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Crawford Patkotak recall, North Slope Borough, Alaska (2025)
| Crawford Patkotak recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Alaska Alaska recall laws County commission recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall North Slope Borough Assembly President Crawford Patkotak is underway in Alaska. The first recall effort began on February 13, 2025, but was deemed insufficient by the county clerk. The second recall effort began on March 4, 2025, and the petition was approved for circulation by the county clerk on March 21.[2] Recall organizers will need to collect signatures equal to at least 25% of the total number of voters in the last regular election.[3]
Recall supporters
Recall organizers cited the following reasons for Patkotak's recall in their application for a recall petition:[2]
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Grounds for Recall: The Assembly President must be recalled for misconduct in office, incompetence, or failure to perform prescribed duties. The Assembly President voted in favor of the Borough paying for his grandchildren's international and domestic travel expenses without adequately disclosing that he had personal interest in the childcare of his grandchildren and a personal interest in protecting his son, the Mayor, from the embarrassment of taking personal compensation from the Borough in excess of what was fixed by ordinance. The Assembly President's failure to make full disclosure of his private interest and specifically articulate that his participation may diminish the public trust the Assembly action, constitutes a failure to perform a duty prescribed by Borough ordinance, incompetence, and misconduct in office. The Assembly President's involvement in the Borough Clerk rejecting the applications for the petitions to recall the Mayor and the Assembly president constitute misconduct in office. [4] |
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Recall opponents
Patkotak said the following in comments in KTOO:[5]
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“We have tried our best to be transparent at the assembly level, working closely with the mayor and his staff...We disclose through the process who we are, and the fact that our people, the voters of the North Slope Borough voted to put us in these positions.” [4] |
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Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Alaska
Alaska allows the following grounds for recall: "misconduct in office, incompetence, or failure to perform prescribed duties." To start the recall process, supporters must file an application for a recall petition containing the signatures of 10 voters who are sponsoring the petition. If a municipal clerk determines the application meets the requisite requirements, the petition will be approved to circulate. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures within 60 days of the recall petition getting approved. For an at-large officeholder, the petition must be signed by a number of voters equal to 25% of the votes cast for that office at the last regular election. For an officeholder who represents a specific district, the petition must be signed by a number of the voters residing in the district equal to 25% of the votes cast in the district for that office at the last regular election.[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
- North Slope Borough, Alaska
- Recall campaigns in Alaska
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- County commission recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Recall Elections Blog, "Alaska: North Slope Assembly President and Mayor (who are father and son) are both facing petitions," April 6, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 North Slope Borough Clerk's Office, "Re: Application for Recall Petition - Crawford A. Patkotak, Assembly President," accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ Alaska Public Media, "Recall effort targets North Slope Borough mayor over use of public funds for family’s travel," accessed April 2, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ KTOO, "Effort to recall the North Slope Borough mayor is moving forward," April 7, 2025
- ↑ Alaska State Statutes, "Title 29. Municipal Government; Chapter 26. Elections; Article 3. Recall." accessed October 16, 2023
