Jason Beckrow and Rachel Wade recall, Lakeshore School District, Michigan (2022)
| Lakeshore School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Rachel Wade |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall two members of the Lakeshore School District Board of Education in Michigan, Jason Beckrow and Rachel Wade, did not go to a vote in 2022. The Berrien County Clerk did not verify enough petition signatures to put the recall on the ballot.[1] Recall supporters filed a lawsuit against the county clerk's verification, but Berrien County Trial Court Judge Dennis Wiley said he would not order the county clerk to put the recall on the ballot after an evidentiary hearing was held on November 1, 2022.[2]
The recall effort began in April 2022.[3] Recall supporters filed petition signatures on August 1, 2022. A total of 2,165 verified signatures were needed to put the recall on the ballot.[1][4]
Supporters of the recall cited Beckrow and Wade's votes for continued school mask mandates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] Other recall supporters said that Beckrow and Wade's terms should have ended in 2022 rather than 2024.[6] Beckrow said that he and Wade disagreed "with the conclusions drawn by those promoting this recall campaign" but supported their right to do so.[4]
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
Supporters of the recall cited Beckrow and Wade's votes for continued school mask mandates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic after the Berrien County Health Department lifted the mask mandate on September 29, 2021.[5][6]
Other supporters contended that the six-year terms of school board members, who previously were erroneously listed as serving four-year terms, should have applied only to future board members and that the terms of Beckrow and Wade should have ended in 2022 rather than 2024.[6]
Recall opponents
Beckrow responded to the recall effort in the following statement:[4]
| “ | Former LPS Superintendent, Phil Freeman, would often say that Lakeshore couldn’t be found on any map; instead, it could be found in the hearts of the people who make up this incredible community. As parents, residents, and Board of Education members, Ms. Wade and I both deeply love Lakeshore Public Schools [...] It has saddened us to see how divisive the recall situation has become, and we are eager for a resolution. At this point, we’re awaiting the results of the signature validation process. As we’ve said from the beginning, while we disagree with the conclusions drawn by those promoting this recall campaign, we respect their right to air their grievances. We serve at the will of the people, respect the democratic process and will respect the outcome of this recall effort.[7] | ” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
A clarity hearing was held on the petition language by the Berrien County Election Commission on April 25, 2022.[8] Four of the six recall petitions against Beckrow and Wade were approved.[9] Prior petitions for the recall of Beckrow and Wade were rejected by the Berrien County Election Commission in a clarity hearing on March 16, 2022, for containing opinionated language.[10]
Michigan recall law requires recall supporters to collect signatures equal to 25% of the number of votes cast in the last general election for the office.[11] The petitioner has 60 days to collect these signatures beginning on the date the first signature is collected; however, the petition must be submitted no later than 180 days after it is approved by the board.[12]
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
2022 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 54 school board recall efforts against 123 board members in 2022. Recall elections against school board members were held on January 11, 2022, January 18, 2022, January 24, 2022, February 15, 2022, March 29, 2022, April 4, 2022, and November 8, 2022. The school board recall success rate was 7.3%.
The chart below details the status of 2022 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Lakeshore School District, Michigan
- Berrien County, Michigan ballot measures
- Lakeshore School District Bond Measure (May 2011)
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2022
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 94.9 WSJM, "Lakeshore School Board Recall Effort Fails," August 24, 2022
- ↑ The Herald-Palladium, "Judge opts not to order Lakeshore recall election," November 2, 2022
- ↑ wsjm.com, "Additional Recall Petitions Filed Against Lakeshore School Board Members," April 8, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Herald-Palladium, "Lakeshore, St. Joseph recall campaigns await signature verifications," August 12, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Berrien County Health Department, "News-Release - BCHD Rescinds Public Health Mask Order," accessed April 13, 2022
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Herald-Palladium, "Four recall petitions filed against Lakeshore school board," March 18, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Berrien County Election Commission, "04-25-2022 Recall Clarity Hearing Public Notice - Lakeshore School District," accessed April 13, 2022
- ↑ wsjm.com, "Some Lakeshore Recall Petitions Approved, New Ones Filed Against Bridgman Board Members," April 25, 2022
- ↑ The Herald-Palladium,"Lakeshore school board recall petitions denied," March 16, 2022
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "Michigan Compiled Laws Section 168.955," accessed February 16, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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