Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Gordy Clark and Cindy King recall, Townsend, Massachusetts (2017)
| Townsend Selectmen recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Cindy King |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2017 Recalls in Massachusetts Massachusetts recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Townsend, Massachusetts, to recall Town Selectmen Gordy Clark and Cindy King from their positions was initiated in February 2017. An appeals court decision in June 2017 halted the recall, which was previously scheduled for June 19, 2017. Recall supporters argued for removal of the injunction in a June 10 hearing before a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.[1] Injunctions were issued for the King recall on June 14, 2017, and the Clark recall on June 16, 2017.[2] Recall organizers appealed the injunctions, leading to a hearing before a three-judge panel of the state supreme judicial court on November 1, 2017.[3] On April 9, 2018, the state supreme court upheld the June 2017 ruling, ending the recall effort.[4]
Clark and Carolyn Smart faced a recall effort in 2016, which was paused during a state ethics investigation that found no violations by the town board. The 2017 affidavits and petitions are separate from the 2016 effort.[5]
Recall supporters
The affidavits filed against Clark and King made the following charges:
| “ |
|
” |
| —Joe Shank (2017) | ||
Recall opponents
On March 26, 2017, King filed a complaint in Middlesex Superior Court seeking to invalidate the recall petition. Her complaint argued that the rationale for recall did not fit legal requirements, which include lack of fitness, corruption, neglect of duties, and misfeasance.[7] Judge John Lu denied King's motion on April 19, 2017, but an appeals court overruled Lu's decision.[8] Clark filed a motion for an injunction to stop the recall on June 12, 2017. These complaints led to the injunctions that halted the June 19 election.[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Massachusetts
Recall organizers had 21 days following verification of affidavits by the town clerk to collect enough signatures to force a special election. The town charter requires petitioners to gather signatures from the equivalent of 10 percent of registered voters at the last town election. This requirement meant that petitioners needed approximately 637 valid signatures from town voters.[5]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Townsend Selectmen recall Massachusetts. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Sentinel & Enterprise, "Townsend recall petition to go before SJC judge," June 10, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Valley Dispatch, "Court blocks Townsend recall set for Monday," June 16, 2017
- ↑ Lowell Sun, "Full Appeals Court hears bid to reinstate Townsend recall election," November 2, 2017
- ↑ Lowellsun Local, "SJC rejects Townsend recall effort," April 10, 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lowell Sun, "Election recall petition filed in Townsend," February 25, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Sentinel & Enterprise, "King seeks injunction in recall vote," March 26, 2017
- ↑ Sentinel & Enterprise, "Attempt to stop Townsend recall is thwarted," April 19, 2017
