James Biewer recall, East China School District, Michigan (2015)
| East China School District Board recall |
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An effort to recall James Biewer from his seat on the East China School District in Michigan was started on August 14, 2015.[1] It was rejected by an election committee for St. Clair County. The committee said each of the petition's claims were statements of opinion, not fact. In order to meet statutory requirements, the petition had to be based on factual statements.[2]
Talk of a recall began on the "No New Taxes, Recall Them All" Facebook page in July 2015 in response to a possible property tax increase. Board members Amy Murphy and Jeanne Frank were mentioned as the recall targets at that time.[3]
Recall supporters
The initial recall paperwork against Biewer was filed by Joe Page. Page called himself, "just a taxpayer and a concerned citizen." He said he "had enough" with the board's actions.[1] His recall paperwork listed the followed allegations against Biewer:
| “ | Placing the district in legal jeopardy by censuring a member for his required military service on Dec. 15, 2014. Misusing district resources for political gain. Violating the Open Meetings Act. Failing to exhibit a fiduciary responsibility to the district. Failing to demonstrate transparency in decision making.[4] | ” |
| —Recall against James Biewer[1] | ||
The recall against Biewer was filed after an anonymous Facebook page titled "No New Taxes, Recall Them All," began suggesting a recall effort would be started against school board members if they put a bond proposition for facility and technology upgrades before voters. At the time, the bond proposition was only being discussed, and no action had been taken.[3]
Recall opponents
Response by Skalka
Superintendent Steve Skalka said he was not surprised there was opposition to a possible increase in property taxes, but he called the "No New Taxes, Recall Them All" Facebook page "false and misleading."[3] He also said:
| “ | Any time that there is a consideration of a ballot proposal in which taxes are raised, you have to expect there will be opposition to that. If that’s your position, then you’ll fight against any potential increase. But there are plenty of people who understand the need in this school district, who want to see this ballot proposal put to the voters.[4] | ” |
| —Superintendent Steve Skalka (2015)[3] | ||
Response by Biewer
Before the recall paperwork was filed against him, Biewer responded to the Facebook page through a statement on the school district website.[3] He said:
| “ | As President of the East China School District Board of Education, I want our community to understand that though we have many difficult decisions ahead of us, it is my expectation that Board Members and administration present factual information, be willing to defend and justify that information, and when information is inaccurate or seeks to disparage someone, we will confront and correct it.[4] | ” |
| —Board President James Biewer (2015)[3] | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
The initial paperwork to recall Biewer was filed with the St. Clair County Clerk on August 14, 2015. A language clarity hearing for the petition was held on August 31, 2015.[1] The petition's language was rejected at that hearing.[5]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'James Biewer' 'East China School District' recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- East China School District, Michigan
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2015
- School board recalls
External links
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Times Herald, "Recall filed against East China school board president," August 17, 2015
- ↑ The Times Herald, "East China recall petition denied," August 31, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 The Times Herald, "Anonymous Facebook page threatens East China recall," August 3, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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