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Julie Johnson recall, Kindred, North Dakota (2017)
| Kindred City Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| September 19, 2017 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2017 Recalls in North Dakota North Dakota recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
Kindred City Councilwoman Julie Johnson was recalled in an election on September 19, 2017.[1][2] Recall organizers initiated the effort because they believed that Johnson's behavior led to the resignations of Mayor Jeff Wanner and City Auditor Twila Morrison in March 2017. Wanner and Morrison returned to office later that month. Johnson countered that her work to make records available to the public was part of her job.[3][4]
Recall vote
A recall vote took place on September 19, 2017.[1]
| Recall of City Councilwoman Julie Johnson | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Jason DuBord | 92 | 56.1% | ||
 Julie Johnson | 65 | 39.63% | ||
| Robert Clarke | 7 | 4.27% | ||
| Election results via: West Fargo Pioneer (September 19, 2017) | ||||
Recall supporters
The recall petition approved for circulation claimed that Johnson's behavior toward other city officials "continues to cause division, has embarrassed our city and cost our community thousands of dollars."[3]
Recall opponents
Johnson wrote the following response to the recall effort on Inforum:
| “ |
I have been on the Kindred City Council for five years and have recently, since January of this year, been involved in conflict between the city auditor, mayor and myself. The basis of this conflict has been open records requested that have either not been provided to me, or I have been told there are no records that exist when they do, or I have had to face defamatory actions and comments because of my requests. Upon receiving some of my requested public record documents, I have uncovered issues regarding the calculations and payout of overtime given to the city employees. Overtime was being calculated incorrectly and a number of water meters are being estimated continuously. The city auditor has changed public record and documents without approval or direction from the council including the employee job descriptions. I feel an external audit would give the city and all residences a solid foundation going forward and help alleviate all the misunderstood or unfollowed policies and procedures. Some of the accomplishments I have done and been involved with during my term include a new swimming pool, Cass County 15 improvement, citywide street project, Newport Ridge development and a new water tower. I understand everyone has a right to their own beliefs, actions and opinions which is why I wanted to provide you with the factual information so you are able to make an informed decision when or if you are confronted by the recall committee with a petition. If this results in a recall election, I will automatically be included on the ballot per North Dakota Century Code.[5][6] |
” |
| —Julie Johnson (2017) | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in North Dakota
State law requires petitioners to gather and submit signatures equaling at least 25 percent of votes for the targeted official's position in the last election. Recall organizers needed at least 112 valid signatures to require an election for Johnson's office.[3] The city certified 124 valid signatures in June 2017.[1]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Julie Johnson Kindred 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 1.2 West Fargo Pioneer, "Kindred recall election set for Sept. 19," July 1, 2017
- ↑ West Fargo Pioneer, "Recall effort ousts Kindred council member in special election," September 19, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Inforum, "Kindred council member target of recall effort," May 2, 2017
- ↑ Inforum, "Amid conflict, Kindred City Council reinstates auditor after resignation," March 16, 2017
- ↑ Inforum, "Johnson: Consider my side of the story before signing a recall petition," May 12, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
