Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Kathleen Jones recall, Burleigh County, North Dakota (2020)
| Burleigh County Commission recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in North Dakota North Dakota recall laws County commission recalls Recall reports |
An effort seeking to recall Kathleen Jones from her position as vice chair of the Burleigh County Commission in North Dakota did not go to a vote in 2020. The effort began in January 2020 after Jones voted against putting a nonbinding straw poll to county residents about refugee resettlement in the county. She also voted to allow refugees to resettle in the county. The final commission vote on both issues was 3-2 with Jerry Woodcox and Mark Armstrong voting with Jones. Commissioners Brian Bitner and Jim Peluso cast the minority votes against the measures.[1][2]
After she voted against the straw poll, Jones said it would have changed nothing. Recall supporters said that comment was the main reason they started the effort against her. Jones said she believed she was targeted because of her gender. Robert Field, the organizer of the recall effort, denied that Jones' gender was a reason for the recall effort.[1]
North Dakota law allows recalls against one official at a time, and that official must have more than one year left on their term. Under those requirements, Jones and Armstrong were the only two commissioners who voted in the majority on the resettlement issues who could have been included in the recall. Jones first took office in 2014.[1] Her term expired December 5, 2022.[3]
Recall supporters
The recall effort was organized by Robert Field. The recall petition included "contempt of the voters and negligence in office" as the reasons for recall. "Some of the commissioners don't seem to listen to the people when they vote, so we'll just replace one at a time before we get a group that will listen to the people," Field said.[1]
Field also said that the recall was started due to Jones' decision to vote against putting the refugee resettlement issue before county residents in a straw poll. "I think there should have been more information given before decisions are made, so that's one of the reasons," Field said.[1]
Field said that Jones' comment that the straw poll would have changed nothing was the main reason for the recall effort. "We didn't start this endeavor until after her comments about the straw poll," Field said.[1]
In regard to recall supporters' decision to seek to remove Jones from office rather than Armstrong, Field said, "For lack of a better term, she was the easiest target. For what's going on, and what her opinions are, and statements she's made, and she still has multiple years left."[1]
Recall opponents
Jones said she believed she was targeted for recall because of her gender. "Let's be really honest here, they are picking me because I'm the only woman on the commission, and I have fought this on the high road for five years," Jones said. She also said that she "is the only commissioner that puts in 30 to 40 hours a week."[1]
The Bismarck Tribune published an editorial on February 9, 2020, that called the recall effort misguided.[2] The editorial said in part:
| “ | The Tribune supports the acceptance of refugees; we believe it’s the right thing to do. We don’t accept the idea that Jones or any of the other commissioners showed contempt to the voters. Commissioners Brian Bitner and Jim Peluso, who opposed resettlement and favored a straw vote, obviously disappointed some voters. But no one showed contempt.
|
” |
| —The Bismarck Tribune (February 9, 2020)[2] | ||
Click here to read the full editorial.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in North Dakota
The recall petition was approved for circulation on January 30, 2020. To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters would have had to collect 11,848 signatures from county residents within one year. The number of signatures was equal to 25% of the voters in the county who cast ballots in the 2016 gubernatorial election.[1]
See also
- Burleigh County, North Dakota
- Recall campaigns in North Dakota
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- County commission recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 The Bismarck Tribune, "Group circulating petition to recall county commissioner over refugee resettlement votes," February 4, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Bismarck Tribune, "Tribune editorial: Recall effort over refugees is misguided," February 9, 2020
- ↑ Burleigh County Commission, "County Commission Members," accessed February 13, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
