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Richard Grady recall, Canyon Creek Rural Fire District, Montana (2025)
| Canyon Creek Rural Fire District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| March 18, 2025 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Montana Montana recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
Canyon Creek Rural Fire District trustee Richard Grady was recalled in yes/no recall election on March 18, 2025.[1][2] Recall supporters launched the campaign after Grady was accused of violating provisions of the Montana State Constitution, as well as open meeting and public participation laws.
Recall vote
Richard Grady recall, 2025
Richard Grady lost the Canyon Creek Fire District Board At-large recall election on March 18, 2025.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✖ | Yes |
74.9
|
146 | ||
No |
25.1
|
49 | |||
Total Votes |
195 | ||||
|
|
Recall supporters
Recall supporters outlined the following reasons for the recall election:[2]
| “ |
In the elected capacity given to him by the public, Chairman Grady violated his oath of office, demonstrating gross incompetence as a CCRFD Trustee and public servant. The County Attorney's Office advised Grady that he must comply with open meeting and public participation laws. Grady nonetheless proceeded to violate MCA§2-3-103 at the 9/30/24 and 10/7/24 board meetings, prohibiting the public from offering comments unrelated to the agenda and on 10/7/24, Grady allowed only secret ballot voting violating MCA§2-3-212. At the 9/9/24 and 10/21/24 meetings, Grady violated MCA§2-3-203 by conducting performance reviews without first seeking privacy waivers. Grady administered 10/23/24 and 10/24/24 meetings via email and without any public notice, and consistently violates public participation mandates under MCA§2-3-101 while holding excessive meetings over five months -many with consequential changes. Grady continually violates his sworn oath of office to uphold the Montana Constitution, Article II, Sections 8 and 9. Repeatedly disregarding the law and constitution and negligently administering meetings despite warnings, Grady lacks the competence to serve as our trustee. No explanations or apologies can remedy any of these consequences. We simply cannot support his callous disregard for the law and our rights. Please join us by voting FOR change. [3] |
” |
Recall opponents
Grady responded to the recall campaign against him as follows:[2]
| “ |
I Richard Grady, Chairperson of the CCRFD Board of Trustees responding to the Recall Petition state that all the respective board meetings alleged in the Petition were in compliance with Montana Open Meetings laws. I state the allegations by the Petitioners are not clear and do not include supporting documentation.
|
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Montana
Montana allows the following grounds for recall: physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of the oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of a felony offense.[4] To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 15% or 20% of registered voters in the jurisdiction as of the last election for the office, depending on the office type.[5] Recall supporters have three months to circulate petitions.[6]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Lewis and Clark County, Montana
- Recall campaigns in Montana
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- Special district recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Recall Elections Blog, "Montana: Canyon Creek Rural Fire District Trustee ousted ," accessed March 24, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lewis and Clark County, Montana, "Notice of Voting System Exhibition, Diagrams and Voting Instructions," accessed March 13, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Montana Code Annotated 2021, "Officers Subject To Recall -- Grounds For Recall," accessed October 16, 2023
- ↑ 2022 Montana Code Annotated, "§ 2-16-614 (2022)," accessed October 16, 2023
- ↑ 2022 Montana Code Annotated, "§ 2-16-619 (2022)," accessed October 16, 2023
