Harvey Hallenbeck recall, Laclede, Idaho (2014)
| Laclede Water District Board of Directors recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| August 26, 2014 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2014 Recalls in Idaho Idaho recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
A vote about whether to recall Harvey Hallenbeck from his position on the board of directors of the Laclede Water District took place on August 26, 2014. Harvey Hallenbeck was recalled from his position.
In May 2014, fellow board member Chris Giese asked Hallenbeck to resign from the Laclede Water District board. Giese said Hallenbeck was hostile towards critics, aggressive with fellow board members and disruptive at meetings. Giese said, "It’s un-called for and it is not something this board should have as part of a decision-making process. He’s obviously not able to make a decision calmly with an open mind."[1] Hallenbeck refused to resign.[2]
Recall vote
Below are election results from the Bonner County Daily Bee:[3]
| Harvey Hallenbeck recall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 114 | 91.94% | ||
| Retain | 10 | 8.06% | ||
Hallenbeck opponents
The official recall ballot contained an argument in favor and an argument against the recall. The following is the argument against Hallenbeck and in favor of the recall:[4]
| “ | Harvey Hallenbeck should be removed from the Laclede Water Board because of his disruptive outbursts during meetings. District Rules recited by the Chairman before each meeting state that personal attacks or disrupting a meeting will not be tolerated and that any person engaged in that behavior will be asked to leave.
Harvey Hallenbeck violated the District Rules more than once by demonstrating hostility and contempt by verbal outbursts attacking people at the meetings without provocation. Because of this disruptive and inappropriate behavior, a fellow Board Member publically asked Harvey Hallenbeck to resign. On May 29, 2014, the Bonner County Clerk certified enough signatures on Petitions Recalling Harvey Hallenbeck and notified him that he had five (5) business days to resign or a special election would be held. Harvey Hallenbeck refuses to resign. Removing officials by Recall is a right under the Idaho Constitution. Harvey Hallenbeck should be held to the same standard as the public for disrupting a public meeting. He should be removed by Recall from the Laclede Water Board because of his loud angry outbursts, attacks, and disrespect for the public attending the meetings.[5] |
” |
Hallenbeck supporters
The official recall ballot contained an argument in favor and an argument against the recall. The following is the argument in support of Hallenbeck and against the recall:[4]
| “ | Do you really believe that every person that has been attacked with a recall really deserved to be recalled??? This is the third recall attempt put forth by this obsessed group of people and they have brought the water system to a place of paralysis. They are practicing intimidation and fighting to be “right” instead of trying to do the “right thing”.
I was asked to take a seat on the board because nobody would accept the position and I cared about our public water system. Surly, I am passionate about providing the community with the best and safest drinking water possible. To accomplish this, well qualified employees must be retained, planning for infrastructure and the future must be accomplished, and investigating the means to pay for these items has to be researched. Again, I’m being recalled because I will not bow to being a puppet for this obsessed group’s agenda. Yes, they are good at firing up the public whom doesn’t have time to research the truth themselves and this is devastating the community. These attacks on good people must STOP or they will continue to happen!![5] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Idaho
On May 30, 2014, the Bonner County Clerk’s Office certified that the recall campaign collected signatures from at least 20 percent of the water district’s registered voters. Since recall supporters gathered signatures at or above the 20 percent threshold, a recall election was triggered.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Priest River Times, "Laclede water director denies wrongdoing," May 22, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bonner County Daily Bee, "Laclede Water recall election set for Tuesday," August 21, 2014
- ↑ Bonner County Daily Bee, "Laclede Water director ousted in lopsided recall," August 27, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bonner County, "Sample Ballot," accessed October 1, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
