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Jan Dean and Christie Simpson recall, Bowersville, Georgia (2023)
| Jan Dean and Christie Simpson recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Christie Simpson |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in Georgia Georgia recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall City Councilmembers Jan Dean and Christie Simpson did not go to a vote in Bowersville, Georgia after the petitions were dismissed on August 29, 2023.[1]
Recall supporters
Bowersville resident David Cagle served as the chairperson for the recall effort. Kelly Cagle, his wife, was listed on the petition as the circulator. Recall organizers said they initiated the recall because Dean and Simpson "voted for the deannexation of approximately one-third of the property in the town limits without doing any research on how the loss of tax revenue would affect the town’s finances." Organizers also alleged Dean and Simpson “refused to run the town according to its charter.”[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Georgia
In Georgia, the organizers of a recall for a local official need to collect signatures equal to 30% of the number of people who were registered and qualified to vote in the preceding election for the office of the officer subject to recall. Organizers have ninety days in which to circulate the petition.
Georgia requires specific grounds for a recall election. These grounds include:
- an act of malfeasance or misconduct while in office,
- violation of the oath of office,
- failure to perform duties prescribed by law, or
- willfully misusing, converting, or misappropriating, without authority, public property, or public funds entrusted to or associated with the elective office to which the official has been elected or appointed.
The petitions for Dean and Simpson each received 32 signatures and were returned to the Hart County Board of Elections Office on August 7, 2023. On August 11, 2023, John A. Dickerson, a Bowersville attorney acting on behalf of Dean and Simpson, asked the Hart County Superior Court to review whether the grounds for recall were sufficient.[1]
Judge David R. Sweat dismissed the petitions during a hearing on August 29, 2023.[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
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