City council recall, Red Wing, Minnesota (2021)
| Red Wing City Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Kim Beise Evan Brown Erin Buss Dean Hove Becky Norton Laurel Stinson |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in Minnesota Minnesota recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall the city council ended unsuccessfully in Red Wing, Minnesota. Organizers initially tried to recall all seven city council members: Andy Klitzke, Kim Beise, Evan Brown, Erin Buss, Dean Hove, Becky Norton, and Laurel Stinson.[1] Recall supporters alleged that the city council violated open meeting laws when it met to fire former Police Chief Roger Pohlman in February 2021.[2]
City Council President Becky Norton denied that the city council's vote to fire Pohlman was an appropriate grounds for recall because it did not constitute malfeasance.[3] Minnesota law and the Red Wing City Charter required recall organizers to show that officials had engaged in malfeasance or nonfeasance.[4] Malfeasance occurs when an official acts unlawfully in his or her duties as an official, while nonfeasance occurs when an official fails to perform his or her duties.
Recall supporters
Resident George Hintz and former Red Wing School Board Member Janie Farrar led the recall effort. The recall petition alleged that the city council violated open meeting laws when it met to fire former Police Chief Roger Pohlman in February 2021. Supports also said that the council had failed to listen to its constituents.[2]
Recall opponents
City Council President Becky Norton said that she did not believe the recall election would make it to the ballot because the council's vote to fire the police chief did not rise to the level of malfeasance or nonfeasance.[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Minnesota
On April 9, 2021, organizers filed with the city clerk to begin the recall process. Organizers had 30 days to circulate petitions to put the recall election on the ballot.[2]
For the city council members elected by ward, organizers were required to collect signatures from 20% of the registered voters in each ward. For Laurel Stinson, the at-large city council member, organizers were required to collect the same number of signatures from registered voters across the city.[2]
The city clerk approved petitions to recall five city council members, all except Dean Hove and Kim Beise.[5] Organizers launched a second recall effort against Dean Hove, after the first effort did not move forward due to a technical error.[6] The city council later voted 6-1 against calling a special recall election, with Beise the sole vote in favor of scheduling the election.[3]
The recall petitioners initially filed a lawsuit, challenging the council's decision not to call a special election, but they later withdrew the suit.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ City of Red Wing, "City Council," accessed April 15, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Yahoo News, "Recall group submits documents to Red Wing City Hall," April 10, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Post Bulletin, "Group looks into recalling 6 Red Wing City Council members," March 2, 2021 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "post" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ City of Red Wing, "Red Wing City Charter," accessed April 15, 2021
- ↑ Republican Eagle, "Three petitions filed; no recall elections approved," May 25, 2021
- ↑ Post Bulletin, "Second effort to recall Dean Hove starts in Red Wing," June 11, 2021
- ↑ City of Red Wing, "Recall Petitioners’ Attorney Files Notice Withdrawing Lawsuit for Recall Election," August 20, 2021
