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Jeff Sieting recall, Kalkaska, Michigan (2018)
| Kalkaska Village President recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| May 8, 2018 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2018 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws City official recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Kalkaska, Michigan, to recall Village President Jeff Sieting was initiated in October 2017. Elizabeth Dunham, the chair for a local group called Kalkaska for Peace, submitted a recall petition for review by the Kalkaska County Elections Commission on October 24, 2017.[1] The recall election was held on May 8, 2018, and Sieting was defeated.[2]
Recall vote
The recall election was held on May 8, 2018. Sieting was defeated by Harley Wales. Unofficial results had Wales winning with 326 votes over the 215 votes to retain Sieting.[2]
Recall supporters
Dunham's revised petition makes the following charges:
| “ |
For stating "I owe nobody an apology" at the Kalkaska Village Council meeting on June 26, 2017, regarding social media posts which resulted in national and international media attention; for voting to approve the 2017-2018 budget with over a $500,000 deficit; for stating that there was not a "sliver of hope for this town" and "this community supports NOTHING!" referencing Kalkaska on a public comment thread on Facebook on February 8, 2017.[1][3] |
” |
| —Elizabeth Dunham (2017) | ||
Dunham's initial petition made the following charges:
| “ |
(1) For leading a council that approved a deficit budget for the past 3 years (2) For leading a council that approved over a 300% increase in legal expenses compared to 3 fiscal years prior in order to pursue cases rejected by the Court of Appeals (3) For the lack of long-term financial planning as stated in the 2016-17 audit (4) For stating there is not a "sliver of hope for this town" (referencing Kalkaska) on a public comment thread on February 8, 2017, identifying himself as the current village president[4][3] |
” |
| —Elizabeth Dunham (2017) | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
Each recall petition in Michigan must be approved for circulation during a clarity hearing held by the county elections commission. This hearing determines if the charges made in the petition are clear enough for a voter to understand. If approved for circulation, a recall organizer can initiate the signature-gathering process.
The county elections commission rejected Dunham's petition on November 10, 2017, due to a misspelling of Sieting's name.[4] The commission met on December 1, 2017, to consider the revised petition.[1]
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Traverse City Record-Eagle, "Sieting recall attempt returns," November 14, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Michigan Live, "Kalkaska village president ousted in recall after anti-Muslim Facebook post," May 8, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedfirst
