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Bret Witkowski recall, Berrien County, Michigan (2015)
| Berrien County Treasurer recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2015 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Bret Witkowski in Berrien County, Michigan, from his position as treasurer was launched in March 2015.[1]
In 2015, Witkowski was in his third, four-year term as county treasurer, after being on the county board of commissioners before that.[1]
The recall petition accused Witkowski of having an "extramarital affair during work hours" and sending explicit text messages to women. The specifically criminal accusations were that Witkowski had used his county office or county resources in an extramarital affair. A state police investigation uncovered no evidence of a crime.[1][2]
Recall supporters
The petition for recall was filed by Ryan Flamand. Flamand, however, stated that he did not expect to collect signatures. Rather, he was "just putting (it) on record as his behavior is immoral."[1]
Recall opponents
Response by Bret Witkowski
Bret Witkowski did not respond directly to Flamand's accusations. Witkowski said, "Recalls are allowed under Michigan law and I respect that right. I also respect the right of freedom of speech." He also said, "As county treasurer, this is a 24-7 job to keep people in their homes and properties and I will continue to do that."[1]
Concerning the state police investigation, Witkowski said, "I did not know they were doing... the looking into, but it's a blessing they did. They went through all my emails and went through everything in here and said there was nothing there, so I'm thankful for that."[3]
No evidence found in criminal investigation
State police investigated the allegations against Bret Witkowski. Detective Sgt. Todd Petersen, who conducted the investigation, said that no evidences of any crimes were uncovered by his work.[1]
A statement released by the office of Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic concluded:
| “ |
The investigation uncovered no evidence that the Berrien County Treasurer's Office was implicated. In other words, there was no evidence that Mr. Witkowski used his office, or any pecuniary treasury benefit to initiate, continue or discontinue any extramarital relationship.[4] |
” |
| —The office of the Berrien County prosecutor[2] | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
Supporters of the recall needed to collect about 11,000 valid signatures within 180 days of filing the recall petition on March 25, 2015, to force a recall election. This resulted in a deadline of September 21, 2015. Signatures were not submitted.[1]
See also
External links
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Bret + Witkowski + recall"
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The Herald-Palladium, "Witkowski target of recall," March 26, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Moody on the Market, "No charges in Witkowski investigation," March 26, 2015
- ↑ WSJM News, "Berrien County Treasurer Target Of Recall, But No Petitions Will Circulate," March 26, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
