Daily Brew: Second successful recall of a city official in 2018

August 2, 2018

PLUS: Michigan Supreme Court rules that a redistricting ballot initiative will remain on the 2018 ballot and Today is Tennessee: Stay tuned with us for results    Welcome to the Thursday, August 2 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Recall election successful in Dover, Wisconsin Michigan Supreme Court rules that a redistricting ballot initiative will remain on the 2018 ballot Today is Tennessee: Stay tuned with us for results Second successful recall of a city official in 2018  A recall election in Dover, Wisconsin, was held on Tuesday against Town Chairman Mario Lena.  Voters approved removing Lena from office.  Sam Stratton earned 54.5 percent of the vote—enough to win the election without the need for a runoff. In city recalls specifically, we have tracked recall efforts against 14 officials in 2018. Six of those recall efforts have gone to the ballot. Lena is the second city official to be recalled in 2018. One city official resigned in advance of a recall election. Across the country, Ballotpedia has covered 167 recall efforts involving 242 public officials in 2018. The recall efforts for 100 of those targeted officials did not make it to a vote. Of the remaining officials, 62 still have active recall efforts underway, six resigned from office, and 10 have recall elections scheduled later this year. Out of the 64 officials who were successfully put on the ballot by recall organizers, 32 lost their recall election and were removed from office, and the other 32 survived the recall attempt and remain in office. Learn more         Michigan Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, rules that an independent redistricting initiative can remain on general election ballot The Michigan Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that a redistricting ballot initiative shall remain on the ballot for the election on November 6, 2018. If approved, the ballot initiative would transfer the power to draw the state's congressional and legislative districts from the Michigan State Legislature to a 13-member redistricting commission. Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution, a PAC that is opposed to the initiative, brought the case forward, contending that the ballot initiative would change the fundamental operation of state government, which state law prohibited. Justice David Viviano, writing for the court’s four-justice majority, disagreed with the plaintiffs. Justice Viviano wrote that the initiative would not “significantly alter or abolish the form or structure of our government” nor “propose changes creating the equivalent of a new constitution;” therefore, the ballot initiative does not violate the law. The majority consisted of two Republican and two Democratic justices. Chief Justice Stephen Markman wrote the minority’s opinion, which agreed with plaintiffs that the ballot initiative would fundamentally change state government. He wrote that the initiative “would affect the ‘foundation’ power of government by removing altogether from the legislative branch authority over redistricting and consolidating that power instead in an ‘independent’ commission made up of 13 randomly selected individuals who are not in any way chosen by the people, representative of the people, or accountable to the people.” The minority consisted of three Republican justices. As plaintiffs argued that the ballot initiative violated state constitutional law, the Michigan Supreme Court has final jurisdiction over the case. Voters in Colorado and Utah will also address redistricting initiatives in November. Learn more→ Primary day: Tennessee And you thought elections only took place on Tuesdays. Happy primary day! Tennessee is holding statewide primaries for U.S. Senate, nine U.S. House seats, governor, 18 of 33 state senate seats, and all 99 state house seats. We are also covering municipal elections in Davidson County and Shelby County and school board elections in seven counties. Here are four races - all Republican primaries - to watch tonight: TN-Gov: Rep. Diane Black (R) and businessmen Randy Boyd (R) and Bill Lee (R) are locked in a three-way battle for the Republican nomination to succeed term-limited Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R). They have traded the lead in recent polls and released campaign ads emphasizing their conservative bona fides and support for the Trump administration. TN-02: Seven Republicans are running for the nomination in the safely Republican district. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows and the retiring incumbent, John Duncan Jr., are backing state Rep. Jimmy Matlock (R), who has engaged in heated exchanges with Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett (R). Burchett closely trails Matlock for top billing in fundraising among the field of candidates. The Republican Main Street Partnership endorsed U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ashley Nickloes (R), while Sen. Ted Cruz (R) is backing Young Republican National Federation Chairman Jason Emert (R) in the race. TN-06: With incumbent Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) running for governor, three candidates lead the race for the open seat in Tennessee's 6th Congressional District: former judge Bob Corlew (R), state Rep. Judd Matheny (R), and former state Agriculture Commissioner John Rose (R). Corlew and Rose are the only candidates to have raised more than $1 million through mid-July, reporting $1.5 million and $2.9 million, respectively. Matheny, who represents Coffee County and part of Warren County in the state House, has received an endorsement from Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and aligned himself with the House Freedom Caucus. TN-08: Incumbent Rep. David Kustoff (R) faces a rematch against self-funding radiologist and broadcaster George Flinn Jr. (R) in the Republican primary for Tennessee's 8th Congressional District. Kustoff was first elected to the open seat in 2016, defeating Flinn by 4 percentage points in a crowded 13-candidate Republican primary field. Stay tuned here for election results→