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Lewis County Fire District 1 board recalls, Washington (2018)
| Lewis County Fire District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Bill Kassel |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2018 Recalls in Washington Washington recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Rich Bainbridge and Bill Kassel from their positions on the Lewis County Fire District 1 board in Onalaska, Washington, was launched in January 2018. The request for a recall petition was filed by former fire chief Andrew Martin and former captain Randy Tobler and listed 11 allegations against Bainbridge and Kassel for violating the state Open Public Meetings Act.[1] The recall effort ended after a superior court judge dismissed the charges listed in the recall petition.[2]
After Bainbridge and Kassel voted to fire Chief Martin in November 2017, the third member of the commission, Jeff Lee, resigned. About one-third of the volunteer firefighters also resigned.[3] Lee said that during the November 21 meeting when Bainbridge and Kassel voted to fire Martin, there was no discussion about the matter. "I think they made their minds up before," he said.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Washington
The petition to request a recall was filed on January 10, 2018. The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office had 15 days to prepare the request to go before a judge.[1] On February 2, 2018, Lewis County Superior Court Judge Joely O’Rourke dismissed all 11 changes in the recall petition, ruling that the charges were not supported by facts or documentation.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Chronicle, "Former Onalaska Fire Chief, Captain File Request to Recall Commissioners," January 10, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Chronicle, "Judge Dismisses Onalaska Fire Commissioner Recall Request," February 5, 2018
- ↑ The Olympian, "A third of this fire district’s staff just quit. What happens if there’s an emergency?" November 21, 2017
