Dana Manning recall, Holland Board of Health, Hampden County, Massachusetts (2015)
| Holland Board of Health recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| August 10, 2015 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2015 Recalls in Massachusetts Massachusetts recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Dana Manning from her position on the Holland Board of Health in Hampden County, Massachusetts, resulted in a recall election on August 10, 2015. Manning was recalled and replaced by Erin Evan.
The recall petition accused Manning of:[1]
- violating open meeting laws
- committing misconduct and ethical violations
- misusing the power of administration of the state's health laws
Dave Kowalkski, another member of the board of health, filed the recall effort against Manning. Kowalkski also filed a recall petition against board member Kenneth Ference. Ference resigned before the election, however, citing health reasons.[1]
Manning also ran against Erin Evan, a contender for Manning's spot on the board, in a regular election scheduled for August 10, 2015. Voters saw both a recall question for Dana Manning and the race between Manning and Evan on their ballots.[1]
Election results
Dana Manning
| Dana Manning recall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 255 | 73.7% | ||
| Retain | 91 | 26.3% | ||
| Election results via: Holland Town website Accessed August 10, 2015 | ||||
| Dana Manning replacement election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Dana Manning | 93 | 26.65% | ||
| Erin Evan | 256 | 73.35% | ||
| Election results via: Holland Town website Accessed August 10, 2015 | ||||
Kenneth Ference
- Note: Kenneth Ference resigned before this election took place, making the following results unnecessary. In practice, Robert Dyman ran unopposed.
| Kenneth Ference recall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 230 | 67.65% | ||
| Retain | 110 | 32.35% | ||
| Election results via: Holland Town website Accessed August 10, 2015 | ||||
| Kenneth Ference replacement election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Kenneth Ference | 88 | 25.58% | ||
| Robert Dyman | 256 | 74.42% | ||
| Election results via: Holland Town website Accessed August 10, 2015 | ||||
Recall supporters
Dave Kowalkski, the member of the board who had served the longest as of July 2015, was behind this recall effort.[2]
Recall supporter arguments
The website called Holland Recall listed the following reasons for the effort against Dana Manning:[2]
| “ |
Ms. Dana Manning attempted to use her position on the Holland Board of Health to influence the outcome of a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on Mr. Brian Johnson's home construction project. The email (letter) Ms. Manning claimed to have written contained issues outside the scope of the Board of Health, untruths and inflammatory remarks not befitting a public official. Upon questioning, Mr. Peter Frei (a town resident and Ms. Manning's boyfriend) admitted that it was he and not Ms. Manning who wrote the letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. Brian Johnson filed a complaint stating that Ms. Manning had violated the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, the Board of Health had no authority to discuss his construction project because zoning issues are not within its purview and it had not been deliberated as the Open Meeting Law requires. Mr. Kenneth Ference answered the Open Meeting Law Complaint alleging that Ms. Manning's was acting legally on behalf of the Board of Health and used the Board of Health Minutes of September 23rd, 2014 as proof. The Minutes of September 23rd show that Mr. Johnson's construction project was not handled legally under the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. Additionally, the minutes show that Mr. Johnson was interrogated, berated and his right to privacy violated by Mr. Ference and Ms. Manning during that meeting.[3] |
” |
| —Holland Recall[2] | ||
Recall opponents
Response from Dana Manning
Dana Manning said that the accusations against her were false and amounted to libel. She filed a petition for an injunction against the recall election in court.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Massachusetts
Recall is available in certain districts and jurisdictions of Massachusetts. Rules governing recall vary. In Holland, an initial 25 signatures were required for a recall effort. Once these initial signatures are verified, the petition form is cleared for circulation. At that time, signatures equal to 15 percent of the town's registered voters is required to force a recall election. In the case of the recall effort against Manning, petitioners met these conditions, collecting about 300 signatures. A recall election was scheduled for August 10, 2015.[4]
Court case
Dana Manning filed a legal petition in Hampden Superior Court for an injunction to prevent the recall election, saying all of the allegations and reasons cited for the recall effort were untrue and accusing Kowalkski of libel. A hearing on the case was scheduled for July 8, 2015. The hearing was ultimately postponed to July 16, 2015, when the presiding judge ruled against Manning and allowed the recall question to remain on the ballot.[1][4][5]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Dana + Manning + recall"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Mass Live, "2 Holland Board of Health members pitted over recall effort," July 7, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Holland Recall, "Petition," accessed July 14, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mass Live, "Hearing rescheduled for suit filed by Holland official fighting recall election," July 15, 2015
- ↑ Mass Live, "Court refuses to halt Holland recall election targeting Board of Health member Dana Manning," July 16, 2015
