Fern Larochelle and Jeremy Barnard recall, Lisbon, Maine (2025)
| Fern Larochelle and Jeremy Barnard recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Jeremy Barnard |
| Recall status |
Resigned (Barnard) |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Maine Maine recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Town Council Chairman Fern Larochelle did not go to a vote in Lisbon, Maine.[1][2]
An effort to recall Town Councilor Jeremy Barnard did not go to a vote after Barnard resigned.[1]
Recall supporters
Grace Dube, Ronald Dube, Joseph Costa, Naomi Morton Loss, and Ally Aspinall filed affidavits for the recalls on June 18, 2025.[1]
The reason given for the effort to recall Larochelle was, "Larochelle has demonstrated a pattern of neglecting core financial and ethical responsibilities associated with his official duties as chair of the Lisbon Town Council."[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Maine
No specific grounds are required for recall in Maine. The recall of local officials in Maine is governed by local charters. Because of this, recall laws regarding signature requirements and circulation time vary by locality.[3]
In Lisbon, a recall effort begins when five or more qualified voters file an affidavit with the town clerk. The official facing recall can request that an independent examiner review the reasons given for the recall in the affidavit for sufficiency. The examiner's decision can be appealed to the Lisbon Ethics Panel. If the grounds for the recall are found to be sufficient, recall organizers need to collect signatures "equal in number to 15 percent of the total number of qualified voters who cast votes for Governor in the most recent gubernatorial election." They have 30 days to collect signatures.[4]
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
- Lisbon, Maine
- Recall campaigns in Maine
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sun Journal, "Two Lisbon councilors targeted for recall; one resigns," June 30, 2025
- ↑ Bangor Daily News, "How things got so messy in a Maine town fighting its councilors on the budget," August 3, 2025
- ↑ Maine Municipal Association, "Local Government in Maine," August 1, 2016
- ↑ Lisbon, Maine - Code of Ordinances, "Part 3. - Recall," accessed July 16, 2025
