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Charles Letner and James Zimmerlin recall, Brookville, Ohio (2024-2025)
| Charles Letner and James Zimmerlin recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
James Zimmerlin |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| January 7, 2025 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Ohio Ohio recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
An election to recall Mayor Charles Letner and Vice Mayor James Zimmerlin took place on January 7, 2025, in Brookville, Ohio.[1] Letner and Zimmerlin retained their seats as a result of the recall vote.
Recall vote
Letner recall
The recall question on the ballot asked, "Shall Chuck Letner be allowed to continue as a member of the Council and Municipality of Brookville? The 'Yes' votes in the table below indicate support for recalling Peterson, while the 'No' votes indicate support for retaining Letner.
Charles Letner recall, 2025
Charles Letner won the Mayor of Brookville recall election on January 7, 2025.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
Yes |
47.5
|
372 | |||
| ✔ | No |
52.5
|
411 | ||
Total Votes |
783 | ||||
|
|
Zimmerlin recall
The recall question on the ballot asked, "Shall James S. Zimmerlin be allowed to continue as a member of the Council and Municipality of Brookville? The 'Yes' votes in the table below indicate support for recalling Peterson, while the 'No' votes indicate support for retaining Zimmerlin.
James Zimmerlin recall, 2025
James Zimmerlin won the Brookville Vice-Mayor recall election on January 7, 2025.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
Yes |
47.5
|
371 | |||
| ✔ | No |
52.5
|
410 | ||
Total Votes |
781 | ||||
|
|
Recall supporters
Brookville Citizens for Keep it Rural organized the recall effort.[2]
The reasons for the recall effort given in the recall petitions were that Letner and Zimmerlin "failed to listen to their constituents and have failed to be transparent on potential infrastructure issues of the city. The citizens of the community have no confidence in this individual’s ability to lead and grow the city in a positive direction."[3]
Recall opponents
In a statement provided to 2 News, Zimmerlin said the following:[4]
| “ |
Being on City Council is a thankless job. There are very few, if any, decisions made where you are going to get 100% consensus from voters. Just a few years ago, the City of Brookville was in a precarious situation financially. We lost several of our biggest employers, including Payless, which required City Council to make some tough decisions. I believe City Administration and City Council has done a great job to move the needle on turning the city around financially. I am proud of the work we have done and believe the City of Brookville is well positioned for the future. Development is something that is affecting a lot of communities across the Miami Valley. Brookville is not alone. New development, both commercial and residential, is a critical lever needed to keep municipalities financially solvent and to support our business community. Change is difficult, but most of the residential development in Brookville were planned long before I got on City Council. Every decision that I have made considers the comprehensive land use plan, current zoning, and ensuring to protect the City of Brookville from litigation. I do not take the referendum or potential recall petition personally, as it is part of the process that is afforded to the residents by the City Charter. I stand behind every decision that I have made and will continue to make through the remainder of my term. I do not believe the those leading this recall effort are doing so with the best of intentions, nor do I think it is putting the City of Brookville in a positive light. I’m looking forward to fighting to retain my seat on city council. [5] |
” |
Letner did not provide a statement to 2 News.[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Ohio
No specific grounds are required for recall in Ohio. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures from qualified electors equal to 15% of the votes cast at the most recent regular municipal election. Supporters of the recall have 90 days to circulate petitions from the day the first signature is collected.[6]
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
- Brookville, Ohio
- Recall campaigns in Ohio
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- Mayoral recalls
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ WDTN, "Brookville residents will vote on recall of mayor, vice mayor," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Dayton Daily News, "Brookville mayor, vice mayor push back against recall effort by ‘Keep it Rural’," accessed November 18, 2024
- ↑ The Register-Herald, "Group wants to recall mayor, vice mayor," July 30, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 WDTN, "Citizens in Brookville looking to ‘keep it rural’ petition to remove city leaders," November 1, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ohio Revised Code, "Section 705.92: Procedure for removal of elective officer by recall." accessed October 17, 2023
