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Paul Buller recall, York County, Nebraska (2015)
| York County Commission recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2015 Recalls in Nebraska Nebraska recall laws County commission recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Paul Buller from his position as county commissioner in York County, Nebraska, was launched on August 21, 2015. The recall petitioner abandoned the effort on October 19, 2015.[1][2]
According to petitioners, Paul Buller did not adequately represent the people of York County, failed to provide competent governance and violated the Open Meetings Act. The accusations of Open Meeting Act violation centered around a public meeting held on August 18, 2015. Buller's critics said that he held a private conversation with the city attorney during a discussion about the closing of a railroad crossing at Road L.[1]
York County Attorney Candace Dick stated that Buller had “asked a procedural legal question about what a super majority vote is. It was strictly a legal procedural question and nothing else was discussed.”[3]
Recall supporters
Amie Kopcho, a York County resident, filed the recall petition paperwork.[1]
Recall supporter arguments
Recall petition affidavit
The following statement was submitted by Amie Kopcho as her affidavit giving the grounds of the recall effort:
| “ |
Mr. Buller does not understand and refuses to represent the needs of all the people of York County. He often shows up to meetings ill prepared and uninformed about the current issues. Mr. Buller violated the Open Meetings Act to speak behind closed doors with the County Attorney at the public meeting on August 18, 2015.[4] |
” |
| —Amie Kopcho[1] | ||
Statement after recall abandoned
Kopcho announced that she was abandoning the recall effort in a letter to the editor of the York News-Times on October 19, 2015. In it, she apologized to those who wanted her to continue with the recall effort and alleged that "Mr. Buller, through his attorney, has tried to silence me by threatening a lawsuit and tell me that exercising my First Amendment Rights is not OK with him." She also called on Buller to "focus on the job that he was hired to do by the voters" by making himself more available to the public, ensuring that he is in attendance at and is prepared for all county commissioner meetings, and learning about provisions of the Open Meetings Act and other laws relevant to his job.[2]
Kopcho explained why she was abandoning the recall effort by saying:
| “ |
We as people are not perfect, we all make mistakes. Mr. Buller has made some mistakes and now it is time that he starts over. He needs to act and react appropriately making himself available to his constituents at all times of the day – that is what he was hired to do. Again, I am sorry to those of you that feel I am letting you down. . . I can find fault in things that Commissioner Buller does but should I be responsible for taking away his job – I am not so sure. All eyes are on you, Commissioner, please make the voters of District One pleased with your service.[4] |
” |
Recall opponents
Recall opponent arguments
Response by Paul Buller
The following official response to the recall affidavit was provided by Paul Buller and appeared on the recall petition sheets:
| “ |
Paul Buller is a strong voice for agriculture, listens to the people of his district, and bases his votes on facts, not rumors and personal agendas. His District opposed the new sales tax levy. Buller has a 98 percent attendance record at Board Meetings and he has never violated the Open Meetings Act. He deserves our support on the County Board.[4] |
” |
| —Paul Buller[5] | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Nebraska
After petitioners were provided with the form of the recall petition at the beginning of the third week in September 2015, petitioners had 30 days to collect valid signatures from registered voters in Buller's district equal to 35 percent of the votes cast in the district for county commissioner candidates in the last election. For this recall petition against Buller, this signature requirement amounted to 236 signatures by October 28, 2015. Kopcho announced that she had abandoned her recall petition effort on October 19, 2015.[1][5][6]
See also
External links
Recent news
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Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The York News-Times, "Recall affidavit filed against Commissioner Paul Buller," August 21, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The York News-Times, "Kopcho explains decision on recall," October 19, 2015
- ↑ The York News-Times, "Commissioner files response to recall affidavit," September 11, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The York News-Times, "Commissioner recall response released," September 12, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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