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Josh Hallquist recall, Cordova City Council, Alaska (2017)
| Cordova City Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| November 7, 2017 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2017 Recalls in Alaska Alaska recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
Cordova City Councilman Josh Hallquist was removed from office in a recall election on November 7, 2017.[1] Chris Bolin accused Hallquist of misconduct in office and threats made to business owners and council members. Hallquist apologized for using inappropriate language during meetings, though he argued that his language was taken out of context.[2]
The Cordova City Council consists of seven members elected at large to three-year terms.[3]
Recall vote
The recall election against Hallquist was held on November 7, 2017. Voters were asked, "Shall Josh Hallquist be recalled from the office of City Council Member?"[4] The city charter tasks the city council with appointing a replacement for recalled officials.[5]
| Recall of City Councilman Josh Hallquist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 217 | 68.67% | ||
| Retain | 99 | 31.33% | ||
Recall supporters
Bolin made the following allegations on the petition circulated to Cordova residents:
- Bolin alleged that Hallquist "made threatening remarks in order to achieve enforcement of tax laws."[2]
- Bolin alleged that Hallquist "used vulgar and inappropriate language, including a specific claim that Hallquist referred to city refuse department employees as 'window lickers'."[2]
- Bolin alleged defamation of character after Hallquist accused Bolin, an employee of the city, of misuse of a city vehicle.[2]
Recall opponents
Hallquist's response to the recall effort appeared on the ballot:
| “ |
My comments are taken out of context and at no point would I consider giving up my freedom and family to enforce city or state tax code. I am very passionate about some of the topics Council wrestles with and at times can be very assertive and blunt in my approach to getting to the root of the issues as I see them. I apologize for using foul language to address the fact that city management is not willing to take a meaningful look at the refuse department operations (or any other department) for possible reduction in staffing to complement the reduction in activities and abandonment of a recycling program. The accusation of defamation of character appears to be based on allegedly calling the refuse department workers "window lickers". At no point during the meeting in question did I refer to the refuse department workers as "window lickers". I unfortunately used the word, but that is not how I used it. I believe the root issue of the petition is related to previous council action related to dogs in city buildings and vehicles.[1][6] |
” |
| —Josh Hallquist (2017) | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Alaska
Chris Bolin and nine other Cordova residents initiated the recall effort. Bolin submitted 136 signatures to City Clerk Susan Bourgeois, who certified 117 signatures as valid on September 19, 2017. The minimum signature threshold for a recall election was 109 signatures.[2]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Josh Hallquist Cordova recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 City of Cordova, Alaska, "Elections & Voting," accessed October 29, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Cordova Times, "Alleged misconduct leads to recall election Nov. 7," September 29, 2017
- ↑ City of Cordova, Alaska, "City Council," accessed October 29, 2017
- ↑ City of Cordova, "Cordova Special Election - November 7, 2017 General Information," accessed October 2, 2017
- ↑ MuniCode, "Cordova, AK - Chapter 3.12 - CITY COUNCIL," accessed November 6, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
