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Mayor and city council recall, Boise, Idaho (2020)
| Boise Mayor and City Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Lisa Sanchez |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Idaho Idaho recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Boise, Idaho, to recall Mayor Lauren McLean and Councilmember Lisa Sanchez was initiated in July 2020. Petitions were filed with the Ada County Clerk on July 15, 2020.[1] The recall effort was suspended on September 4, 2020, due to difficulties with gathering signatures, according to recall organizers.[2]
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
The recall effort was organized by Karene Alton and Joe Filicetti. Alton and Filicetti accused McLean of being dishonest in the way she campaigned for election. Filicetti also cited COVID-19 shutdown orders, "non-support of police," and a transition report as reasons to recall McLean. The effort to recall Sanchez was initiated in response to statements made by Sanchez about an 18-year-old who was arrested for firing his rifle in city limits while counter-protesting Black Lives Matter in June 2020.[3][4]
Recall opponents
McLean responded to the recall campaign against her at the time that the recall effort was unofficial. She said, "That's an information collecting effort that everybody has a right to do. I remain focused on ensuring that I am working with an economic recovery task force, that we are partnering with businesses and other agencies to support our community as we recover. We are focused on ensuring that Boise remains Boise. Now, and into the future."[5]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Idaho
A recall election for a city official requires valid signatures equal to at least 20 percent of the number of electors registered to vote at the last general city election held in the city for the election of officers. Circulation of the recall petition must be completed within 75 days after the form of the recall petition is approved for circulation.
Recall organizers were required to submit 26,108 valid signatures for each recall. Petitioners had until September 30, 2020, to submit signatures in the recall against McLean. The deadline for signatures in the recall against Sanchez was October 5, 2020.[6]
The earliest the recall elections could be on the ballot was March 2021. The deadline to put the recalls on the November 2020 ballot was August 28, 2020. Recall organizers did not meet that deadline but said they were not trying to get the recalls on the November ballot.[6][7]
The recall effort was suspended on September 4, 2020, due to difficulties with gathering signatures, according to recall organizers.[2]
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Idaho Press, "Recall petitions set to be filed for Boise Mayor McLean, City Council Member Lisa Sánchez," July 15, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Idaho Statesman, "Organizers suspend Boise recall after collecting only a fraction of signatures needed," September 4, 2020
- ↑ KTVB 7, "Recall petitions filed for Boise Mayor McLean, City Council Member Lisa Sanchez," July 15, 2020
- ↑ KTVB 7, "Boise City Councilwoman Lisa Sanchez discusses her letter to the parents of man that shot a gun at a Idaho BLM protest," June 16, 2020
- ↑ KTVB 7, "Idaho governor, Boise mayor targeted with recall efforts," June 4, 2020
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 BoiseDev, "Clerk: Recall petitions for McLean, Sánchez miss deadline for November, could appear on March ballot," August 31, 2020
- ↑ KTVB 7, "McLean, Sanchez recalls will not appear on November ballot," August 31, 2020
