City council recall, Homer, Alaska (2017)

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Homer City Council recall
Officeholders
Donna Aderhold David Lewis Catriona Reynolds
Recall status
Recall defeated
Recall election date
June 13, 2017
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2017 Recalls in Alaska Alaska recall laws City council recalls Recall reports

Homer City Council members Donna Aderhold, David Lewis, and Catriona Reynolds survived a recall election on June 13, 2017. Michael Fell submitted a recall application to City Clerk Jo Johnson that cited their opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline and their support for sanctuary policies. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska filed a lawsuit on behalf of the council members seeking to halt the recall, which was rejected by Superior Court Judge Erin Marston on May 23, 2017. Click here to learn more about the Homer City Council.

Recall vote

A recall election took place on June 13, 2017. The election could not be called on June 13, 2017, due to approximately 750 absentee ballots that required review. Recall votes were certified on June 16, 2017.

Recall of Donna Aderhold
Result		Votes	Percentage
Recall		825	42.88%
Retain		1,099	57.12%

Recall of David Lewis
Result		Votes	Percentage
Recall		825	42.9%
Retain		1,098	57.1%

Recall of Catriona Reynolds
Result		Votes	Percentage
Recall		850	44.2%
Retain		1,073	55.8%

Recall supporters

Fell and other members of a local group called Heartbeat of Homer claimed misconduct in office and a lack of fitness for office by the three council members, as stated in Fell's recall application. He cited two resolutions pursued by the city council as grounds for recall in the application:

• Lewis, Aderhold, Reynolds, and Mayor Bryan Zak voted to approve a resolution opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline and supporting the Standing Rock tribe. The resolution approved on November 21, 2016, is excerpted below. Click [show] to see the excerpted section.

Resolution 16-121 (November 21, 2016)

“ Resolution 16-121 BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of Homer, Alaska, supports the Standing Rock Lakota Tribe and opposes the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the City Council of Homer, Alaska, that: Section 1. The City of Homer stands in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's opposition to construct the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) across the Tribe's ancestral lands, water and sacred sites. Section 2. The City of Homer call upon the United States and the Army Corps of Engineers to obtain the free, prior and informed consent of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, prior to taking any federal action regarding the DAPL that would harm or destroy the Tribe's ancestral lands, waters and sacred sites. ” —Homer City Council (2016)

• Reynolds voted in favor of a resolution, ultimately defeated by a 5-1 vote, that would have proclaimed Homer as a jurisdiction inclusive to residents regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender. (The term inclusive was used in the resolution, which is quoted below.) The three council members discussed a sanctuary policy resolution before pursuing a broader measure. Fell and other recall supporters opposed a draft version of the resolution that criticized President Donald Trump and proposed limitations on collaboration with federal immigration officials to cases involving warrants. Click [show] to see the excerpted section.

Resolution 17-019 (February 27, 2017)

“ Resolution 17-019, A Resolution of the City Council of Homer, Alaska, Stating That the City of Homer Adheres to the Principle of Inclusion and Herein Committing This City to Resisting Efforts to Divide This Community With Regard to Race, Religion, Ethnicity, Gender, National Origin, Physical Capabilities, or Sexual Orientation Regardless of the Origin of Those Efforts, Including From Local, State or Federal Agencies. ” —Homer City Council (2017)

Fell's application also stated that council rules prohibit political activity on duty. City Clerk Johnson determined that city code defines political activity as activity related to elections, invalidating this argument. She found the misconduct and fitness for office claims sufficient to advance the recall application.

Recall opponents

Aderhold, Lewis, and Reynolds were contacted for comment on the recall by Ballotpedia. No responses were received as of May 5, 2017.

