless and baseless." Boldt said he respected the recall process, but was not worried about the attempt. "[I]t makes me kind of proud of what we’ve done the last six months," he said.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Washington
In Washington, recall petitions can only be circulated against an official who is guilty of the "commission of some act or acts of malfeasance or misfeasance while in office, or who has violated his oath of office." Thus, before a recall petition can be circulated, a Superior Court judge needs to rule on whether or not the allegations against the targets has some basis in evidence and amount to malfeasance—the deliberate commission of a wrong or criminal action—misfeasance—improper or erroneous action—or a violation of his oath of office. Judges of the Clark County Superior Court recused themselves from the case to avoid a conflict of interest. Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Warning heard the recall petitions on July 29.[6] Warning dismissed the recall on the grounds that the allegations did not meet the requirements for a recall petition.[3]
If the recall petition had been upheld by the court, proponents would have begun collecting signatures. For each official, they would have needed valid signatures equal to 25 percent of the total number of votes cast in the last election for that office. The petitions for Boldt and Stewart, who were elected countywide, would have required 20,639 and 29,901 signatures, respectively. The petition of Olson, who was elected by district, would have required 6,097 signatures.[1]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Jeanne Stewart Julie Olson Marc Boldt recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Clark County, Washington, "Board of County Councilors"
- Filing of Statement of Charges in favor of the recall of Clark County Council Chair Marc Boldt
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Columbian, "Mielke seeks to recall majority of Clark County council," June 28, 2016
- ↑ The Columbian, "County to pay councilors’ recall fees," July 6, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Columbian, "Judge dismisses Mielke’s recall petition," July 29, 2016
- ↑ "Filing of Statement of Charges in favor of the recall of Clark County Council Chair Marc Boldt," June 28, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Columbian, "Judge to hear county council recall petitions next week," July 19, 2016
