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Mayor and city council recall, Lincoln, Nebraska (2020)
| Lincoln Mayor and City Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
James Michael Bowers Richard Meginnis Jame Raybould Tammy Ward |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Nebraska Nebraska recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Lincoln, Nebraska, to recall Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Councilmembers James Michael Bowers, Richard Meginnis, Jane Raybould, and Tammy Ward ended after the recall organizers did not collect enough signatures to get the recalls on the ballot.[1] The recall was initiated in October 2020. Recall organizers had until December 23, 2020, to submit enough signatures to put the recall elections on the ballot.[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 a group called LNK Recall in response to the appointment of Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Director Pat Lopez on August 17, 2020. The Lincoln City Council suspended city charter rules that give the public an opportunity to weigh in on the appointment, allowing for an immediate vote to appoint Lopez as health director.[3][4]
Petition language against Baird stated, "Mayor Baird sought out and obtained open-ended authoritarian control and used it to attack our liberty, usurp legislative authority, silence our voices, misuse our police, destroy our small businesses, sow discord in our community and allowed vandalism in our city. We the people do hereby intend to stop her assault on the citizens and Good Life of Lincoln."[5]
Petition language against the four councilmembers stated, "City Council ignored them (Lincoln citizens) and voted to suspend councils own rules anyway, in order to cancel the remaining required hearing and vote immediately, silencing the voice of Lincoln citizens."[5]
Recall opponents
In response to the recall effort, Baird said, "I am focused every minute on doing the job that the people of Lincoln elected me to do. Right now, that includes working with the City Council and our Health Department to lead the city through an unprecedented global pandemic. I am not going to be distracted by a small group of people who want to divide our community."[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Nebraska
The number of valid signatures required to force a recall election is 35% of the total vote cast for the office in the last general election.
Petitions were filed with Lancaster County Election Commissioner Dave Shively on October 26, 2020. Each official was given 20 days to submit a statement of defense, after which the election commissioner had five days to approve the petitions for circulation. Recall organizers had until December 23, 2020, to submit enough signatures.[2] To put the recall elections on the ballot, petitioners needed 21,652 valid signatures against Baird, 4,864 valid signatures against Bowers, 8,009 valid signatures against Meginnis, 5,362 valid signatures against Raybould, and 2,495 valid signatures against Ward.[3]
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
- ↑ 1011 Now, "Effort to recall Lincoln mayor and council members fails," December 23, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Journal Star, "Effort to recall Lincoln mayor, council members underway; opponents implore residents to decline to sign," November 23, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 10/11 NOW, "Affidavits filed in effort to recall Lincoln Mayor, four council members," October 26, 2020
- ↑ NET News, "Recall Petition Filing Targets Lincoln Mayor And Four Council Members," October 27, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 LNK Recall, "RECALL PETITIONS ARE FILED," October 26, 2020