The ACLU of Alaska filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of Aderhold, Lewis, and Reynolds on April 24, 2017. City attorney Eric Sanders told council members that the city would proceed with a defense against the lawsuit on May 2, 2017. Judge Marston ruled against the ACLU's motion, arguing that public officials are unable to use free speech rights to prevent recall efforts by private individuals. The ACLU issued the following statement on the lawsuit:

“	Taking public positions and drafting legislation are activities every lawmaker has the right to do, even if there are people who disagree with them. As a result, the certification of their recall petition both violates the constitutional rights of the individual council members and would send a dangerous message to all of Alaska’s elected officials that they dare not express opinions on public policy issues for fear of facing a recall effort from a motivated faction of voters.	”
—ACLU of Alaska (2017)

Homer Citizens Against the Recall advocated against the recall effort. The group made the following arguments against the recall on its Facebook page:

“	False, unsubstantiated accusations. Our three councilpersons did nothing that was wrong or even inappropriate. In fact, they did exactly what council members are elected to do. The effect of the recall effort is clear. It is an attack upon the right of freedom of speech. Our councilmembers, just like the rest of us, have a constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech. They must be able to speak freely to carry out their primary function, that of representing the voters. What if this recall succeeds? New council members would be chosen by the remaining council members and the mayor. Where is the democracy in that? A packed council is not what citizens of Homer want, and not what we deserve.	”
—Homer Citizens Against the Recall (2017)

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Alaska

A recall application submitted on March 6, 2017, was approved for circulation on March 10, 2017. The city clerk approved the application because it contained 10 signatures from voters, grounds for recall, and the contact information for the recall organizer. Fell and other supporters needed to gather at least 373 valid signatures per council member to require a recall election. Signatures were submitted to the clerk on March 31, 2017.

Here are the number of signatures received and verified by the city clerk's office on April 5, 2017:

• Donna Aderhold: 437 signatures received (413 verified)
• David Lewis: 436 signatures received (413 verified)
• Catriona Reynolds: 436 signatures received (419 verified)

Campaign finance

Heartbeat of Homer reported $2,462 in contributions and $2,462 in expenditures as of May 16, 2017. Homer Citizens Against the Recall reported $2,470.79 in contributions, $1,046.24 in expenditures, and $1,424.55 cash on hand as of May 15, 2017.

About the office

The Homer City Council consists of six members elected at large to three-year terms. The mayor acts as the deciding vote when the city council has tie votes. The council appoints a mayor pro tem from its members following each election. The person in this position carries out the mayor's duties if the mayor is absent from meetings.

Past elections

City council elections take place each October. A runoff election in November is necessary if the number of candidates with 40 percent or more of all votes cast falls short of the number of seats up for election.

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2016 Homer City Council, At-large General Election, 2016 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Shelly Erickson 51.1% 1,132      Nonpartisan Tom Stroozas 36.4% 807      Nonpartisan Kimberly Ketter 10.2% 226      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 2.2% 49 Total Votes 2,214 Source: City of Homer, "Certificate of Election," October 7, 2016 2015 Homer City Council, At-large Runoff Election, 2015 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Heath Smith 63.9% 401      Nonpartisan Beauregard Burgess 36.1% 227 Total Votes 628 Source: City of Homer, "Certificate of Election," November 6, 2015 Homer City Council, At-large General Election, 2015 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Donna Aderhold 22.2% 495      Nonpartisan Heath Smith 18.3% 408      Nonpartisan Beauregard Burgess 17.6% 391      Nonpartisan Joni Wise 16.4% 365      Nonpartisan Tom Stroozas 13% 289      Nonpartisan Robert Howard 9.8% 219      Nonpartisan Micheal Neece 2% 44      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.6% 14 Total Votes 2,225 Source: City of Homer, "Certificate of Election," October 9, 2015 2014 Homer City Council, At-large General Election, 2014 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Catriona Reynolds 31.2% 692      Nonpartisan David Lewis 28.5% 633      Nonpartisan Corbin Arno 22.3% 496      Nonpartisan Justin Arnold 17.5% 388      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.5% 11 Total Votes 2,220 Source: City of Homer, "Certificate of Election," October 10, 2014

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Homer recall Alaska. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

City council recall, Homer, Alaska (2017) - Google News

See also

• Recall campaigns in Alaska
• Political recall efforts, 2017
• City council recalls

External links

• City of Homer, Alaska

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