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Janelle Riddle recall, Yakima County, Washington (2018)
| Yakima County Clerk recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2018 Recalls in Washington Washington recall laws City official recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Janelle Riddle from her position as the Yakima County clerk in Washington began in May 2017. The recall was launched by Yakima Valley Business Times editor Bruce Smith and attorneys Rick Kimbrough and Robert Young. They accused Riddle of "malfeasance and misfeasance while in office," according to the statement of charges. Riddle said the issues in the clerk's office had been fixed.[1] In Washington, a superior court judge must rule that the statement of charges is valid before recall proponents can begin collecting signatures. The recall petition was approved, but Riddle appealed the ruling to the state supreme court. The supreme court ruled that the recall could continue on October 26, 2017; however, proponents of the recall decided to end the effort. According to an email from Smith, they decided to end the recall because it would have cost the county about $250,000 and if Riddle was recalled from office, she would have left the office only six months before the end of her term.[2]
The charges against her included failure to transmit child support and restraining orders on time, failure to perform certain in-court duties, failure or delay in creating records for superior court judgments, and not properly maintaining an account of money received by the clerk's office. There was another charge related to billing issues and collecting fees and fines, but the superior court judge found that there was not enough evidence to uphold that charge.[3]
Background
In 2016, an independent panel criticized how the clerk's office was being run. The three-person panel was appointed by the Board of Yakima County Commissioners in March 2016 at the request of the county's Law and Justice Committee.[4] The panel said there were delays in processing no-contact orders and in sending child support orders to the state. It also reported the county had lost out on $200,000 in reimbursements from the state as a result of the clerk's office's delays.[5]
Recall supporters
Bruce Smith said the problems identified by the panel had not been fixed by Riddle. Kimbrough said judges often did not have full files for cases because Riddle had not appropriately implemented the new statewide electronic case management system.[5] Below is the statement of charges against Riddle.
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Yakima Herald-Republic editorial
The Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board published an article on June 4, 2017, calling on Riddle to resign from office. The editorial board, consisting of Bob Crider and Frank Purdy, said they wanted her to resign in order to prevent the county from having to pay for a special election. Below is an excerpt from the editorial board:[6]
| “ | Riddle has encountered plenty of opposition almost from Day One of her tenure, and she already has endured plenty of pressure to resign. But the concerns about her reign are only intensifying, and she — and the county court system and county residents — risk the prospect of a sword swinging above her head for the next six months. She should end the drama by stepping away now and letting the clerk’s office begin a return to normalcy.[7] | ” |
| —Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board[6] | ||
Recall opponents
Riddle's response
Riddle said the issues identified by the independent panel had been fixed.[5]
Riddle's attorney
Riddle's attorney, Mark Hood, argued that the "recall petition does not meet the legal and factual sufficiency standards." State law requires that recall petitioners prove that the recall target knowingly committed wrongdoing, Hood said. He continued, "There is no assertion that the clerk was intending to violate the law and that's absolutely required for factual sufficiency."[8]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Washington
The statement of charges was turned in to the Yakima County Auditor’s Office on May 25, 2017, and the proposed ballot language was filed in court on June 8, 2017.[1][9] In Washington, a superior court judge must rule that the statement of charges is valid before recall proponents can begin collecting signatures. On June 19, 2017, Riddle's attorney and the recall petitioners argued their case in the courtroom of Spokane County Superior Court Judge Maryann C. Moreno.[8] That Friday, Judge Moreno ruled that the recall against Riddle could proceed. She found that five of the six charges had enough evidence to be deemed valid.[10]
The process was put on hold after Riddle's attorney filed an objection to the court's order. He said the ballot synopsis by the court reporter contained errors and was over the limit of 200 words.[11] On July 21, 2017, Riddle appealed Judge Moreno's ruling to the Washington Supreme Court.[12] The supreme court ruled on October 26, 2017, that the recall could proceed. Recall proponents earlier in the month said that the effort had been called off, but after the supreme court ruling said the recall effort would continue.[13]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Janelle Riddle Yakima County recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Yakima County Clerk of the Superior Court
- Statement of Charges
- Ballot Synopsis of Recall Charge
- Washington Supreme Court ruling
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tri-City Herald, "Recall sought against Yakima County clerk," May 25, 2017
- ↑ Anna Wendland, "Email correspondence from Bruce Smith," April 30, 2018
- ↑ Yakima Herald-Republic, "Ballot Synopsis of Recall Charge," accessed June 26, 2017
- ↑ Daily Sun, "Panel's report chides clerk," June 1, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Yakima Herald-Republic, "Yakima County Clerk Janelle Riddle says recall effort caught her by surprise," May 25, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Yakima Herald-Republic, "Riddle can spare county a recall by resigning now," June 4, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 KIMAtv.com, "Recall against County Clerk Riddle awaits for approval from Judge to move forward," June 19, 2017
- ↑ Yakima Herald-Republic, "Draft ballot language for recall of Yakima County clerk filed in court," June 9, 2017
- ↑ Yakima Herald-Republic, "Judge rules effort to recall embattled Yakima County Clerk Riddle can proceed," June 23, 2017
- ↑ KIMAtv.com, "Riddle recall effort on hold because of objection by her attorney," June 23, 2017
- ↑ Yakima Herald-Republic, "Measure to recall Yakima County Clerk Riddle won't be on November ballot," August 30, 2017
- ↑ Yakima Herald-Republic, "Effort to recall Yakima County Clerk Riddle still alive, says two of the backers," October 27, 2017
