Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Select board recall, Hopkinton, Massachusetts (2024-2025)
| Hopkinton select board recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Shahidul Mannan Mary Jo Lafreniere |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Massachusetts Massachusetts recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Select Board members Amy Ritterbusch, Shahidul Mannan, and Mary Jo Lafreniere did not go to a vote in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.[1][2]
Recall supporters
Recall organizers initiated the recall effort following a vote by the select board to terminate former police sergeant Timothy Brennan after an independent investigator found Brennan did not report sexual assault allegations against former Deputy Chief John Porter.[3]
Hopkinton resident Jim Scanlon organized the recall effort. Scanlon has said, "The Brennan fiasco has clearly demonstrated to citizens of Hopkinton that the Select Board is unwilling to listen to their constituents and incapable of managing this town, which by itself is enough to have them recalled. What many of us have come to learn over the last several weeks is that there are multiple examples of mismanagement and we the citizens deserve better. If the Select Board thinks the only person getting fired is Tim Brennan then they are in for a rude awakening."[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Massachusetts
No specific grounds are required for recall in Massachusetts. The recall of local officials in Massachusetts is governed by local charters. Because of this, recall laws regarding signature requirements and circulation time vary by locality.[4]
According to the Hopkinton Town Charter's recall provision, "Any holder of an elective Town office may be recalled pursuant to this Section provided that the recall election occurs prior to six (6) months from the end of the officeholder’s elective term." Recall organizers must first collect signatures from 10% of registered voters, with at least 200 signatures coming from each of the five precincts in Hopkinton. If the Board of Registrars of Voters certifies the initial signatures, recall organizers have 45 days to collect signatures from 20% of voters in order to trigger a recall election.[5]
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
- Hopkinton, Massachusetts
- Recall campaigns in Massachusetts
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 HopNews, "EXASPERATED RESIDENTS SEEK TO RECALL SELECT BOARD," February 9, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Hopkinton Town Clerk Connor Degan," December 11, 2024
- ↑ MetroWest Daily News, "Angered with handling of Sgt. Brennan case, Hopkinton residents start recall efforts," February 12, 2024
- ↑ General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Acts of 2016," accessed October 16, 2023
- ↑ Government website of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, "Town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts Home Rule Charter," accessed February 26, 2024
