Julia Lester and Sarah Otterson recall, Maine School Administrative District 17, Maine (2022-2023)
| Maine School Administrative District 17 recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Sarah Otterson |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| January 10, 2023 |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in Maine Maine recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
A recall election against Sarah Otterson, one of the 22 members of the Maine School Administrative District 17 (also known as the Oxford Hills School District) school board in Maine, was held on January 10, 2023.[1][2][3] A majority of voters cast ballots in favor of the recall, resulting in Otterson's removal from office.[4]
Julia Lester was also included in the recall effort, but she resigned in December 2022.[5]
Recall vote
Sarah Otterson recall, 2023
Sarah Otterson lost the Maine School Administrative District 17, Paris recall election on January 10, 2023.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✖ | Yes |
57.8
|
333 | ||
No |
42.2
|
243 | |||
Total Votes |
576 | ||||
|
|
Recall supporters
Recall supporters said they started the effort due to Lester's and Otterson's support of a gender identity policy that was being considered by the school board. The first reading of the policy passed the board with a vote of 11-7. A second and final reading of the policy was scheduled to be held on December 5, 2022. At that meeting, the board instead voted unanimously to postpone action on the policy.[3][6]
Recall opponents
Town attorney Philip Saucier said he believed the recall effort was not legal because the school district was a different entity from the town of Paris.[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Maine
Recall rules in Maine are set by local election laws.[7] To get the recall on the ballot, supporters had to collect signatures equal to "10% of the number of voters registered in the Town of Paris," according to the town's recall ordinance.[8] Nearly 700 residents of the school district signed the petitions against Lester and Otterson before they were submitted to the Paris Select Board. The board voted 4-1 to accept them on November 21, 2022.[3]
2023 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 48 school board recall efforts against 97 board members in 2023. Sixteen of those board members faced recall elections. The recall elections were held on January 10, 2023, August 1, 2023, August 8, 2023, August 29, 2023, November 7, 2023, and December 12, 2023. The school board recall success rate was 13.4%.
The chart below details the status of 2023 recall efforts by individual school board member.
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
- Maine School Administrative District 17, Maine
- Recall campaigns in Maine
- Political recall efforts, 2022
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- MSAD 17 (Oxford Hills School District)
- Town of Paris Elections/Voting
Footnotes
- ↑ 13 WGME, "Oxford Hills school board recall election set for January 10," December 1, 2022
- ↑ MSAD 17, "School Board Members," accessed November 22, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Press Herald, "Paris selectmen accept petitions to recall 2 school directors; voters to decide," November 21, 2022
- ↑ Sun Journal, "Paris residents vote to recall MSAD 17 Director Sarah Otterson," January 10, 2023
- ↑ Sun Journal, "Directors from Oxford, Paris resign from SAD 17 school board," December 7, 2022
- ↑ WMTW 8, "Oxford Hills School District votes to indefinitely postpone action on proposed gender identity policy," December 5, 2022
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of Local Officials," accessed July 27, 2021
- ↑ Town of Paris, "Ordinance for a Recall Election in the Town of Paris, Maine," accessed December 2, 2022
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