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Shelby Township recall, Michigan, 2010
| Shelby Township Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Paul Viar |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2010 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
Two local officials in Shelby Township faced a recall campaign after local residents filed petitions in October 2009. Targeted individuals included Supervisor Richard Stathakis and Treasurer Paul Viar.[1] The recalls did not go to a vote after organizers failed to submit the required number of signatures by the deadline.[2]
On December 4, 2009, the Macomb County Election Commission approved two recall petitions against Stathakis. According to the approved petitions, supporters called for the recall of Stathakis after he voted against the acquisition of a new fire truck and ambulance.[3] The petitions were filed by local resident Bradley Alspaugh.[4]
Stathakis and Viar entered office in 2008.
Background
According to the filed petitions, both Stathakis and Viar allegedly awarded bids to companies who contributed to each of their elections. In response to the allegations Stathakis called the recall attempt "emotional, political nonsense." Viar, however, said that anyone has the right to file a recall petition and that he would just have to deal with the recall attempt. Viar added that he believed the attempt was just "lashing out and possibly just a knee-jerk reaction" to a recent bid lost by a local company, Nightingale Standard Service.[1]
Stathakis' response to recall
According to reports, in an email response Stathakis said, "The Macomb County Election Commission only makes its determination for recall petitions based upon the clarity of the language. Language for recall petitions need not be factual or truthful," of the approved recall petition language. In response to the reasons behind the recall effort, Stathakis said that the switch from a 15-year scheduled to an 18-year schedule for replacing the fire pumper trucks will save the town approximately $686,240 over the next nine years.[3]
Path to the ballot
For a recall election, supporters needed to have collected a minimum of about 7,014 signatures.[5] The signatures needed to be submitted within 120 days starting from the approval of the petition language. However, signatures were only valid for 90 days.[3]
Recall election costs
Townships do not incur additional costs in cases where the recall election is held during the regularly scheduled August or November elections. Recalls that take place during another period of time cost an estimated $30,000.[3]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 C & G News, "Supervisor, treasurer face recall if language approved," accessed October 15, 2009 (dead link)
- ↑ C&G Newspapers, "Recall petitions for Shelby Township supervisor thrown out," June 20, 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 C & G News, "Recall petitions against Stathakis approved," accessed November 7, 2009 (dead link)
- ↑ The Detroit News, "Recall wording against Shelby Twp. supervisor OK'd," December 7, 2009
- ↑ Advisor & Source Newspapers, "Stathakis, Viar targets in recall," October 16, 2009
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