Margaret Weertz and Chris Lee recall, Grosse Pointe Public Schools, Michigan (2020)
| Grosse Pointe Public Schools recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Chris Lee |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
A petition seeking to recall Margaret Weertz and Chris Lee from their positions as members of the Grosse Pointe Public Schools Board of Education in Michigan was approved for circulation at a clarity hearing on September 16, 2020.[1] It did not go to a vote as recall supporters did not submit signatures.[2]
The Wayne County Election Commission unanimously voted to reject the language on an earlier recall petition against Weertz and Lee based on a lack of clarity at a hearing on June 30, 2020.[3]
Weertz was elected to the board in 2014 and re-elected in 2018, and Lee was first elected to the board in 2018.[1]
Recall supporters
Both recall petitions were filed by Monica Palmer, a resident of Grosse Pointe Woods. On the second petition, the reasons for recall included the two board members voting in favor of the district’s reconfiguration plan on June 24, 2019, voting to approve a $2.1 million construction contract for the district’s rocket fiber project on September 9, 2019, and voting in favor of extending Superintendent Gary Niehaus' contract on January 27, 2020, according to C&G Newspapers.[1]
"Based on the feedback I am getting from parents, there is a desire to see this go through," Palmer said. "There’s a handful of people that feel enough is enough. There’s a lot of them in the community feeling like they’re not being heard. They’re not liking the way the administration is taking the school system. That is the Board of Education’s job. They are supposed to be directing the administration."[1]
“I have stood up at more than one board meeting, and I have emailed the board. I never received a response from Margaret Weertz,” Palmer said. “I’m just one person that hasn’t been heard. The community is frustrated.”[1]
The reasons for recall listed on the first petition included the same votes.[3]
Recall opponents
In reaction to the second recall effort, Weertz released the following statement:
| “ | I never met Mrs. Palmer, and I don’t know what she has against me. It would be common courtesy if she called and told me her grievances. I actually believe this is a well-funded group that wants to undo the democratic process. Perhaps this is funded by a Lansing PAC and people against public education? I do not know.[1][4] | ” |
In reaction to the second recall effort, Lee said he had no intention of giving up his seat and planned to run in the recall election if it went that far. “There’s a group out there that are doing everything they can to bring down the school system. They get some delight in making trouble. This is not right,” Lee said. “They’re just a negative element that likes to cause trouble. They don’t seem to have better plans or any agenda to fix things.”[1]
At the clarity hearing for the first petition, Weertz represented herself and Lee. In reaction to the vote to reconfigure district schools, Weertz said, "We did vote to close two schools because our district went from 12,000 students to 7,000 in 10 years. This is a national and statewide trend. Lots of districts closed schools in the last decade because the birth rate decreased."[3]
Weertz also said the vote to renew the superintendent's contract was "a routine extension when a superintendent is rated highly effective." Weertz said.[3] Lee said he did not vote to extend the superintendent's contract as he was absent from the meeting.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
The second recall petition language was submitted to the Wayne County Election Commission on September 4, 2020. It was approved for circulation at a clarity hearing on September 16, 2020.[1]
The first recall petition language was submitted to the election commission on June 11, 2020. The commission unanimously voted to reject the petition language due to a lack of clarity at a hearing on June 30, 2020. Recall supporters would have had to submit 7,646 signatures from qualified voters by July 31, 2020, to get the recall on the ballot on November 3, 2020.[3]
2020 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 29 school board recall efforts against 64 board members in 2020. Four recall elections were held in 2020. The school board recall success rate was 7.8%.
The chart below details the status of 2020 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Grosse Pointe Public Schools, Michigan
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- School board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Grosse Pointe Public School System
- Wayne County Election Commission
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 C&G Newspapers, "Election Commission approves recall language against 2 school board members," September 22, 2020
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Gregory Patrick Mahar, Director of Elections, Office of the Wayne County Clerk," March 19, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Grosse Pointe News, "Petition language for board recall rejected," July 2, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
 |
State of Michigan Lansing (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
