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Michelle Ogburn recall, Henrico County Public Schools, Virginia (2016)
| Henrico County Public Schools Board recall |
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| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Virginia Virginia recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Michelle “Micky” Ogburn from her seat on the Henrico County School Board in Virginia was started in January 2016, but was ultimately abandoned.[1]
Jeffrey Grieves, the leader of the recall effort, said he sought to remove Ogburn from office due to “neglect of duty” and “misuse of office,” in regards to the school board's decision to sell land from the Three Chopt Elementary School for a cancer treatment center. Grieves said Ogburn did not "properly represent constituents’ opinions" before the board decided to offer the land for sale, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.[1]
Ogburn was first elected to the board in a special election on November 4, 2014.[2] She then won re-election unopposed to a four-year term in the general election on November 3, 2015.[3]
Recall supporters
Grieves lived in the Three Chopt District, which Ogburn represented. The land the school board offered to sell backed up against residential property, including his own. Grieves was not the only resident to voice opposition to selling the elementary school land. Others were also not in favor of the sale, saying a large commercial structure like the cancer research center would drive down property values and cause traffic, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.[1]
Grieves said that Ogburn did not represent the residents' disapproval of the plan to sell the land. He also said Ogburn should have done more to advertise a meeting in which the board decided the land was surplus and could be sold.[1]
At a board meeting held on January 28, 2016, Grieves read a statement informing Ogburn that a recall effort had been started to oust her from office. He said:
| “ | Madam Chairman, you continue to ignore the views and concerns of your constituents. The voters of your district feel that you have been negligent in your duties and are misusing your office.[4] | ” |
| —Jeffrey Grieves (January 28, 2016)[1] | ||
Recall opponents
In response to the recall effort against her, Ogburn said that the plans to sell the land had preceded her tenure on the board. She said that residents of her district had the opportunity to express their opinions about the sale of the land at a planning commission meeting in February 2016. Ogburn said the public forum was held in order to give residents like Grieves a chance to voice their frustrations. “We’ve got to let the process work and it’s working. The case is in the hands of the Planning Commission,” said Ogburn.[1]
Background
Henrico Doctors’ Hospital agreed to pay $3.2 million for the school district's land. The sale was contingent on approval from Henrico County Planning Commission as the hospital requested to rezone the land.[1] The Planning Commission unanimously approved the rezoning plan on February 11, 2016. At a public hearing prior to the vote, approximately one-third of the audience expressed their opposition to the plan, but the other two-thirds supported the sale.[5]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Virginia
In order to recall Ogburn, Grieves had to file a petition with the Henrico Circuit Court. The petition had to be signed by district residents equal in number to 10 percent of the voters who cast ballots in the last election for the office. A total of 10,726 votes were cast in the general election on November 3, 2015, meaning Grieves had to collect over 1,073 signatures.[1] If the signatures had been turned in, a circuit court judge would have had to rule that the recall met the standards required to get on the ballot.[6]
About the district
- See also: Henrico County Public Schools, Virginia
Henrico County Public Schools is located in east Virginia in Henrico County. The county seat of Henrico County and capital of Virginia is Richmond. This county was home to 321,924 residents in 2014, according to estimates by the United States Census Bureau.[7] In the 2013-2014 school year, Henrico County Public Schools was the sixth-largest school district in Virginia and served 50,569 students.[8]
Demographics
Henrico County outperformed Virginia as a whole in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 39.7 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 35.2 percent of state residents. The median household income in Henrico County was $61,048, compared to $63,907 for the state of Virginia. The poverty rate was 10.7 percent, compared to 11.3 percent for the entire state.[7]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Michelle Ogburn' 'Henrico County Public Schools' recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Henrico County Public Schools, Virginia
- Henrico County Public Schools elections (2015)
- Recall campaigns in Virginia
- Political recall efforts, 2016
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Resident plans to begin efforts to recall Henrico School Board chairwoman," January 28, 2016
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Henrico School Board candidates debate," October 7, 2014
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Henrico planners back rezoning for hospital center project over neighbors' objections," February 11, 2016
- ↑ The Recall Elections Blog, "Virginia: Henrico School Board Chair facing recall over sale of land for cancer treatment center," January 29, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 United States Census Bureau, "Henrico County, Virginia," accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Election Results," accessed September 17, 2013
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